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To what extent was Germany responsible for the outbreak of the First World War

Kurs

Historia för ämneslärare 1-30hp (LH1K17)

80 Dokument
Studenter delade 80 dokument i den här kursen
Akademiskt år: 2016/2017
Uppladdad av:
MR
MALIN JOSEPHINE RENVERT
Jönköping University
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To what extent was Germany responsible for the outbreak of the First World War? In many ways Germany was responsible for the outbreak of the First World War. They made several strategic errors such as the Schlieffen Plan and the Blank Cheque and the fact that Germany held such an aggressive foreign policy and several other things such as these. Although it seemed as Germany was planning the war, there were other factors that also affected the outbreak of the war and the blame can not therefore be put solely on Germany. The mistakes Germany made strategically during the First World War was essential for the start of the war. One of the errors made was the Schlieffen Plan. It was a plan made in 1897, it was old and outdated. It was based on the theory that Germany would be at war with France and Russia at the same time. It built on the belief that by the time war was in sight, France would be weak and quickly defeated and also that though Russia was stronger, they would take a lot of time to mobilize their army. This plan backfired, because when Russia mobilized its army, France didn’t. This led to Germany having to make up a reason to declare war on France and instead of beating France first and then dealing with Russia, Germany now had them both of them to deal with. The Germans also decided to demand passage through neutral Belgium on August 1914. Belgium refused to accept the demand and Britain declared war on Germany as they had promised to give their support to Belgium. But this was not the only strategic error made, another dire mistake had been done a few years later. The ‘Blank Cheque’ was a symbolic check that Germany offered to Austria as they promised that Austria would have the support of Germany no matter what they did or what policies they choose. This was strengthened by the fact that Germany had been backing up Austria since the Bosnian crisis in 1908 and Austria knew she could count on Germany. During this crisis, the German Kaiser wrote a letter to the Russians where he demanded that Russia would accept the Austrian annexation of Bosnia. This blank cheque was ushered after the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne, archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serb extremist. This seems in retrospect to have been the work of Germany. Without this cheque, Austria would most likely not have dared to declare war on Serbia. The offer of German support persuaded Austria to send an ultimatum to Serbia which was expected to be refused, which gave another justification for war. When Serbia refused the ultimatum, Austria declared war. This move made by Germany was just another part of their Weltpolitik. The Weltpolitik was an aggressive Germany foreign policy which changed under Kaiser Wilhelm who had strong feelings that Germany should actively pursue a policy which would enhance its status as a world power. The Kaiser wanted an empire and a world role. Historian Fritz Fischer argued that the German foreign policy represented the first step towards world status which would involve colonial and European expansion. In other words, he saw it as the first step toward war. Other historians such as Wehler and Bergman emphasize the extent to which Weltpolitik was driven by domestic concerns and was intended to distract the people away from internal disputes. These policies did not only cause a naval build up but also gave rise to militarism in the country. The prospect of war seemed to become more important, something which became obvious at the Potsdam War council. In December 1912 a meeting took place between Kaiser Wilhelm and his senior military and naval advisers. Although war was clearly discussed and it seemed as if it was regarded to be more fitting should it be in 1914 than in 1912. Because of this, historians disagree about whether or not Germany was actually planning a war, or merely preparing for the possible outbreak of one. Historian Fischer, mentioned above, has shown how German generals and the Kaiser were prepared to declare war on Britain without so much as consulting the government. But to determine if this was really true, one has to investigate why Germany should want a war in the first place and this can be done through domestic considerations and the Fisher thesis. Germany was feeling threatened by Russian armament and the economic and social development in the country created an unbalanced political system. Russia had been rearming since the Russo-Japanese war in 1904/1905 and the leaders of Germany felt as if it might be better to fight Russia rather “sooner than later”. Also, the unbalanced system gave junkers and generals considerable influence in Wilhelm’s Germany and the militarism was on the rise. But the growth of socialism challenged the conservative political power and German leaders feared revolution. Since Germany had been united through war before there was a known tradition that the country could be united through nationalism. According to Fischer the Kaiser deliberately chose war to escape domestic problems and was therefore responsible for World War 1. The events that followed strengthened this thesis. Germany went through Belgium when she attacked France, following the Schlieffen Plan. Despite being aware that Britain would protect Belgium, they still chose to pass through there which dragged Britain into the war as well and it was also Germany herself who chose to declare war on both France and Russia first 1914. The September Programme, the plan for territorial expansion of Germany also showed the German war plans and it outlined aggressive growth in both the East and West. This is one of the strongest proofs that Germany was indeed responsible for the war and that they planned it, but there were also other aspects that had little to do with Germany that must also be considered in a discussion of war guilt. There were some factors in the other countries involved in the First World War that are also contributors to the start of the war. The industrialization led to tensions in many countries. New groups which had not before had much power now wanted it and this led to domestic tensions. The industrialization also led to international balance of power. The power vacuum in the Balkans that was caused by the Ottoman Empire also led to tensions. The Balkan nationalism was also very strong, as it was in many other places as well. In Russia PanSlavism (the idea to unite all Slavs) had a lot of support and France wanted revenge for the 1870/1871 defeat. So in that way, nationalism and imperialism in other countries than Germany were also partly to blame for the start of the war. Another thing that Germany cannot be fully blamed for was that Austria-Hungary wanted a war with Serbia no matter the consequences and Germany had promised to aid Austria in whatever they needed. The alliance between them and other powers such as Britain and Belgium affected the start of the war a lot and without these alliances it is possible that the war might not have started when it did and as it did. This also led sort of to that the race of mobilization of troops went out of control. So these aspects are also to blame for the outbreak of war. So, there is overwhelming evidence for that Germany was responsible for the war. Although it cannot be for certain that Germany was indeed planning the war, it is clear that they were at least readying themselves for one and prepared accordingly. It is also true that a war was welcome to the leaders of Germany as it might help bring back feelings of nationalism among

