,,.

EUROPE SINCE 1890

THE WORLD BEFORE 1914

BISMARCK AND THE ALLIANCE SYSTEM

The unification of Germany was the turning point in the history of Europe, marking the
beginning of the modern history of Europe. The man at the centre of the unification of
Germany was Otto von Bismarck, born in 1815 and a Prussian citizen.

Today Germany is one of the most powerful single states in Europe. 400 years ago Germany
was made up of more than 200 isolated ethnic groups scattered all over central Europe. By
1815, after the defeat of Napoleon, Germany was organized into a loose confederation of 39
independent states. By 1871Germay was united into a single powerful state.

GERMAN UNIFICATION UNDER BISMARCK

For centuries Austria dominated political power in Central Europe and the Austrian leaders
saw themselves as the rightful leaders of a united Germany. But Austria was faced with the
difficult task of how to bring the different ethnicities under the Austrian dominion into a
single country. The Austrian dominions were made up of different peoples such as the Poles,
Croats, Hungarians, Czechs and Italians.

Austria was faced with a new challenge from Prussia which was quickly gaining power and
popularity in Central Europe. As Prussia became powerful the Prussian leaders saw
themselves as the rightful future leaders of a united Germany. The man at the centre of the
process of the unification of Germany was Otto von Bismarck who was appointed by Kaiser
William I as the Chancellor of Prussia in 1862. Bismarck embarked on a programme of
unifying the German states under Prussian leadership. In his programme Bismarck fought
three wars which eventually led to the unification of Germany.

1. War with Denmark; The Prusso-Danish War of 1864-1865

Schleswig and Holstein were 2 most important German duchies (areas ruled by a Duke) ruled
by the king of Denmark and they were not part of the Danish Kingdom. The Danish
government wanted to annex Schleswig to the kingdom but the Germans in both duchies
objected. Schleswig wanted Denmark to annex both sides. However the Germans in
Schleswig and Holstein wanted the duchies to remain as German states. Prussian forces then
invaded Denmark and the Danish king was forced to transfer Schleswig and Holstein to
Austria and Prussia. A joint Austro- Prussian military occupation of Schleswig- Holstein
ensued.

1. War with Austria; The Austro-Prussian War of 1866.

Bismarck’s major aim of going to war with Austria was to destroy Austrian supremacy in the
German confederation. But first he had to isolate Austria and to achieve this he cultivated
friendly alliances with his neighbours to put Prussia in a favourable position. For example, he
made a military alliance with Russia to make sure that Russia did not support Austria in the
event of a war with Prussia.

Conflict arose between Austria and Prussia over Schleswig and Holstein. Prussian wanted to
annex the two while Austria was resolutely opposed to such a development. Several efforts
were made to settle the issue by a conference in London of the Great Powers, but it failed.
Prussia had always wanted an excuse to start a war with Austria so eventually in 1866 she
attacked Austria where Austria was defeated and was forced to sign a peace treaty.

2. War with France; The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871

Bismarck’s next move was to isolate France. He believed that a war with France was a
necessary step towards the complete unification of Germany as he wanted to make France
appear as an aggressor in order to deny France any possible friendship. He wanted other
powers to blame France for starting a war with Prussia. Bismarck had all these intentions
because France opposed the unification of Germany. So, in 1870 Prussia attacked France and
defeated her. France lost her two valuable Provinces of Alsace- Lorraine. France then signed
a Treaty of Frankfort on 10 May 1871 and the treaty terms were as follows;

 The French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine were ceded to be Prussia.

 France was to pay a war indemnity of 5 billion Francs
 France was to allow Prussian troops to occupy France until the money was paid in
full.

The defeat of France by Prussia humiliated her very much. She aimed at paying the money
within a short period of time and start rebuilding her army so that she could regain her lost
provinces.

In 1871 the Southern German states asked for the union with Northern states under Prussia. A
powerful state called Germany was created under the leadership of Kaiser William I and Otto
von Bismarck.

Britain on the other hand feared for the safety of Belgium and Holland, that is, Britain feared
that both countries would be conquered by Germany to increase her territory. Russia was
nervous of what Germany might do in the Baltic region, an area that Russia considered to be
part of her sphere of influence.

Germany was now surrounded by hostile neighbours and this prompted Otto von Bismarck to
act quickly and wisely. He thus formulated a foreign policy that was based on the formation
on a series of alliances.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The 20th century world

During the 19th Century, Europe made great economic and social progress. Development in
agriculture and expansion of industry and world trade gradually led to a higher standard of
living. The great European powers established colonial empires all over the world which
provided markets for their manufactured goods and were also a source of raw materials for
their industries. Various factors began to threaten the political stability of Europe from 1870.
There were six major European powers i.e Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Italy
and Russia. Serious mistrust developed between countries and they began to build up the
strength of their armies and navies.

European powers in 1900

Britain France Russia Germany Austria- Italy

Hungary

Population(millions 46 40 167 65 50 35
)

Steel 7.9 4 4 17 2.6 3.9

production(millions
of tons

Merchant 20 2 0.75 5 3 1.75

ships(millions of
tons

No. of soldiers- 711 1250 1200 2200 810 750

thousands

Warships 122 46 26 85 24 36

Submarines 64 73 29 23 6 12

BISMARCK’S ALLIANCES BEFORE 1914

MAJOR ALLIANCES

1. Dual Alliance of 1879

2. Triple Alliance of 1882
3. Franco – Russian Alliance of 1892
 4. Entente Cordiale of 1904
5. Triple Entente of 1907

The Dreikaiserbund (Three Emperors’ League)

This was an alliance which was signed by the three Emperors: Wilhelm I of Germany,
Francis Joseph of Austria and Tsar Alexander II of Russia.

