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End of Franco-Prussian War/German Empire proclaimed
1871 May 10: Prussians defeated France,
The Treaty of Frankfurt-France lost Alsace Lorraine
-Had to pay 5000 million marks-Prussian victory march through Paris-Even more humiliating for France-These two events could be used to explain the natural feeling of anger and toward from the French to the Germans as they had insulted France-A long term cause for war because Germans had planted a bitter seed in the French people, leaving them hungry for revenge, ultimately leading to them fighting on opp -
The Three Emperor's League
-Germany, Russia and AH allied
-Kept france isolated
-This might lead to France feeling threatened because it feels like its neighbouring countries are ganging up -
Dual Alliance
-The Three Emperor's League collapsed because AH and Russia had conflict in the balkans
-Bismark therefore made another treaty with AH
-This treaty is defensive: AH and G agreed to assist one another if Russia attacked and each country agreed to remain neutral if the other was attacked by other European countries
-The alliance between Germany and AH is very important as it continued until 1914 when WW! began -
The Three Emperor's Alliance
-Russia turned back to Germany becaues it felt isolated in Europe
-Bismarck then created a revised version of the Three Emperor's League
-The alliance included an agreement that if one of the countries were at war with another war, the others would remain neutral -
Triple Alliance
-Alliance between G, AH, and I
-If any of the countries were attacked by two or more powers, the others would lend assistance
-This links to the Reinsurance Treaty in 1887 -
Reinsurance Treaty
-In 1885, the Three EMperor's alliance fell apart due to Balkan problems
-Therefore in 1887 Bismarck made a separate treaty with Russia to keep Russia friendly with Germany
-So now G is allied with R, AH and I. This is a great threat for France because all its neighbouring countries are allied and its isoalted -
Wilhelm II becomes German Emperor
-This is a very significant event that would eventually lead to war in 1914
-Wilhelm II was very aggressive and did not agree with Bismarck's defensive approaches
-Desperate to prove himself to his family members (cousins of the UK and Russia royal family) as he was not popular among them
-Wants Germany to have her place in the sun -
Bismarck resigns/Reinsurance Treaty lapses
--In 1890 Bismarck resigned
-The reinsurance treaty was allowed to lapse and it led to the Franco-Russian alliance in 1894 -
Franco-Russian Alliance
-This alliance promised to assist each other if either country were attacked by Germany
-This was a great threat to Germany because it would have to face war on two fronts
-This alliance is also significant because it lasted until 1914 and F + R fought as allies in WW1 -
Entente Cordiale
-Treaty between Britain and France
-This agreement settled many issues, such as France recognized britain's control over Egypt
-This treaty is important because it marked the start of the alliance that fought against Germany during the first world war -
First Moroccan Crisis
-Germany wanted to expose the weakness of the Entente Cordiale
-Germany announced that they would assist the Sultan of Morocco to maintain his independence
-However, the results were a disaster for Germany
-G had strengthened the Entente Cordiale- Britain had backed Franece during the crisis, while the Germans had little support
-Germany had to admit defeat in a few weeks, and it was now seen as the key threat to British interests
-This has increased tension between Germany and Britain/France -
Triple Entente
-Russia, France and Britain are allied
-This alliance is a major cause for the war because during WW1, the Triple Entente fought against the Triple Alliance
-This alliane meant Germany had to fight war on two fronts - increasing tension between Germany and these countries -
Bosnian Crisis
-AH announced annexation of Bosnia
-Led to an outrage in Serbia
-Relations between AH and R became very strained and it laid the grounds for war
-The crisis ended to be an Austro-Hungarian victory
-Russia had suffered international humiliation, and now embarked on a massiave rearmament programme
-Increased tension bewteen AH and Russia, also Germany resassured AH that it would mobilize in support if AH went to war with Serbia
-Nearly pushed countries over the brink of war -
Second Moroccan Crisis
-In 1911 a rebellion broke out in Agadir and France sent troops there to help put down the rebellion
-Germany thought that it was unfair for France to gain influence on Morocco and sent a gunboat, The Panther, to Agadir
-Britain also sent battleships to Morocco in case war broke out
-Germany was facing a financial crisis at the same time and it forced the Kaiser to back down
-France gained a full protectorate over Morocco, ending the country's formal independence
-Sparked even more tension -
First Balkan War
-Serbia, Gree and Montenegro formed an alliance. Their main objective was to force Turkey from the Balkans by taking Macedonia and dividing Macedonia among themselves
-Austria was horrified at this because it couldn't accept a strong Serbia, and its generals called for WAR
-However Sir Edward Grey the British Foreign Secretary called a peace conference and settled the crisis
-Results were turkish lands divided between blakan states
-AH requested creation of Albania, resentment, tension S and AH -
Second Balkan War
-Bulgaria went to war with Serbia and Greece, because it felt like there were too many Bulgarians living in lands such as Macedonia and Salonika which were given to Serbia nad Greece
-Serbs and Greeks defeated Bulgaria
-Serbia had doubled in size as a result of these two wars
-AH was convinced that it needed to crush Serbia coz it was growing stronger and stronger
-More tension between AH and Serbia -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assasinated
-As tensions between AH and Serbia continued to rise, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assasinated in Serbia
-His assassination in Sarajevo led to AH declaring war on Serbia
-As a result, the allied countries with AH and Serbia also declared war on each other, starting WW1
-Therefore, the assassination of the Archduke was the spark of the war -
German "Blank Cheque" to Austria-Hungary
-After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Germany sent AH a blank cheque - which means Germany would be in full support of whatever punishment AH wanted to take against Serbia
-At this point it is clear that war is going to happen since Germany had stood out to support AH -
Austri-Hungary sends ultimatum to Serbia
-On 23rd July 1914, Austria-Hungary sends an ultimatum to Serbia
-They made sure the terms inside the ultimatum were so severe that the Serb governemnt would never agree to them
-The Serb response was conciliatory, but it did not change AH's mind to declare war on Serbia
-Thus, the Third Balkan War had begun - Serbia and Russia against AH -
Germany declares war on Russia
-As AH is now in war, Germany also declares war on Russia on 1st of August and began mobilization -
Germany invades Belgium, declares war on France
-Due to the demands of the Shlieffen Plan, Germany sent an ultimatum to France demanding guarantees of French neutrality
-France replied by saying that "they would follow their own interests"
-Therefore Germany also declared war on 3rd of August
-Germany's plan was to take out France swiftly, its army marched through Belgium to avoid France's defences.
-Britain chose to uphold an old treaty agreement with Belgium from 1839, threatening to defend Belgium if Germany did not respect its neutrality -
Britain declares war on Germany
-However, there was no response from Germany, so Britain declared war on 4th August 1914. And this was how WW1 began.