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Militarism: Station 1 ResourcesMilitarism is the rise in military expenditure, an increase in military and naval forces, and using force as a solution to problems. Militarism was one of the main causes of the First World War. After 1907, there was an increase in military influence on policy making. This could be reflected particularly in Germany and Russia. The German Army at this period was called a "State within the State". The parliament and the politicians had to follow the General Staff. They had no say in the army's design to preserve the Fatherland. Even though the Schlieffen Plan would incur the anger of Great Britain and bring the latter into a war, it was accepted by the German civilian government as the war plan. In 1914, the Russian generals were also able to force the Czar to accept full mobilization. They threatened him with the danger of defeat if he acted contrarily.Arms race: After 1871, the war atmosphere engendered by the secret alliances led to an armaments race among the powers. The race was particularly serious between 1900 and 1914, as the international situation became much worse than before. There was a significant rise in the army and naval estimates of the European powers in these years.Rise in Military Expenditure Chart: The Total Defense Expenditure of the major European Powers (in millions)(Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Britain, France and Russia)18701880189019001910191494130154268289398It is also important to take notice of the fact that from 1910 to 1914, while France increased her defense expenditure by 10%, Britain by 13%, Russia by 39%, and Germany was the most militaristic as she increased by 73%. Increased war expenditure enabled all the powers to raise more armies and improve their battleships.Naval Race between Germany and Britain:Britain and Germany were the chief rivals at sea. Under Admiral Tirpitz, State Secretary of the Imperial Naval Office from 1897, a long-term shipbuilding program began. The German Navy Law of 1898 increased the German battleships from nine cruisers to twelve. In 1900 Germany passed a Navy Law which doubled the German battle fleet.In the meantime, Britain produced her first Dreadnought (literally, the word means fear nothing). Dreadnoughts were large, fast and heavily armed battleships with 12inch guns. They set a new standard in naval armaments and rendered all previous battleships obsolete. The naval race became intense. Between 1909 and 1911 Germany built nine Dreadnoughts while Britain completed 18 Dreadnoughts. In 1913, Germany widened the Kiel Canal to allow the easy passage of her Dreadnoughts from the Baltic to the North Sea while Britain built new naval bases for the Dreadnoughts in northern Scotland.Effects:Increased military and naval rivalry led not only to the belief that war was coming (The German ruling group felt that only through a war could Germany become a world power. Military preparations strengthened this belief.) and increase in military control of the civilian government (particularly in Germany and Russia) also increased cooperation among the military staff of the countries of the same camp. For example, all the three Entente powers held secret military talks. The British and the French naval authorities agreed that the French navy should be concentrated in the Mediterranean and the British in the North Sea. Germany and Austria also had military agreements. When the First World War was fought, it was to be fought by all powers because they had made the military plan cooperatively. As a result of the armaments race, all the European powers were prepared for a war by 1914.Militarism: Station 2 ResourcesPolitical Cartoon A2247900-279399Political Cartoon BPolitical Cartoon B48387001714500Political Cartoon CPolitical Cartoon CAlliances: Station 3 ResourcesWWI Alliances MapAlliances: Station 4 ResourcesAlliance Political CartoonAlliance Flowchart1879The Dual AllianceGermany and Austria-Hungary made an alliance to protect themselves from Russia1881Austro-Serbian AllianceAustria-Hungary made an alliance with Serbia to stop Russia gaining control of Serbia1882The Triple Alliance?Germany and Austria- Hungary made an alliance with Italy to stop Italy from taking sides with Russia1914Triple Entente (no separate peace)Britain, Russia and France agreed not to sign for peace?separately.1894Franco-Russian Alliance?Russia formed an alliance with France to protect herself against Germany and Austria-Hungary1907Triple Entente?This was made between Russia, France and Britain to counter the increasing threat from Germany.1907Anglo-Russian EntenteThis was an agreement between Britain and Russia1904Entente CordialeThis was an agreement, but not a formal alliance, between France and Britain.Imperialism: Station 5 ResourcesImperialism is when a country takes over new lands or countries and makes them subject to their rule. By 1900 the British Empire extended over five continents and France had control of large areas of Africa. With the rise of industrialism countries needed new markets. The amount of lands 'owned' by Britain and France increased the rivalry with Germany who had entered the scramble to acquire colonies late and only had small areas of