Terms

 They all agreed to suppress socialist revolution and to give assistance if necessary.
 When one is attacked by an outsider, the other two would remain neutral except when
attacked by France and another country.
However in 1878 the League collapsed, Russia withdrew and became closer to France.

The Dual Alliance of 1879

At the Berlin Congress of 1878 Bismarck had taken sides with Austria and Britain over the
misunderstandings with Russia in the Balkan Peninsula. He clearly saw that he had risked the
possibility of an alliance between Russia and France. He quickly negotiated an alliance with
Austria. The result was the Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria in 1879.

Terms

 Austria would remain neutral in the event of war between Germany and France.
 Members would help each other if attacked by Russia with the help of another power.
 Germany promised to support Austria’s interests in the Balkans where she clashed
with Russia.

Renewal of the Three Emperor’s League 1881

This was signed after the ascension of the new Tsar Alexander III to the Russian throne after
the assassination of his father Alexander II.

Terms

 Germany would remain neutral if Russia was involved in a war with a fourth party
(possibly Britain)
 Russia would be neutral if Germany and Austria Hungary went to war with a third
party (possibly France)
 In return, Russia agreed that Austria could take over complete control of Bosnia –
Herzegovina.

Triple Alliance
During the Scramble for Africa, Bismarck deliberately encouraged the French to occupy
Tunis in North Africa. This, he did despite the fact that Italy had interests in the territory. The
French takeover of Tunis rightly angered Italy, and she joined the Dual Alliance of Germany
and Austria, thus converting it into the Triple Alliance. So the members were France, Italy
and Germany.

Terms

 They pledged to help one another if attacked by France.

 Italy could not fight against Britain in any circumstances.

Secret Reinsurance Treaty of 1887

There was rivalry between Austria and Russia over the Balkans. This led to the collapse of
the three Emperor’s League which was supposed to be renewed after every three years.
Bismarck still wished to preserve good relations with Russia. So in 1887 he concluded a
secret treaty with Russia, the Reinsurance Treaty. It was secret because it was against the
interests of Austria Hungary in the Balkans.

Terms

 Germany and Russia agreed to remain neutral if either went to war with a third party.
 The neutrality clause would however not apply if Germany was attacked by France or
Russia attacked Austria Hungary.
 Germany agreed that Russia should have control in the affairs of the Balkan
Peninsula.

The fall of Bismarck

In 1888 Kaiser Wilhelm I died and was succeeded by his grandson Wilhelm II. Through the
years Bismarck acted without consulting the Kaiser. However the events changed when the
new Kaiser came into power in 1890. The new Kaiser did not agree with Bismarck over
several issues including Bismarck’s alliances. Wilhelm II decided that Germany should have
a strong navy and get more colonies. All these were opposed to Bismarck’s own way of
thinking hence his resignation in 1890.

Europe after Bismarck

After 1890, Bismarck’s system of keeping peace through alliances collapsed. The new
Germany Emperor, Wilhelm II did not renew the treaty with Russia. He wanted the policy of
colonial expansion whereas Bismarck wanted Germany’s foreign policy limited to Europe.

He wanted to secure Germany-Austrian control over the Balkans even if it led to hostility
with Russia. Germany adopted a policy known as Welt- politik. This was an aggressive
desire to dominate the whole world rather than focus on continued affair in Europe. Wilhelm
was also determined to build a strong navy which could challenge Britain. The economic
situation in Germany also necessitated a change in foreign policy. German industries had
grown enormously therefore it was necessary to acquire fresh markets for the manufacturers.
As a result it was obvious for Germany’s foreign policy to have as unlimited growth such as
the need to acquire colonies.

Germany’s navy

The adoption of a world policy was necessitated by the creation of a strong army. Wilhelm
stated that a navy was necessary for defending the acquired empire. But the real motive for
creating a powerful army was to challenge the British naval supremacy. The German’s naval
programme caused a long term rivalry between Germany and Britain which led to the
outbreak of the First World War

Europe began to move gradually to world war which Bismarck had been trying to avoid from
1871 to 1890. Wilhelm II did not favour friendship with Russia. In 1888 the Russian
government attempted to obtain loans from Germany but these were opposed by the new
Kaiser. Russia then turned to France who readily agreed. This paved a way for the Franco-
Russian alliance between France and Russia. They agreed that in case of an attack on
France or Russia by a third party (clearly meant Germany), they would support each other.

The results of this agreement were very crucial:

 Germany now faced the possibility of fighting a war on two fronts, something that
Bismarck had worked to avoid.
 In addition, France had broken out of isolation and Russia’s position was also
strengthened.
 Thirdly, Britain found herself dangerously isolated. She felt that the Dual alliance
between France and Russia was directed against her because she had clashes with
both countries; (with France over Fashoda in Sudan and Egypt and with Russia over
Persia, Afghanistan and the Far East).
 Britain was also disturbed by Kaiser Wilhelm II’s telegram to Paul Kruger after the
Jameson Raid in 1896 in which the latter was congratulated by the former for having
repelled the raiders without foreign aid. This made Britain to seek friendship. The
British approached the Japanese and they signed an alliance in 1902. In 1904 Britain
again approached France and they concluded the Entente Cordiale.

