Reprint from August 17, 1915 issue of
The Clock
It is thought that this war that is
been ongoing for over a year, began with the assassination of the Archduke
Francis Ferdinand,. However many other reasons led to this war, some occurring
as far back the late 1800's. Nationalism, militarism, imperialism, and the
system of alliances were four main factors that pressed the great powers
towards this explosive war. Nationalism is the love of one's country rather
that the love of a native region. Throughout the 1800's many national groups
that were driven by nationalism tried to unite by governments controlled by
their own people. However, this desire to unite all the people of a nation
under one government had devastating possibilities in Europe, where one
government often ruled many nationalities. This is one important reason for the
start of the Great War.
Another reason for the start of the war
was the practice of imperialism by many countries. Imperialist countries
narrowly avoided war many times as they struggled to divide Africa among
themselves in the early 1900's. Two of these countries, France and Germany,
were on the brink of war several times when the argued about claims to Morocco.
Between 1905 and 1911 they settled each argument with a temporary compromise
that left one of the two countries dissatisfied.
Although imperialism played an important
role in starting the war, militarism was even a greater factor. Militarism
controlled the thinking of many European Leaders before the war. These leaders
thought that only the use of force could solve problems along nations. These
leaders also thought that a military strong nation usually got what it wanted,
and weaker nation usually lost out. As international rivalries, each nation in
Europe made their armed forces stronger and larger.
During the late 1800's the system of
alliances was a forth factor that lead to the start of the war. Otto Von
Bismark, the powerful German chancellor, was afraid that France would seek
revenge for it's defeat to Germany back in 1871. He then decided to keep France
isolated and without allies. He particularly wanted to keep France from
becoming allies with Russia. Bismarck wanted to do this in case of a war,
Germany wouldn't have to defend both its east and west boundaries. In 1881
Bismarck set up the Three Emperors' League, a secret agreement among the
emperors of Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. Bismarck considered Italy a weak link in the Alliance, however it
isolated France. France, meanwhile, had been trying to gain allies. Their
opportunity arose after William II, Germany's new leader, allowed the
Reinsurance Treaty to crumble. An economic disaster later hit Russia, and the
Russian czar sought a loan. The French quickly loaned Russia money, and then
took several other steps to become friends Russia. This alliance between France
and Russia was finally formed in 1894. Later in 1907, the triple Entente was
formed; an alliance between Russia, France, and Great Britain. These new
alliances became extremely dangerous, because if any to rival powers fought,
all six nations would be dragged into war.
Militarism: Was another
cause of the war, was similar to the arms race of today. Because Britain
had a great navy, Germany wanted a great navy too. Germany and France competed
for larger armies. The more one nation built up its army and navy, the more
other nations felt they had to do the same.
The Alliance System
For Twenty years, the nations of Europe had been making alliances. It was thought the alliances would promote peace. Others would protect each country in case of war. Making it foolish for one country to wage war on another. The danger of these alliances was that an argument between two countries could draw all the other nations into a fight. This is just what happened when a conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia led to World War 1. In the summer of 1914 there were two alliances. The Triple Alliance composed of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, stood opposed to the Triple Entente composed of Britain, France, and Russia.
Another cause was that European nations
ruled smaller countries, called colonies, and competed with each other to amass
more colonies. Gathering colonies became known as IMPERIALISM. Both France and
Britain had many colonies in Africa and Asia. Now Germany
and Italy decided they wanted a colonial
empire too.
In addition to political conflicts, the
causes of In addition to political conflicts, the causes of the war included
such forces as NATIONALISM, or patriotism. Nationalism led European nations to
compete for the largest army and navy, or the greatest industrial development.
It also gave groups of subject peoples the idea of forming independent nations
of their own.
Reprint from August 3, 1914 issue of
The Clock
Serbia- Last week on July 26, the Austro-Hungary issued an ultimatum to the Serbian Government. In it Austria-Hungary made the following demands:
(1) The Serbian Government would
condemn all propaganda against Austria-Hungary and suppress publications and
societies that opposed Austria-Hungary.
(2) Serbia would ban from its schools
books and teachers who did not favor Austria-Hungary.
(3) Serbia would dismiss any officials
who had promoted propaganda against Austria-Hungary.
(4) Austro-Hungary judges would conduct
the trial of those accused of the crime at Sarajevo.
(5) Serbia had to accept all of these
terms within 48 hours or Austria-Hungary would declare war. The Serbian
Government would not accept the last two. Austria-Hungary declared war after
the time limit on the ultimatum had elapsed. The war has finally begun.
