Soon in 1881 the Austro-Serbian Alliance was made by Austria-Hungary with Serbia to stop Russia achieving control of Serbia. A year later in 1882 The Triple Alliance was made by Germany and Austria- Hungary with Italy to stop Italy from following with Russia. Following by in 1894 Franco-Russian Alliance was made by Russia forming an alliance with France to protect against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Then later in 1904 the Entente Cordiale, it was an agreement between France and Britain and in 1907 Anglo-Russian Entente, the agreement between Britain and Russia. In 1907 the Triple Entente was formed between Russia, France and Britain to pledge the increasing danger and threat from Germany.
He also created an alliance with Italy for the Austro-Prussian War, or Seven Weeks War by promising them Venetia if they helped divide Austria’s army. However, he used this alliance as a way for France to be without an ally during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. The Schleswig-Holstein Affair allowed Bismarck to take over Austria and obtain land for united Germany in which King Fredrick Wilhelm I could rule over. He was able to obtain Schleswig-Holstein by creating an alliance with Austria, just as a way to stop jealousy in Austria to stop the Dutch from taking over; they were successful. When the war was over, Austria received Schleswig and Prussia received Holstein.
Weltpolitik could be argued to be a factor relating to the breakout of the First World War in August 1914. Although, it could be said that the war was avoidable and not inevitable, supported by Geiss in source 2 and Mombauer in source 3. On the other hand there are a two other main views which the sources suggest could be accountable for the outbreak of the war, with Deist source 1 mainly pushing for the political decision makers in the Kaiser and his military cabinet, such as Molkte and Tiripitz. The final factor that all three sources partially suggest is the impact of the tensions in the Balkans, mainly between the Austro-Hungarians and the Russians. Altogether, the idea that Weltpolitik made the First World War inevitable by August 1914 is short sighted as this is not entirely accountable for the war but was a contribution.
Source 1 state’s that ‘as early as 1906, Germany had in place a plan for an aggressive war.’ Suggesting that the plan was put in place to start a war when the time was right. Source 2 says, in agreement, that ‘as a reaction to the German war plan’ the French told the Russians to start mobilizing. This suggests that the Schlieffen plan pushed for war and also suggests that the French were being aggressive. Furthermore, this shows how the French - amongst other countries - had ‘confidence in victory’ as said in source 2. Many historians like Fischer, who’s also mentioned in source 1, believe, that if the Schlieffen plan was not aggressive then why would a war plan need to be devised in a time of peace?
Those empires ruled many national groups that clamored for independence. The Balkan Peninsula caused tensions and therefore threatened to ignite a major war. Rivalry for control of the Balkans added to the tensions that erupted into World War 1. Advances in technology helped aid in making military forces in the war stronger. Every one of Europe’s Great Powers developed a excessive belief in its own cultures economic and military powers.
Inside WWI The main causes of WWI that broke out in 1914; were Mutual Defense Alliances, Imperialism, Militarism, and Nationalism. Before the war broke out Countries in Europe made defense agreements amongst each other. Basically drafting countries into war to defend their alliances as agreed upon. At the time there was five Defense Alliances which were Germany and Austria- Hungary, Russia and Serbia, Japan and Britain, France and Russia, and Britain, France and Belgium. Allied countries agreed to defend each other, therefore when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia got involved to defend their Allie.
World War 1 was a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. Countries throughout Europe had agreements of consolidated alliances which would pull European countries into battle. Therefore, if one country were to attack another, a domino like effect would come into play and the allied countries were bound to defend the attacked country. Since Austria-Hungary decided to declare war on Serbia for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Russia was bound to join the war because of cultural ties and alliances with Serbia. Germany saw that Russia was starting to mobilize troops so Germany decided to declare on Russia which leads to France joining the war because of being drawn against Germany.
It also may be possible to argue that WWI was an accident because the Great Powers took action in order to try to avoid war. The great powers tried to through down anchors but Sir Edward Gray stated that in reality it was not safe because in a year’s time war would come. (Doc g). Sir Edward Gray, the Foreign Secretary for the UK, tried to hold Great Powers meeting on the 26 July 1914 and again on 30 July
France promote the unification of Italy in a large extent. However there were other countries such as Prussia, Britain, and Austria. Also there were significant figures who promote the unification of Italy such as Garibaldi and Cavour To start with France has not always been positive factor for the unification process. France in 1848 sent an army of about 20.000 men to destroy the roman republic. At Plombieres meeting of 1858 Cavour and Napoleon III agreed to work together which the agreement was Nice and Savoy are going to belong to France(so there would be no complete unification) and fought the war of 1859 against Austria.
Russia also feared the growing German threat and sought to ally itself with Great Britain, France, and even Germany itself for protection. The British, for their part, tried hard to remain out of the conflict, but found that having the world's most powerful navy made that impossible. Rebellious provinces within the Austro-Hungarian Empire made central Europe extremely unstable, and the leaders of the Ottoman Empire in the Near East sought to expand their power. Historians have generally noted that the European powers had managed to avoid war for so long, that when it did