The Entente Cordiale 1904

This was a friendly agreement which settled remaining disputes between Britain and France
in North Africa. France recognized the British control of Egypt and Sudan while the British
recognized the French interests in Morocco. It should be noted that this was an “entente” or
understanding not a military alliance.

The Triple Entente of 1907

At the Algeciras Conference in Spain in 1906, Britain and Russia found themselves
supporting France, though the two were not friends. France then persuaded Russia and
Britain to resolve their differences. This then resulted in the Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907
in which Britain and Russia resolved their issues over Afghanistan and the Far East. Britain
gained control of the foreign policy of Afghanistan however, both exercised equal trading
rights in the country. These three countries were now linked together by an official
understanding, i.e. Russia and France, France and Britain, and Britain and Russia. The result
was that Russia was added to the Entente Cordiale thus transforming it into the Triple Entente
of Britain, France and Russia. This agreement finalized the Division of Europe into two
armed camps.

CAUSES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR OF 1914-1918

On 28 July 1914, the First World War broke out in Europe. This involved major powers of
Europe and their allies together with their associated territories. The war was also known as
the Great War. The war was caused by a combination of factors.

SYSTEM OF ALLIANCES

Bismarck’s web of friendship eventually divided Europe into 2 hostile camps; members of
the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria- Hungary and Italy) and the Triple Entente comprising
of France, Britain and Russia. There were irreconcilable differences between the two camps;
e.g. Russia and Austria had differences in the Balkans. At the same time these alliances were
defensive in nature; if one of the members of the alliances was to be attacked then others will
help. This left Europe in a dangerous position and brought Europe on the brink of war
because of tensions that were created. If Europe had not been divided into the two hostile
camps a general war that had taken place could not have broken out. A local conflict between
any two of the countries that were aligned was likely to draw in its allies. Secondly, because
they were aligned, countries such as Austria acted recklessly in handling international
disputes as they knew that they would be supported. Equally, Serbia knew that Russia would
come to her aid if war broke out especially between her and Austria. Thirdly, most of these
pre war agreements were concluded in secrecy, and when the terms later became known to
the other camp this had the effect of increasing tension between the countries involved.

ARMS RACE

This was competition between the two camps over weapons and war machinery. Immediately
after the loss of Alsace- Lorraine France prepared for war. There was mass production of war
artillery and battle ships and it reached a stage where there was a need to test the strength and
prowess of each camp. The major European powers also competed against each other in the
production of other general weapons of war before 1914. Countries such as France and
Russia introduced military conscription. The French wanted a war of revenge and recovery of
Alsace- Lorraine from Germany. Russia armed herself in preparation for a possible show
down with Austria in the Balkans. Due to this, tension continued to mount.

THE ANGLO-GERMAN NAVAL RACE

This was a competition in the production of warships between Britain and Germany in the
naval system. For a long time Britain was the leading naval power in Europe such that she was
nicknamed ‘the mother of seas’. The navy was very important to Britain who as an island
depended on her ships for food and raw materials. This made her to adopt a policy of
“splendid isolation” in Europe. This meant she did not want to be involved in European
matters. In 1896 Germany passed the Tirpitz laws that she was going to expand her navy. This
made Britain to abandon her isolation and expand her Royal Navy to maintain the lead. In
1900 Germany passed a Navy Law which ordered the building of 41 battleships and 60
cruisers. Britain responded by announcing a big naval increase. Germany’s navy could have
access to the North Sea. The Anglo-German naval rivalry strained relations between Germany
and Britain before the war. Britain was forced to find allies which she did through France and
Russia leading to the Triple Entente.

IMPERIALISM/ COLONIAL RIVALRY

The 1884 conference of Berlin was aimed at averting war between European powers. The
scramble for Africa led to the competition between European powers that nearly fought
for colonies in Africa. A typical example was the Fashoda Incident over Britain and France as
well as the Moroccan/ Agadir crisis between Germany and France.

FASHODA INCIDENT

Fashoda incident was a conflict between Britain and France over Sudan in Africa. Captain
Jean-Marchand of France entered the village of Fashoda in Sudan and signed a treaty with the
chief. Two weeks later the British army entered Sudan to declare their interest over Sudan.
This produced tension between the two powers and both prepared for war. France was not
ready for war as her ally Russia (Dual alliance of 1890) had just been defeated in the
Japanese-Russo war of 1904. At the same time France was less powerful militarily to Britain
even though Britain did not have any allies (she was still exposed to attack from the Triple
alliance). Both France and Britain decided to resolve their differences realizing that they had
a common enemy (Germany) and eventually expanded the Dual Alliance to form the Entente
Cordiale of 1907. According to the terms of the treaty France recognized the interests of
Britain in Sudan and in return Britain allowed France to take over Morocco.