Africa. Germany wanted to acquire more colonies to show their wealth, power and status as a world superpower. Note the contrast in the map below in terms of colonial possessions. There is no coincidence that World War I started in 1914. Tensions were high during that time period among the European nations that wanted to colonize Africa for themselves. The Berlin Conference (1884-85) was an effort put forth by several of these European powers in order to try and ward off a war over Africa. At the conference, the countries drew lines on a map of Africa and thus determined who was allowed to control which section of Africa. France got most of West Africa, Belgium - the Congo, Britain - East and South Africa, Portugal - two Colonies in South Africa, and Germany a small colony in each region. It is not a coincidence that Germany lost all four of its colonies after it lost WWI.Map of African Colonial Possessions - Post WWINationalism: Station 6 Resources3362959-1746241. Nationalism was an intense form of patriotism. Those with nationalist tendencies celebrated the culture and achievements of their own country and placed its interests above those of other nations. 2. Pre-war nationalism was fuelled by wars, imperial conquests and rivalry, political rhetoric, newspapers and popular culture, such as ‘invasion literature’ written by penny press novelists. 3. British nationalism was fuelled by a century of comparative peace and prosperity. The British Empire had flourished and expanded, its naval strength had grown and Britons had known only colonial wars. 4. German nationalism was a new phenomenon, emerging from the unification of Germany in 1871. It became fascinated with German imperial expansion (securing Germany’s ‘place in the sun’) and resentful of the British and their empire. 5. Rising nationalism was also a factor in the Balkans, where Slavic Serbs and others sought independence and autonomy from the political domination of Austria-Hungary. 43434002959100Nationalism Propaganda PosterNationalism Propaganda PosterAssassination: Station 7 ResourcesThe assassination of Austria's Archduke Ferdinand set into motion a series of international events that led to World War I. This one event is widely considered the most important event in leading up to war.3175499744Who was Archduke Ferdinand?Archduke Franz Ferdinand was born in the city of Graz on December 18, 1863. After his cousin and father died, he became the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His uncle, Franz Joseph, was the current emperor of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. He was married to Sophie, the Duchess of Hohenberg. Leading up to the Assassination: In the southern portion of Austria-Hungary was a region called Bosnia. Many of the Bosnians wanted to have their own country and not be under the rule of Austria-Hungary. The country of Serbia, just south of the Austria-Hungary border also wanted the freedom of the Bosnians. Serbia was an ally with the powerful Russian Empire and Austria-Hungary was allied with Germany. When Archduke Ferdinand announced his trip to Sarajevo, Bosnian nationalists (people who wanted Bosnia to be its own country) saw their opportunity to strike at the Austrian Empire. With help from the neighboring country of Serbia, assassins were recruited and trained to kill the Archduke as he traveled through the streets of Sarajevo. These assassins were members of a terrorist group called the Black Hand. The Assassination: On June 28, 1914 Franz Ferdinand and his wife were in the third car of a motorcade traveling through Sarajevo to the Town Hall. The Black Hand had several assassins positioned along the route. On the way to the Town Hall, the first assassination attempt occurred. A man named Nedeljko Cabrinovic threw a bomb into the car with the Archduke. However, the bombed bounced off the car and landed under the next car in the motorcade. The car with the Archduke was able to speed away and make it safely to the Town Hall. The assassins did not give up, however. On the return trip, the motorcade took a wrong turn. When the driver began to back up, another assassin named Gavrilo Princip happened to be right next to the car. He took advantage of this opportunity and began firing at the Archduke. He fired twice, hitting the Archduke once and his wife Sophie. The crowd jumped on Princip and he was arrested by the police. At the same time the car sped to the Governor's residence to get medical help. Unfortunately, Sofie was dead before they arrived and the Archduke died a few minutes later. Results and Why it Started WWI: The Austria-Hungary government saw the assassination as a direct attack on the country. They believed that the Serbians had helped the Bosnian terrorists in the attack. They made harsh demands on the Serbians which the Serbians rejected. At the same time, Russia began to mobilize their army to help protect Serbia. When Serbia rejected the demands, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. A few days later, Germany declared war on Russia to help its ally Austria-Hungary. Then France began to mobilize to help its ally Russia, and Germany followed by declaring war on France. World War I had begun. ................
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