Ch 33 The Great WarThe Drift Toward War

The Alliances: Triple Alliance

Triple Alliance= Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy

Franco-Prussian War

• German victory under Bismarck's leadership

• Peace treaty imposed policies isolating France

Bismarck's alliance with Austria-Hungary

• A-H's expansion into Balkans conflicted with Russia

• "Europe's Central Powers" joined in a defensive military alliance

Italy joins the Central Powers' defensive military alliance in 1882

• France seized Tunisia thwarting Italian plans

• The Triple Alliance was complete

Weaknesses

• Italy's historic enmity for Austria-Hungary

• Italy's desire for remaining Italian-inhabited Austrian territories

The Alliances: Triple Entente

Triple Entente= France, Russia, and Britain

The common enemy: Germany

• Germans took the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine

• Germany refused to renew its treaty of friendship with Russia

The Dual Alliance, 1894

• France gained Russia's confidence through extending military and industrial loans

Germany also threatened Britain's industrial leadership and colonial empire

Britain had conflicts with both France and Russia

• Britain clashed with France over control of the Sudan

• Britain had conflicts with Russia over spheres of influence in Persia and China

The compromises made between the three completed the Triple Entente

The Alliances

The two alliances divided Europe into two opposing armed camps

Competing alliances represented a roughly equal balance of power

• Advocates argued it was an effective method of guaranteeing peace

• Critics argued that the existence of alliances would eventually lead to war

Crises Preceding WWI

Moroccan Crises of 1905 and 1911

• Germany challenged France's influence in Morocco

• Germany challenged France's attempt to convert Morocco into a protectorate

Impacts:

• Diplomatic setbacks for Germany

• Drew France and Britain into closer alliance

• Intensified hostility between the Entente and the Central Powers

Balkan Crises of 1912-1913

• With Russian approval, four Balkan nations warred against, defeated, and seized territories from Turkey

• Austria intervened to force the creation of Albania, denying Serbia an outlet to the Adriatic Sea

Impacts:

• Brought Russia and Serbia closer together

• Intensified Austria-Hungary's hatred of Russia and Serbia

Immediate Cause of WWI

The assassination of the Austrian Archduke

• Serbian nationalist assassinated Francis Ferdinand in a plot to break up Austro-Hungarian Empire

The assassination sparked a chain reaction leading Europe into World War I

A Chain Reaction1. Austria made harsh demands on Serbia for the murder

2. Serbia refused to comply with the demands

3. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia

4. Russia, a Slavic nation and friend of Serbia, mobilized its troops

5. Germany declared war on Russia and its ally France

6. Germany invaded Belgium to enter France more easily

7. Britain declared war on Germany

Major Causes of WWI

Nationalism

Imperialism

Militarism

International Anarchy