MOROCCAN CRISES OF 1905

The first Moroccan crisis/ Tangier crisis of 1905

In 1905 the French were preparing to occupy Morocco as one of their colonies. Britain, Spain
and Italy had no objection but the Germans had not been asked for their opinion. Germany
intervened in Morocco to test the strength of the Entente. Cordiale the German Kaiser landed
in Tangier (Morocco) and made a speech in which he declared the independence of Morocco.
This surprised many as it was well known that Morocco was a French sphere of interest. This
crisis was resolved at the Algeciras Conference in 1906. At the conference, Germany found
herself isolated as only Austria and Morocco supported her while France was supported by
Britain, Russia, USA, Spain and Italy. It was agreed that Morocco be granted independence
and France with the help of Spain was given policing powers. In addition, France was given
the right to control customs and arms supply while Germany was given trading rights only.

NB: The result of the Conference was the coming together of France, Russia and Britain
leading to the formation of the Triple Entente

The second Moroccan crisis/ Agadir Crisis of 1911

In 1911 Kaiser Wilhelm II again interfered in the affairs of Morocco and caused a crisis
which nearly resulted in a war between major powers. In 1911 there was a rebellion in
Morocco as people were against the Sultan whom they felt was being used by the French.
The rebels occupied Fez the capital. The French sent troops to drive out the rebels. Germany
mistook this as a French occupation of Morocco and she sent a gunboat called the Panther to
a Moroccan port of Agadir on the Mediterranean Sea. There was danger of war between
France and Germany. Britain ordered her navy to get ready. The German warships withdrew
from the area. Britain and Russia were likely to be drawn in because of the Triple Entente.
On the other hand, Austria- Hungary and Italy were on Germany’s side due to the Triple
Alliance of 1882. In November 1911, the Treaty of Paris gave Morocco to France and
Germany was compensated with territory from French Equatorial Africa.

Though the crises were resolved, Germany’s careless and aggressive policy alarmed other
powers and forced them to come closer together. In addition, this strained relations between
members of the Triple Entente and The Triple Alliance in a way that a general war was
brought nearer. This therefore created tensions between the great powers before 1914.

WAR PLANS

Almost all of the major powers had drawn up their war plans to help them when a war broke
out. This was dangerous because these plans had to be implemented, thus causing war.

a) The Schlieffen Plan-Germany’s war plan

The Plan was designed by a military leader in 1870 called Count Alfred Von Schlieffen, after
the signing of the Frankfort Treaty and the loss of Alsace –Lorraine. The plan was designed
to counter the war of revenge planned by France for Alsace –Lorraine. The Germans had
always patiently waited for the war so as to put their plan into effect. The Schlieffen Plan was
drawn to avoid fighting two countries at the same time, that is, France in the west and Russia
in the east. According to the plan Germany was to attack France from the north through the
neutral country of Belgium and defeat her in six weeks then move to the east to attack Russia.
The main French armies would be expecting a German attack through Alsace- Lorraine.
Instead the Germans intended to invade France through Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg,
taking Paris and encircling the French armies. Germany hoped that with France defeated in
six weeks, the Germans would transfer their troops to the east and fight Russia. Germany
hoped that Russia, a backward country would take a long time to mobilize her army, and
therefore a small army would be deployed against her and be defeated in a space of 6 months.
On the other hand Britain would remain neutral. However the plan failed.
b) Plan 17 (France’s war plan)

Ever since their defeat at the hands of Prussia in 1871, the French had always cherished
fighting a war of revenge to recapture Alsace-Lorraine from Germany. The French army
general, therefore drew Plan Seventeen. If war broke out, well trained French troops would
carry an all –out attack on Alsace –Lorraine. After capturing the two provinces the French
forces would cross the Rhine river and head for Berlin. Under Plan 17 troops would move
very fast using railways. Soldiers were trained to fight fiercely.

c) The British Expeditionary Force (BEF): Britain’s War Plan

The British had a well trained strong army. The Expeditionary Force was well prepared for
any attack. In 1906 the British promised the French military support in the event of a German
attack. The army was then improved with 144 000 men. Their task was to travel quickly to
France as soon as war was declared. To back them up, a territorial army of volunteers was
created. To ensure there was a good supply of officers to lead the enlarged army the Officers
Training Corps were set up for older pupils in schools.

d) Russia’s Plan: Plan Fifteen

Russia also had a war plan. Initially they planned to attack only Austria and carry out a
defensive war against Germany. But the plan was modified under French influence to force
Germany to fight on two fronts. The Russians were to attack both Germany and Austria as
soon as war came and overwhelm the enemies’ army by sheer weight of numbers because
Russia had millions of soldiers.

e) Austria’s Plan

The Austrians had secretly made enormous cannons at their Skoda factories. They also relied
on the success of the Schlieffen Plan so that Germany could help them defeat the Russians.

The war plans contributed to the outbreak of the First World War because they made a
general war more possible. Plans that were made had to be tested and put into operation .In
addition, once the mobilization plans of the various armies were started they could not be
changed and gave the politicians little room to manuever.

EASTERN QUESTION/ THE BALKAN CRISES

This is regarded as the spark of the First World War. It was a conflict between Russia and
Austria over the Balkan Peninsula. The problem was that the Slavs of Serbia, Montenegro,
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria were under the Turkish Empire. The Turks ill treated the
Slavs and Russia regarded herself as the guardian of the Slavs. Austria was against the idea.
She wanted the Slavs to be under the Ottoman Empire. Austria was afraid that the
independence of the Slavs will mean the expansion of Slavs, who might in future start to
aggress other countries. This came in 1908 when Austria took over the provinces of Bosnia
and Herzegovina. Russia and Serbia protested, but they backed down when Germany made it
clear that she supported Austria. Serbia and Russia were not prepared to risk war with
Germany over the issue. Austria became too confident that Germany will support her in
future disputes and started to make trouble.

