Germany was trying to gain the Moroccan land which France had already taken over as a colony. When Germany did this France was furious. In a conference Britain and France, Germany had to back down from taking over Morocco. Wilhelm wanted land to create an empire for Germany, their ally Austria-Hungary helped gain land from Turkey. This meant more power for their empire.
This ruling is inadequate and can make the other countries aggressive and full of hatred. So Germany could get blaimed for World War one but there are many different attributes which made this war so horrible. The first mistake which Germany made was that the Kaiser gave Austria the total support if they wanted to attack Serbia. Of course Austria attacks Serbia with the mighty Germany behind there back. Austria would never made such demands if the German Kaiser wouldnt of promised unconditional support.
Question To what extent was Germany to blame for causing World War 1 The treaty of Versailles included the War Guilt Clause, Article 231, which laid the responsibility for causing World War 1 with Germany and its allies. Some historians, however, have argued that no one country can be held responsible for the outbreak of war in August 1914. Germany brought tension between the European powers, by creating a new foreign policy called “Weltpolitik”. Germany tried to influence other colonial powers, by creating the “Weltpolitik”, since there had been an increase in the colonial rivalry, therefore Germany wanted to secure its empire overseas, and especially against Britain. As a result, there was one noteworthy incident to mention, the failed attempt of the British to incite a rising against, the Boer Republic, in southern Africa, which was good news for Germany.
They clashed with the main powers of Europe over territory like morocco, which ultimately strengthened Franco-Anglo relationships. Weltpolitik was a huge political risk and in the end the risks outweighed the positive factors, which resulted in the failure of the plan and ultimately was a great cause of WW1 In 1893 the Franco-Russian alliance was formed which meant that it allowed the possibility of encirclement of Germany, which made them paranoid. The Kaiser at the time was Wilhelm II and he surrounded himself with military figures so had a very militaristic point of view. So his response to the possible encirclement was to come up with a new plan called the Schliffen Plan. This stated that if a possibility of a two front war with France and Russia was ever to arise they would mobilise their troops quickly and beat the French within six weeks and then march back in time to meet the Russian army.
“The outbreak of war in Europe in 1914 was due to an aggressive foreign policy which had been waged since c.1900”. How far do you agree with this opinion? Explain your answer using sources V, W and X and your own knowledge relating to the controversy. The implication that Germany’s use of an aggressive foreign policy led to the outbreak of the First World War is an extremely controversial topic, and has ultimately caused great debates amongst historians. Fischer, the provoker of this controversy, expresses this concept of German aggression by stating that since c.1900 Germany planned, and then was able to execute a war, due to their aggressive weltpolitik; based purely on expansionism.
Overall, Source W challenges source V, as it indicates that Germany’s aggressive actions since the turn of the century resulted in war. Source X implies how it is a matter of great controversy however leads more towards the fact that Germany had always wanted colonial expansion. Although it could be argued otherwise, it is evident that outbreak of war in Europe was due to an aggressive foreign policy which had been waged c.1900. Source V states that Germany, ‘felt encircled not only by the triple entente but also by the forces of change’. Although it is true that Germany was surrounded by an alliance system, indeed an extensive alliance system did surround Germany, whether they posed a threat or not is questionable.
The policy of appeasement, embraced in vain by Great Britain and France in the 1930s, was ultimately a bid to reach a peaceful understanding with Germany. However this was only a failed policy which directly would lead to war as it encouraged Hitler, abandonining policy would have prevented such a brutal war, Hitler was an unreasonable dictator and that had always intended to fight a war and that he would not be appeased. These crucial factors ensured that appeasement policy would Utltimlty the appeasement directly resulting in the Second World War Brittan and France With the rise of Hitler Germany sought to revise the terms of paris peace settlement through aggression as he stated in mieng kamf he would “break the unjust terms of the treaty of versallies”. The memories of WW1 were still alive and Britain and France were disenchanted with the idea of using force to solve European disputes as they were economically. The feeling swept especially throughout Britain that the Treaty of Versailles had been too harsh, and Germany should be able to make some amendments to its more extreme elements.
(Stevenson, pp.13-17) In other words, Germany was trying to cover too much territory. At the end of 1916, Germany, whose surface fleet had been bottled up since the indecisive battle of Jutland, announced that it would begin unrestricted submarine warfare in an effort to break British control of the seas. In protest, the United States broke off relations with Germany in 1917 and entered the war. (Ferro, pp.112-115) American participation meant that the Allies now had at their command almost unlimited industrial and manpower resources, which were to be decisive in winning the war. It also served from the start to lift Allied morale.
The long-term factors that would have built tension and rivalries throughout Europe are the alliance systems and the arms race, whereas the short term factors would be the mismanaged crisis, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, which was ultimately the trigger of total war. The Balkan crisis 1908 -12 both increased the likelihood of war. As there had been tensions growing since 1912 between the Serbians and the Austro- Hungarians after their attempt to secure control. These tensions were inevitably going to cause a war; as in the words of Otto Von Bisamrck, quoted at the time, a war was going to brake out due to “some damn fool in the Balkans.” The first Balkan crisis of 1912 didn’t break out into war, however it left tensions high. As Serbia’s confidence was now at its peak, as there sized had doubled, and the army had increased to 400,000, so if the were now confronted by the Austro- Hungarians they were now willing to fight.
One of the main factors was the blank check that Germany gave Austria-Hungary. Allowing Austria-Hungary to go to war on Serbia, with Germany’s full support. Austria-Hungary wanted to go to war on Serbia because, a member of the Black Hand (a Serbian terrorist group) assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. Austria-Hungary served a harsh ultimatum on Serbia, and if they didn’t agree they would declare war. They had known Serbia would reject the ultimatum.