‘German aggression was responsible for the outbreak of a general European war in August 1914.’ How far do you agree with this judgement? The above judgement outlines a clear debate among historians as to whether German aggression was the main reason the First World War began in August 1914, or whether it was due to various other factors. Gordon Corrigan claims that it was due to German aggression and therefore represents the closest argument to the one made in the question. Corrigan also references Fischer to support his argument, and so supports the Fischer Theory, which holds Germany to be responsible for the outbreak of the First World War due to their aggressive foreign policy. Contrastingly, James Joll suggests that Germany’s defensive offensive war rooted from a fear of encirclement from the countries that it borders, and so presents the opinion most opposing to that of the question.
Because Germany was surrounded by the Triple Entente (the Great Britain, France, Russia). So Germany was land-locked. Germany needed a strong navy so that it would have a place in Europe, and to confront other countries. c. Based on the state of the arms race in 1914, if you were a German citizen, how would you feel? Explain why.
In this essay I will argue both sides of this argument using sources to back up my points, however ever maintaining the fact I agree. German aggression can be seen as being responsible for the outbreak of a General European war due to the Schlieffen plan. This plan devised by General von Schlieffen would give Germany the option of fighting a war on two fronts with the French and the Russians. Both sources 1 and 2 agree that this plan was aggressive and therefore agree with the statement herein. 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.
Considering that Realpolitik focused on preventing a war within Europe and Weltpolitik aggressively asserted German dominance, it can be validly argued that this direct change in German foreign policy played a major role in bringing about the First World War. Another reason that German foreign policy was so greatly scrutinized was because of the Anglo-German naval rivalry which was creating tension within Europe. As long as Germany built, Britain would be a German enemy. The German government dramatically increased the development of German Ships. [i] This arms race and change in German foreign policy, believing they needed to control the seas was seen as a definite and direct cause
You’d be scared that there is an attack coming your way. 2. How did the naval arms race encourage the development of the alliance system the way it did? Be sure to refer to Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, as well as each of the alliance groups specifically. The navel arms raced encouraged the Development of the Alliance system, Because the joining of The different countries meant even more power to both Germany and Great Britain.
These can be categorised into long term reasons and short term reasons. The most significant short term reason to why the war broke out was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Austria. This contributed to the war a lot and was the spark that started it off. There were many long term reasons too, but the most important ones were Imperialism, Militarism, nationalism and alliances. These influenced the war majorly and were the main explanation to why large quantities of countries were prepared for it when it took place in 1914.
‘The outbreak of the war in Europe 1914 was due to an aggressive German Foreign Policy which had been waged since c.1900’ How far do you agree with this opinion? Discussions over the causes of the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914 have caused much controversy due to the breadth of events in multiple countries which took place over a short period of time, concluding in war. The evidence within source V, W and X refer to some of these events, thus hold different countries and individuals to blame to different extents. Whilst source V suggests that aggressive German Foreign policy did hold a considerable proportion of the blame, it places the Germans in a sympathetic position due to their encirclement leaving them no other option. Source W is very similar due to the fact that it blames Germany’s strengthening of the military and navy to a large extent, however proclaims their ‘peaceful intentions’; whereas source X dwarfs Germany’s contributions as a state, placing more responsibility for the outbreak of war on Austria-Hungary.
Hitler's pursuit of Lebensraum resulted in Germany exhibiting ultranationalism towards its neighbours. The ultranationalism that Germany was demonstrating led to expansionism and ultimately led the world to a second world war. Hitler created a distorted version of Darwin's Theory of Evolution, known as Social Darwinism. This principle stated that a nations strength was measured by its ability to fight and win wars; any nation displayed to be weak or unable to fight was a target for conquest. Hitler displayed ultranationalism when he put Social Darwinism into action, he was creating a master race.
Because Germany was surrounded by the Triple Entente .So that means Germany was land-locked. Germany needed a strong navy so that it would have a place in Europe, and to oppose other countries. c. Based on the state of the arms race in 1914, if you were a German citizen, how would you feel? Explain why. I would feel nervous but fear less.
The Americans had a great importance in the Second Battle of Marne. They helped began because of Germany’s greed for power. There were also many other causes of World War One. Some causes of the World War one was nationalism, imperialism, and militarism. Nationalism was a unifying force, but it also led to intense competition between nations.