The Balkan Wars

From 1912-13 there were Balkan wars. In 1912 Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria
attacked Turkey. After the war Serbia was not happy with her gains. She wanted Albania so
as to have access to the sea. In 1913 in the 2 nd Balkan War, the Bulgarians were dissatisfied
with the peace settlement as they were hoping to get Macedonia. Bulgaria was defeated since
Turkey, Romania, Greece rallied to support Serbia. By the treaty of Bucharest, Bulgaria
forfeited all gains from the First Balkan Wars.

Serbia emerged from these wars as the most powerful country with a strong army and a close
ally of Russia. She was also determined to cause problems among the Serbs and Croats living
in Austria –Hungary. Austria felt that Serbia had to be dealt with to stop her ambitions.
Austria was looking for a good excuse to crush Serbia. In addition, because the British were
in support of Austria in the Balkans, the Germans miscalculated thinking that the British were
moving away from Russia and France.

SARAJEVO INCIDENT (28 JUNE 1914)

The Austrian heir to the throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand visited the town of Sarajevo in
Serbia. He was assassinated by a Bosnian student Gavrillo Princip. Princip was a member of
the “Black Hand Society”, a Bosnian nationalist movement. This sparked anger and Austria
sent a very stiff ultimatum to Serbia to be answered in 48 hours. This was done after being
given the green light by Germany due to the Dual Alliance of 1878. Serbia could not agree to
all the terms of the ultimatum. Austria took this as a provocation of war. Since Austria had
desired to crush Serbia at all costs she saw this as a golden opportunity to teach Serbia a
lesson. On 28 July 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia.

Russia did not want both Austria and Germany to dominate the area of the Black Sea and the
Dardanelles Straits. Furthermore she desired to support a fellow Slav country. Russia
mobilized her forces. Germany then instructed Russia to stop her mobilization but Russia
rejected the order on 31 July 1914. On 1st August 1914 Germany mobilized and declared war
on Russia. France then mobilized in support of Russia as per the Franco-Russian Alliance of
1893. Germany ordered France to stop mobilization and when France refused she declared
war on France on 3 August 1914. Britain hesitated for a few days. She however informed
Germany that she would not allow a German naval attack on France in the English Channel.
The Royal navy was ordered to mobilize. On the 4 th August 1914 Germany invaded Belgium
as per the Schlieffen Plan. By invading Belgium, Germany had violated the Treaty of London
of 1839.This was signed by the following countries: Britain, Belgium, Austria, France,
Prussia and Russia. These countries guaranteed Belgian independence and neutrality. Britain
therefore entered the war on 4th August 1914 at 11:00 PM to protect the Belgian neutrality.
Austria Hungary declared war on Russia. France and Britain declared war on Austria
Hungary. The British overseas possessions –Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and India
joined her in the war. France was equally supported by her colonial empire. Japan supported
her ally Britain. Turkey and Bulgaria supported the Central powers. Brazil, Romania, Greece,
China joined the Triple Entente. When the war started, Italy remained neutral. She did not
join though she was a member of the Triple Alliance. She only entered in 1915 after Britain
had promised her some territories which were seized from her by Austria (Damaltia, South
Tyrol, Trieste, Trentino) after signing the Secret London treaty. Italy fought on the side of the
Allied powers. USA too fought on the side of the Allied powers. She joined the war in April
1917 after Germany’s submarine warfare, in which she sunk USA’s ships.

The war ended in 1918 in favour of the Triple Entente and was concluded by the Paris Peace
Settlement.

Why the Central powers lost the war

a) Failure of the Schlieffen Plan

The Schlieffen Plan failed because it was not easy for Germany to pass through Belgium
and finish with France. Germany had miscalculated into thinking that the Belgians would
not resist their invasion. Belgian’s delaying tactics gave time for the British force to reach
Belgium and gave the French an opportunity to organize themselves. The Germans were
to face a full scale war on two fronts, what Germany had tried to avoid. This weakened
them.

b) Allied sea power was decisive

The British were very clever in dealing with the Central powers. The removed all contact
between Germany and her colonies together with her friends. This blockade resulted in
food shortage while on the other hand keeping the Allied armies fully supplied. As a
result, the Germany ships were destroyed and soldiers were demoralized.

c) In response to the blockade, Germany retaliated by mines and submarines

attacks. Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare was suicidal because they
attacked USA ships supplying supplies to the British. The Americans then had to fight
the Germans. Initially USA was not involved in the war. Germany then drew her into
the war.

d) Americans involvement into the war gave the Allied powers new hope. Americans
helped the in defeating the Germans which was not going to be easy for allied powers
alone. German troops retreated because of incessant losses which demoralized
soldiers. In trying to rescue the situation, Germany brought in new, young and
inexperienced troops. However this did not help it was worsened by the outbreak of
Spanish flu.

INTER WAR PERIOD 1919-1939

THE PARIS PEACE TREATIES

The First World War was a disaster for Europe. Millions of people had been killed and
countries were devastated. The victorious leaders met in Paris Hall of Mirrors at Versailles on
June 1919 to try and work out how to stop a terrible war from occurring again. They signed 5
treaties with the different defeated nations.