The War Expands
Reprint from August 10, 1914 issue of The Clock
The war in Europe
expanded greatly in the past week. Germany continued to support
Austria-Hungary, while Russia prepared to defend Serbia. Germany then demanded
that Russia cancel mobilization or face war. Russia ignored Germany, and Germany
declared war on Russia on August 1. Germany was also convinced that France was
ready to side with Russia, so on August 3 Germany declared war on France.
The war that would destroy European
society had been coming for a long time. The nineteenth century had been an era
of great progress, and of turmoil and conflict as well. New nations had been
created. The balance of power that existed in 1815, at the end of the era of
Napoleon, was disturbed.
Adding to the danger was a false sense
of security. Local wars had flared up in the nineteenth century, but a major
war was regarded as unlikely. Looking back at 1914 today, however, we can see
that each of the major countries of Europe had interests that would bring it
into conflict with at least one of the other great powers.
On
June 28, 1914, Gabrilo Princip, a nineteen-year-old Serbian revolutionary,
fired two pistols shots. One killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the nephew of
Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary and heir to the Austrian throne. The other
killed Sophie, his wife. Austria-Hungary held Serbia responsible.
On
July 5 Austria asked for and received from Germany a "blank check" of
support for any action Austria-Hungary might take against Serbia.
On
July 23 Austria sent a series of demands to the Serbians. The demands were
designed to humiliate and virtually destroy the Serbian nation. Still, Serb
agreed to most but not all of the demands.
Austria reacted on July 28 by declaring war on Serbia. The Russians prepared to defend Serbia.
On
July 31 the Germans sent a warning to Russia to stop mobilizing its army for
war. the Russians ignored the warning, and Germany declared war on Russia on
August
1. France came to the aid of its Russian ally by declaring war on Germany.
The
British hesitated, but when the Germans marched into Belgium, they declared war
on Germany on Aug 4. Italy, the third member of the Triple Alliance, refused to
back Germany and Austria-Hungary. Italy claimed the Triple Alliance was for
defensive purposes only and Austria's declaration of war against Serbia was not
defensive.
So
in August, 1914, the guns of the war went off. The system of alliances for
keeping peace had brought the great nations of Europe into war with one
another. Central and allied powers of Europe
France has not
forgotten its humiliating defeat at the hands of Germany in 1871. France was
waiting for the chance to reestablish its power on the continent. France was
willing to ally itself with another longtime enemy, Britain, to strengthen its
hand against Germany.
Great Britain/UK: Great
Britain had traditionally followed a policy of neutrality, which served it
well. Yet some Britains were now calling for new alliances, to counter the
rising power of the German Empire. Britain depended on industrial strength for
survival. Germany was a threat to that strength, as well as to Britains naval
power.
Russia: Russia had
been defeated by the Japanese in 1905and was troubled by unrest within borders.
Russia felt a need to prove its strength to the other nations of Europe. It
also desired to extend its influence and protection over Slavs in Balkan
countries. Later in United States enters the War on the Allied powers side.
Others that were part of the Central powers include Bulgaria and others from
the Allied Powers include Serbia, Belgium, U.S. Japan and +20 more.
Germany: The German
Empire had been created in 1871. Included in its territory were the provinces
of Alsace and Lorraine, taken from France. Now Germany was the leading power on
the Continent. But Germany was not secure. Directly to the west was France,
waiting for the chance to reclaim Alsace-Lorraine. To the east was Russia,
recently allied with France. And on the seas the rapidly growing German navy
competed with the more powerful British navy.
Austro-Hungarian Empire: The
Austro-Hungarian, Empire was not a nation of one people, but an empire of many
nationalities. The peoples that made up the empire were mainly Austrians,
Hungarians, and Slavs. But the Austrians and Hungarians ruled the empire. Many
Slavs who lived in the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina wanted to be part of
the new nation of Serbia. Furthermore, Rumania and Italy had designs on
territory within the empire. Russian ambitions in the Balkans brought them into
conflict with the Austro-Hungarians Ottoman Empire: The empire of Turkey was
known as the "sick man of Europe". The new nations in the Balkans -
Serbia, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Greece - had broken off from the empire. The
nations of Europe feared the Ottoman Empire would collapse and there would be a
fight for its territory. Russia, in particular, wanted the Dardanelles Strait,
a strategic part of the empire.
Reprint from August 10, 1914 issue of
The Clock
The great powers
had guaranteed Belgian neutrality in 1839, shortly after Belgium had gained its
independence. With this guarantee, Belgium agreed to stay out of any European
war, and not to help any Belligerents, or warring nations. In turn, the powers
agreed not to attack Belgium. However, Belgium's location was important to
Germany's military plans. Germany sent an ultimatum to Belgium, demanding that
German troops be allowed to cross through Belgium. Britain protested, and
insisted that Belgium was neutral. Germany ignored this and sent soldiers into
Belgium on August 4, 1914. Great Britain declared war on Germany later that
day.