There are many events which highlight the importance of this policy no more so than the first and second Moroccan crisis. This event pronounced German military strength as the gunboat panther moored off the coast of Agadir during a minor revolt in French colony of Morocco. Consequently Germany was given land in Congo in order to pacify the growing state. He goes on to say ‘ as early as 1906, Germany had in place a plan for an aggressive war’ which suggests that Germany had planned for war in order to secure assets such as ‘lebensraum’ which would satisfy the desire of the growing pan German movement and raw materials which would satisfy the desire of the ever growing Industrial machine. Fischer strengthens this
Chancellor Bülow kept a 'free hand' policy - that is, one that kept Germany out of commitment to other states. What is more, there were plans for the creation of a central African empire to enlarge the country’s colonial power and prestige. Finally the Germans wanted to dominate the European economic zone scheme and create a railway from Germany to Baghdad. As the Kaiser said “Germany had great tasks to accomplish outside the narrow boundaries of the old Europe” although there was no specific plan and many officers were not sure about how to pursue this goal. The reason why Germany needed the Weltpolitik is that it craved to became a World Power.
The wars in which Prussia fought were undoubtedly significant to the unification of Germany, but however, I feel that it was not the sole factor that contributed to the unification of Germany. There were four key wars in which Bismarck was involved in between 1862-1871 that were a significant factor for the unification of Germany. They were the Polish revolt 1863, the Danish war 1864, the Austro-Prussian war 1866, and the Franco-Prussian war 1870-1871.In each war Prussia experienced a victory giving them the ability to create the German Empire in Bismarck’s ideals. The Danish war ended with the King of Denmark giving away his rights over Schleswig and Holstein. From this Bismarck gained the ability to have a sense of control over Austria as he was able to argue over control for Holstein at any time he desired.
His major problem was that he tried to stand above politics and rally support from issue to issue in the Reichstag. He wanted the members of the Reichstag to act more selflessly and although this seems admirable, it did not work. Political parties put their own interests ahead of national interests, particularly the Conservatives. The first problem faced by the government under Caprivi was the tariff policy. Ever since 1879, Germany had upheld a policy of protection for both agriculture and industry.
Their control over major cities and thus access to more weapons therefore lead to the Communist victory in the Civil War. Their geographical position also meant that the red army could communicate and coordinate effectively. Cities like Moscow and Petrograd also included most of Russia's railway network. The control over the railway network was a major advantage to the Bolsheviks as it meant that they could quickly and efficiently transport troops to where they were needed and could distribute munitions to the fronts (the troops had more access to weapons). It also meant that the Bolsheviks were able to conduct a defense of their central position and initiate any opposing attack.
However, this was not manifested in reality, in which Hitler maintained power through his Kommandogewalt and appeal to the German public. This is highlighted in Kershaw’s statement that Hitler’s “power was charismatic, not institutional”. Hitler’s self-appointed omnipotence was only feasible due to his popular support from the German Volk and not any leadership structure. Hitler’s capacity to control a totalitarian state was also undermined by the nature of his rise to power. The Hitler Myth, which depicts Hitler as Germany’s saviour from the “ruin” following World War 1 and the Treaty of Versailles, undermined his ability to lead the Nazi state through means of violence and terror because his power
The peace treaty did not satisfy France as it was not harsh enough in the eyes of France. After suffered badly from WWI with umpteen casualties, France was determined to cripple Germany completely as a form of revenge as well as an assurance against future German revival. Some provisions of the treaty did meet French demands, such as the return of Alsace-Lorraine from Germany; the German disarmament which set a maximum strength of 100000 soldiers together with the dissolution of the air force and the reduction of navy to 6 batttleships; and a whopping reparation of 132 billion gold marks to be paid over 42 years. These clauses would severely weaken Germany economically and militarily which certainly catered to French aim. However, French felt these punishments were not harsh enough to eliminate the chance of future German revival.
After 1871, Bismarck’s careful diplomacy, agreement to imperialism and design of Prussinification allowed Germany to become one of the Great Powers. Before the Unification of Germany, Bismarck had realised the diplomatic environment needed for the unification. Bismarck had concluded that “blood and iron” policy was needed where peaceful means could not achieve. He identified Austria and France as the greatest enemies against German Unification. He also concluded that most effective war was one without foreign intervention.
Furthermore, for many centuries, European nations had been building empires, slowly extending their economic and political control over various peoples of the world and practicing imperialism. Colonies supplied the European imperial powers with raw materials and provided markets for manufactured goods. As Germany industrialized, it competed with France and Britain in the contest for colonies. In continuation, because each nation wanted stronger armed forces than those of any potential enemy, the imperial powers followed a policy of militarism—the development of armed forces and their use as a tool of diplomacy. Empires were expensive to build and to defend, and the growth of nationalism and imperialism led to increased military spending.
In 1892, the French and the Russians formed their own strong alliance (the dual entente) that meant Germany had an unfriendly power on each side. By the early 1900s the alliances had developed. The dual alliance had become the triple alliance with Italy (although Italy stayed out of the war in 1914). In 1907, Britain joined Russia and France to form the triple entente. Britain was much less committed to this alliance than Russia or France.