The five separate treaties signed with defeated powers were as follows;

1. Treaty of St. Germain dealt with Austria (1919)

2. Treaty of Trianon dealt with Hungary (1920)

3. Treaty of Neuilly dealt with Bulgaria (1919

4. Treaty of Sevres dealt with Turkey (1920).

5. Treaty of Versailles dealt with Germany (1919)

PERSONALITIES AT THE PEACE SETTLEMENT “THE BIG THREE”

The peace settlement was dominated by the three important personalities of France, Britain
and USA. The leaders were known as the victorious allies.

AIMS OF THE BIG THREE

1. PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON OF USA

Wilson was greatly influenced by his belief in idealism- finding perfect solutions to
problems. Wilson was an idealist who had religious feelings. Wilson of course believed that
Germany should be blamed for starting the war but he believed that the treaty with Germany
should not be too harsh but be just so that Germany may not seek revenge in future. Wilson
wanted international peace and he put forward two most ideas of self- determination and
international cooperation. Wilson also brought up the fourteen points.

Wilson’s fourteen points

1. No secret treaties. There should be no more secret treaties; governments should make their
deals openly with each other. This was necessary because the secret alliances, whose terms
were unknown, had caused much suspicion between powers and had eventually contributed
to war in 1914. The Schlieffen Plan, for instance, was based on a misconception that the dual
entente between France and Russia had been an “offensive” alliance.

2. Free access to the seas in peacetime and wartime. They should allow freedom of
navigation on the high seas. The British objected to this.

3. Free trade between countries. Countries were encouraged to exercise free trade between so
as to boost the economy of many countries who had been hit hard by the ruins of the First
World War. This however never took off the ground.
4. All countries to work towards disarmament. Countries should reduce their armaments. The
issue of disarmament was to cause serious problems after 1920 and it never succeeded.

5. Colonies to have a say in their own future. Colonies owned by Europeans were supposed to
have a say in their own future rather than the Europeans having their way.

6. German troops to leave Russia.

7. Independence for Belgium

8. France to regain Alsace and Lorraine

9. Frontier between Austria and Italy to be adjusted

10. Self-determination for people of Eastern Europe.

11. Serbia to have access to the sea.

12. Self- determination for people in the Turkish Empire.

13. Poland to become an independent state with access to the sea.

14. The League of Nations to be set up to solve conflicts peacefully

2. GEORGES CLEMENCEAU OF FRANCE

Georges Clemenceau was nicknamed ‘the Tiger’ because he was determined that France
should not be defeated during the war. He had the strong backing of the French people.

He was an extremist (person with no ordinary views) and his main aim was to make
Germany suffer, so he wanted a treaty that will cripple Germany and make her not to recover
her strength there by will not be a threat to France again. He wanted a very harsh treaty on
Germany. He wanted Germany to be broken up into a collection of smaller states. He had
been aggrieved by the German invasions and was determined not to see France attacked
again. He was strongly supported by his people who wanted Germany to be left in a state of
impotence.

3. DAVID LLOYD GEORGE OF GREAT BRITAIN

Lloyd George was a clever politician. He realized he could not ignore British public opinion.
Britain had also suffered badly during the war, with 750 000 killed and 1.5 million wounded.
The British public, which had just re-elected his government, wanted to ‘Hang the Kaiser’
and ‘Make Germany Pay’.

He was a mediator (was between the ideas of Clemenceau and Wilson). He did not want
Germany to be punished harshly but wanted a lenient punishment so that Germany will not
want revenge in future. Georges knew that Germany was a potential customer of the British
goods. He was keen for Germany and Britain to start trading again because before the war,
Germany had been Britain’s second largest trading partner. The British people might not like
it but the fact was that trade with Germany meant jobs. He wanted her to recover quickly to
purchase goods from Britain.

Despite all these different views the treaty of Versailles was signed in June 28th 1919
reluctantly by the two representatives of the German government. The Germans had not been
involved in drawing up of the treaty and just saw the proposals presented to them and told to
sign. They therefore referred to this as a ‘DIKTAT’ meaning a settlement imposed on them.

PARIS PEACE TREATIES

Terms of the Paris Peace Treaties were divided into two; namely,

1. Territorial terms ( those terms dealing with land)

2. Non- territorial terms ( those terms not dealing with land)

1. TREATY OF ST GERMAIN -DEALT WITH AUSTRIA

TERRITORIAL TERMS

•Bohemia and Moravia, the wealthy industrial provinces with a population of 10 million,
were lost from Austria to new state of Czechoslovakia.

•Dalmatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina was lost to Serbia, which, with Montenegro, now became
known as Yugoslavia.

•Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia was lost from Austria to new state of Yugoslavia.

•Austria was to lose Galacia to Poland and land to Italy.

•The union between Germany and Austria was forbidden.

NON TERRITORIAL TERMS

•Austria’s army was restricted to be 30 000 men only.

2. TREATY OF NEUILLY 1919- DEALT WITH BULGARIA.

TERRITORIAL TERMS

•Bulgaria was to lose lands to Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia.

• Bulgaria also lost its access to the Mediterranean.

NON TERRITORIAL TERMS

•Bulgaria was to limit its armed force to 20 000 men only.

•Bulgaria was also to pay £ 100 million in reparations.

3. TREATY OF TRIANON 1920-DEALT WITH HUNGARY

TERRITORIAL TERMS

•Hungary was to lose Transylvania to Romania

•Hungary was also to lose Slovakia and Ruthenia to Czechoslovakia.

