-
The Creation of the Dual Alliance
Once Otto von Bismark thought the power of Germany was good enough, he decided to start working towards peace in Europe. He saw France as the greatest threat to this peace, for he thought they wanted revenge after losing the Franco-Prussian war. So in order to prevent this from happening, Bismark isolated France. To do this, he formed a dual alliance between Germany, and Austria-Hungary. -
Creation of the Triple Alliance
In 1871, Otto von Bismark decided the power of Germany was good enough, so he decided to focus on the peace of Europe. To do this, he thought he had to isolate France, because they wanted revenge over the Franco-Prussian war. In order to keep France isolated, Bismark formed a dual alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary. Italy later joined this alliance, so then it became the Triple-Alliance. -
4. Rise of Kaiser Wilhelm II and resignation of Bismarck, lapse of treaty with Russia
Wilhelm forced the resignation of Bismark in 1890, after being the ruler of Germany for two years. Although he pretended to be upset about Bismark's resignation, he was overjoyed, because his proud nature made him want full power over Germany. Also, because he thought his military was the best in the world, he lapsed the treaty with Russia. This lead to both France and Russia surrounding Germany, waiting to pounce at any point. -
Alliance of Russia and France
When the treaty Bismark made between Germany and Russia was lapsed, Russia responded by forming an alliance with France. This made Bismarks worst fear become a reality. Russia and France were on opposite sides of the German border, so they now had the ability to attack Germany from both sides, leaving Germany with a higher chance of defeat. But since Kaiser Wilhelm II thought his forces were the best in the world, the alliance between Russia and France was merely a minor concern -
Conflicts over Morocco
In 1905, and again in 1911, Germany and France,e nearly fought over who should control Morocco, in Northern Africa. Most of Europe supported France, so Germany backed down. This event it significant because it shows how imperialism, expanding an empire by taking over weaker countries, led to intense competition and conflict between European countries. -
Creation of the Triple Entente
When the Germans tried to build a navy that could match the British navy, they British were alarmed. So they formed an entente, or alliance with France. Then, when the French and the Russians made an alliance, the British formed another entente with them. This lead to two rival camps in Europe by 1907. The triple entente of France, Britain, and Russia against Germany, Austria, and Italy. -
Austria annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Austrians thought the freedom of the Slavic people would lead to a rebellion of it's Slavic population. So in order to put a stop to the rebellion, the Austrians annexed, or took over Bosnia and Herzegoniva, which were two areas with a very large Slavic population. Because of this, the Serbians that were going to be leaders of these areas were outraged. They vowed they would take the two territories back from the Austrians, Austria said that all Serbian efforts to freedom would be crushed. -
The Rise of Militarism
With the rising tenstions between countries, each nation predicted a war and started to prepare. This led to a rising militarism, or a policy of glorifying military power, and keeping the army prepared for war. By 1914, all the powers except Britain had large armies ready to go. Although this left a patriotic sense in the people of the countries, it also started to cause panic. As early as 1874, people such as Frédéric Passy started to get scared, which is natural for the war could destroy them -
The Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand payed a visit to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. He and his wife were shot to death at point-blank range by ninteen year old Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black hand, which was a terrorist group at the time. But, since the killer was Serbian, Austria used this as an excuse to punish Serbia. On July 23, Austria made a multitude of demands the Serbians had to meet. The Serbians met most of them, but some were unmeetable. So this lead to Austria declaring war on Serbia. -
The first declaration of war and the succession of declarations of war by Austria, Russia, Germany, and Great Britain.
On July 28, 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia as revenge for the assasination of Archduke Ferninand. The same day, Serbia's ally, Austria, declared war on Austria in order to protect Serbia. They thought Germany would fight with Austria, so they surrounded the borders. Germany took this as a war declaration so on August 1, Germany declared war on Russia. Two days later, Germany declared war on France, trying to catch them by surprise. Soon after this, Great Britain declared war on Germany.
