Evaluate the extent to which long-term factors contributed to the outbreak of World War I from 1850

to 1914.

Document 1

Source: Telegram sent by German Kaiser Wilhelm II to Boer leader Paul Kruger, January 1896.

“His Majesty the German Emperor congratulates you cordially upon the splendid resistance
offered by the Burghers of the South African Republic to the armed invasion of British subjects,
and expresses his sincere hope that under your wise guidance this heroic struggle for just aims may
soon be crowned with success. The German Emperor is convinced that his earnest wish will be
heartily shared by the President and the Government of the South African Republic, and he trusts
that the friendly relations which happily exist between the two Governments will continue
unimpaired.”

Document 2

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 Document 3

Source: Wilhelm II, emperor of Germany, telegram to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, July 31, 1914.

“Just yesterday, you sent me a telegram appealing to my friendship and called upon me to act as an
intermediary and help resolve the conflict between you and the Austro-Hungarian government. But
I understand that, even as you did that, your troops were being mobilized against Austria-Hungary.
This makes my attempts at meditation almost pointless. Nonetheless, I continued in my efforts
today.

I now receive fresh news of even more serious Russian preparations for war on my Eastern
frontier. Responsibility for the safety of my empire forces me to take defensive and preventive
measures. In my endeavors to maintain the peace of the world, I have gone to the utmost limit
possible. The responsibility for the disaster that is now threatening the civilized world will not be
laid at my door. At this moment, you still have the power to avert war. Nobody is threatening the
honor or power of Russia, and you can well afford to await the result of my mediation. My
friendship for you and your empire, transmitted to me by my grandfather on his deathbed, has
always been sacred to me and I have often supported Russia in the past when she was in serious
trouble.”

Document 4

Source: Excerpt from British diplomat Sir Edward Grey's memorandum on British neutrality in a
European war, 1914.

"The one country [Germany] whose action will make a war probable is Germany. Her action in
recent years, and especially during the last few weeks, is increasingly aggressive and menacing
towards her neighbors... No doubt Germany feels encircled and isolated, and no doubt she feels
that her rivals would like to see her strength curtailed... It is only reasonable to expect that, if her
ambition is further extended, her neighbors will combine to oppose her."

Document 5

Source: Sir Alfred Knox on the state of the Russian army, 1921.

“The war in Manchuria [the Russo-Japanese War] had revealed many shortcomings in the officer
class… The military administration did what it could to combat the evil by a series of measures for
improving the position of the officer and increasing his professional qualifications.

Previous to the war, observers had reason to hope that the rank and file of the Russian army might
possess certain valuable qualities non-existent in other armies… Owing to the rigour of the climate
and the lower general civilisation, the Russian soldier was more fitted to stand privation [and]
more fitted to stand nerve strain than the men of Central Europe. The relations between officers
and men were far better than in Germany.”

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 Document 6

Source: Chart depicts the amount, in USD, European countries spent on armaments between 1870
and 1914. *The figures are in billions of dollars.

PER CAPITA EXPENDITURES OF THE GREAT POWERS ON ARMAMENTS

1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1914

Great Britain $3.54 $3.46 $3.84 $12.60 $7.29 $8.23

France $2.92 $4.02 $4.66 $5.21 $6.47 $7.07

Russia $1.28 $1.50 $1.26 $1.44 $2.32 $3.44

Germany $1.28 $2.16 $2.80 $4.06 $4.06 $8.19

Austria-Hungary $1.08 $1.70 $1.50 $1.46 $1.68 $3.10

Italy $1.38 $1.74 $2.52 $2.34 $3.36 $3.16

Document 7

Source: Excerpt from a speech given by Count Brockdorff-Rantzau, a leader of the German
delegation at the Versailles Peace Conferences, 1919.

“We energetically deny that Germany and its people, who were convinced that they fought a war of
defense, were alone guilty. No one would want to assert that the disaster began only at that
disastrous moment when the successor of Austria-Hungary fell [a] victim to murderous hands. In
the last fifty years, the imperialism of all European states has chronically poisoned international
relations. Policies of retaliation, policies of expansion, and disregard for the right of the peoples to
determine their own destiny, have contributed to the… European malady which came to a crisis in
the Great War.”

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