•It was also to lose Slovenia and Croatia to Yugoslavia

•Hungary also lost its population of about three million who ended up in other states.

NON TERRITORIAL TERMS

•Hungary was due to pay reparations but its economy was weak hence never paid the
reparations.

4. TREATY OF SEVRES 1920-DEALT WITH TURKEY

TERRITORIAL TERMS

•Turkey was to lose Smyrna to Greece.

•Syria was taken from Turkey and given as Mandate which was under the French control

•Turkey was to lose countries of their former empire such as Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco as
they were now independent and under the British and France protection

•Turkey was to lose control of the straits running into the Black sea.

•Turkey was also to lose Palestine, Iraq and Transjordan to be the league’s mandates.

5. TREATY OF VERSAILLES DEALT WITH GERMANY.

TERRITORIAL TERMS OF THE VERSAILLES TREATY

Germany had to lose a lot of territories in Europe as follows;

Territory Lost to

Alsace-Lorraine France ( originally belonged to her)

Eupen, Moresnet, Malmedy Belgium

North Schleswig Denmark (initially hers before)

West Prussia, Posen Poland

Danzig To be a free city under the league of

nations administration
Memel
Lithuania
 France but administered by the league and
after 15 years the population will vote
Saar coalfields whether the area be given to France or
Germany

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania Set up as free independent states

Their union was forbidden (Anshluss)

Union between Germany and Austria

Taken away and became mandates under
the League of Nations supervision. Eg
Germany’s Africa colonies Namibia given to South Africa, Togo to
France, Tanganyika to Britain as mandates

NON TERRITORIAL TERMS

1. Reparations
 Germany had to pay a staggering compensation amount of 6,600 million Pounds to
France, Belgium and Britain for the damages caused during the war. This amount was
decided at the Versailles treaty but was later announced in 1921 and if the terms of the
treaty had not been later changed, Germany would have finished payment in 1984.
 Germany also had to give pensions to all widows and orphans as maintenance.
 She was also to pay Belgian war debt, that is, the sums of money borrowed by
Belgium for the war.
 Apart from that, Germany was also to pay an annual tribute of coal to France,
Belgium and Italy for ten years.

2. Disarmament

 The German army was to reduce to a total number of 100 000 men only.
 Conscription was abolished and soldiers had to volunteer to join the army.
 Germany was not allowed to own armoured vehicles, military submarines or aircraft
and was only allowed to own 6 battleships.
 The Rhineland was to remain a demilitarized zone. This means no German soldiers
were allowed into the Rhineland.

3. The War Guilt clause “Article 231”

Article 231 of the clause reads, ‘The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and
Germany accepts, the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss
and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have
been subjected as a consequences of war imposed upon them by the aggression of
Germany and her Allies”

This clause was simple but very harsh on Germany especially the last seventeen words.
Germany was forced to accept the responsibility for having caused the war and to be held
answerable to all damages and suffering of the war. This clause caused a lot of resentment
because the Germans believed did not start the war alone.

THE GERMAN REACTIONS TO THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES

The overall reaction of the Germans to the treaty was horror and outrage. They certainly did
not feel they had started the war. They did not even feel they had lost the war.

One of the non-territorial terms of the treaty of Versailles was guilt clause article 231. In this
term Germany was to accept the blame and responsibility for the war. The Germans therefore
hated this term as they felt blame should be shared.

The other non-territorial term was disarmament. Here the German army was to be reduced to
only 100000 men, conscription was abolished and Germany was not allowed to own armored
vehicles submarines and air crafts. She was to have only 6 battleships. In here the Germans
were very much upset by the disarmament terms because to them, the army was their pride
and terms were a blow to their pride. She was also left militarily weak. Furthermore they
were angry because it was only Germany who was to disarm despite Wilson’s fourth point of
14 points. Other powers did not disarm to the extent that Germany was to disarm.

The Germans felt that they were further insulted when they were not allowed to join the
League of Nations. The League of Nations was to be set up to preserve world peace and
promote self -determination. Germany was not allowed until she was seen by the Allied
powers to be behaving well. She felt that her treatment was not in keeping with Wilson’s
fourteenth point and in any case all countries should be allowed to disarm including
Germany.

There were as well reparations in the treaty and Germany was to pay a staggering amount of
$6,600 million to Britain, France and Belgium. The Germans hated this term very much as
they believed that this is such a huge amount that not even a rich country could afford to pay
and they wondered why Germany was expected to pay such a sum of money given that her
economy was also seriously affected by the war. This further weakened her economy.

Germany also lost a lot of territories to different countries. The Germans hated this loss of
land as it was a major blow to their economy and of course the Germans pride. They felt
insulted as when Germany was losing land, Britain and France were busy taking control of
German and Turkish territories in Africa and in the Middle East. Loss of land meant loss of
the economy.

WERE THE GERMAN OBJECTIONS TO THE TREATY OF VERSAILES

JUSTIFIED OR NOT?
 1. It was a dictated peace

The Germans were not allowed into the discussions at Versailles; they were simply presented
with the terms and told to sign. Although they were allowed to criticize it in writing, all their
criticisms were ignored except one. Some historians feel that the Germans were justified in
objecting because it would have been reasonable to allow them to join in the discussions.
This might have led to a toning down of some of the harsher terms.

2. Many provisions were not based on the 14 points

The Germans claimed that they had been promised terms based on Wilson’s 14 Points, that
many of the provisions were not based on the 14 Points, and were therefore a swindle. This is
probably not a valid objection: the 14 points had never been accepted as official by any of the
states involved, and the Germans themselves had ignored them in January 1918, when there
still seemed a chance of outright German victory.

3. Loss of territory in Europe

This included Alsace-Lorraine and especially West Prussia, which gave Poland access to the
sea. However, both were mentioned in the 14 points. Originally Upper Silesia, an industrial
region with a mixed population of Poles and Germans, was to be given to Poland, but this
was the one concession made to the German written objections: after a vote among the
population, Germany was allowed to keep about two-thirds of the area. In fact most of the
German losses could be justified on grounds of nationality.

4. The loss of Germany’s African colonies

The German’s probably had more grounds for objection to the loss of their African colonies,
which was hardly an “impartial adjustment”. The mandate system allowed Britain to take
over German East Africa (Tanganyika, now part of Tanzania) and parts of Togoland and the
Cameroons, France to take most of Togoland and the Cameroons, and South Africa to acquire
German South West Africa (now known as Namibia); but this was really a device by which
the Allies seized the colonies without actually admitting that they were being annexed.

5. The disarmament clauses were deeply resented

The Germans claimed that 100 000 troops were enough to keep law and order at a time of
political unrest. Perhaps the German objection was justified to some extent, though the
French desire for a weak Germany was understandable. The Germans became more
aggrieved later, as it became clear that none of the other powers intended to disarm, even
though Wilson’s Point 4 mentioned ‘all- round reduction of armaments’. However,
disarmament was impossible to enforce fully, because the Germans were determined to
exploit every loophole.

6. The ‘ War Guilt’ clause (Article 231)

The Germans objected to being saddled with the entire blame for the outbreak of war. There
are some grounds for objection here, because although later research seems to indicate
German’s guilt, it was hardly possible to arrive at that conclusion in the space of six weeks
during 1919, which is what the Special Commission on War Responsibility did. However, the
allies wanted the Germans to admit responsibility so that they would be liable to pay
reparations.

7. Reparations

Reparations were the final humiliation for the Germans. Though there could be little valid
objection to the general principle of reparations, many historians now agree that the actual
amount decided on was far too high at £6600 million. Some people thought so at the time,
including J.M. Keynes, who was an economic adviser to the British delegation at the
conference. He urged the Allies to take £2000 million, which he said was a more reasonable
amount which Germany would be able to afford. The figure of £6600 million enabled the
Germans to protest that it was impossible to pay, and they soon began to default (fail to pay)
on their annual installments. This caused resentment among the Allies, who were relying on
German cash to help them pay their own war debts to the USA.

THE IMPACT OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES ON THE GERMANS.

The treaty of Versailles tipped Germany into chaos. The German nation was divided into two
that is the right wing who blamed Fredrick Ebert for signing the treaty and the left wing who
supported Ebert. This obviously meant that the political set up of Germany was crippled
thereby leading to complex political instability.

The treaty again made the right wing to attempt a revolution which was however defeated by
a general strike then destroyed the essential services of power and transport. This mean the
economic aspect of Germany was paralyzed.

Due to high reparations that Germany was to pay Britain, France and Belgium, Germany fell
behind in payment and in 1923 French and Belgian troops entered the Ruhr and took what
was owed to them in the form of raw materials and goods. This meant that Germany lost her
goods and raw materials and obviously hunger and starvation hit the Germans as the
economy was crippled by the French and the Belgium actions.

The French and Belgian troop’s actions of taking the German raw materials and goods in
response to German’s failure to pay reparations forced the German government to order
workers to go on strike so that the French and Belgian troops will not have anything to take.
This created a problem as Germany had no goods to trade with and even no money to buy
goods with. With this, obviously the trading system of Germany was paralyzed in the
economic aspect. Starvation, poverty and hunger spread in Germany.

As the German government ordered its workers to strike in order to deal with Belgium and
France, the French reacted by harshly killing 100 workers and 100000 of them were expelled
from the region. The workers were denied their civil rights and more importantly Germany
did not have any goods to trade with making the economy to collapse. The German Nation
remained a poverty stricken one.

The worst was yet to come, due to high reparations Germany had to pay and of course due to
the fact that there were no goods for trade and no money. Germany tried to solve this problem
by printing extra worthless money. This created a major problem of hyper- inflation. With
this money in circulation, prices shot up, workers needed wheelbarrows to carry home their
wages. This was complete disaster in Germany. Hunger and starvation and poverty could not
spare the Germans. This was a real blow to the German economy.

Conclusion: The Germans naturally blamed these problems on the Versailles treaty. But the
truth is more complex. Some say French acted too harshly. Others say that the Germans
brought the problems on themselves by failing to pay reparations.

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Origins of the League of Nations

The League of Nations is often spoken as the brain child of the American president Woodrow
Wilson. It is important to note that although Wilson was certainly a great supporter of this
idea of an international organization of peace, the League was a result of the coming together
of similar suggestions by a number of world states men i.e. an organization that could solve
international problems without resorting to war, would help to achieve this.

However there were disagreements about what kind of organization it should be e.g. Wilson
wanted an organization that would be like a world parliament where representatives of all
nations could meet together regularly to decide on any matters that affect them all.