Var det här dokumentet användbart?

To what extent was Germany responsible for the outbreak of the First World War

Kurs: Historia för ämneslärare 1-30hp (LH1K17)

80 Dokument
Studenter delade 80 dokument i den här kursen

Universitet: Jönköping University

Var det här dokumentet användbart?
To what extent was Germany responsible for the outbreak of the First
World War?
In many ways Germany was responsible for the outbreak of the First World War. They made
several strategic errors such as the Schlieffen Plan and the Blank Cheque and the fact that
Germany held such an aggressive foreign policy and several other things such as these.
Although it seemed as Germany was planning the war, there were other factors that also
affected the outbreak of the war and the blame can not therefore be put solely on Germany.
The mistakes Germany made strategically during the First World War was essential for the
start of the war. One of the errors made was the Schlieffen Plan. It was a plan made in 1897, it
was old and outdated. It was based on the theory that Germany would be at war with France
and Russia at the same time. It built on the belief that by the time war was in sight, France
would be weak and quickly defeated and also that though Russia was stronger, they would
take a lot of time to mobilize their army. This plan backfired, because when Russia mobilized
its army, France didn’t. This led to Germany having to make up a reason to declare war on
France and instead of beating France first and then dealing with Russia, Germany now had
them both of them to deal with. The Germans also decided to demand passage through neutral
Belgium on August 1914. Belgium refused to accept the demand and Britain declared war on
Germany as they had promised to give their support to Belgium. But this was not the only
strategic error made, another dire mistake had been done a few years later.
The ‘Blank Cheque’ was a symbolic check that Germany offered to Austria as they promised
that Austria would have the support of Germany no matter what they did or what policies they
choose. This was strengthened by the fact that Germany had been backing up Austria since
the Bosnian crisis in 1908 and Austria knew she could count on Germany. During this crisis,
the German Kaiser wrote a letter to the Russians where he demanded that Russia would
accept the Austrian annexation of Bosnia. This blank cheque was ushered after the
assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne, archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serb extremist.
This seems in retrospect to have been the work of Germany. Without this cheque, Austria
would most likely not have dared to declare war on Serbia. The offer of German support
persuaded Austria to send an ultimatum to Serbia which was expected to be refused, which
gave another justification for war. When Serbia refused the ultimatum, Austria declared war.
This move made by Germany was just another part of their Weltpolitik.
The Weltpolitik was an aggressive Germany foreign policy which changed under Kaiser
Wilhelm who had strong feelings that Germany should actively pursue a policy which would
enhance its status as a world power. The Kaiser wanted an empire and a world role. Historian
Fritz Fischer argued that the German foreign policy represented the first step towards world
status which would involve colonial and European expansion. In other words, he saw it as the
first step toward war. Other historians such as Wehler and Bergman emphasize the extent to
which Weltpolitik was driven by domestic concerns and was intended to distract the people
away from internal disputes. These policies did not only cause a naval build up but also gave
rise to militarism in the country. The prospect of war seemed to become more important,
something which became obvious at the Potsdam War council.
In December 1912 a meeting took place between Kaiser Wilhelm and his senior military and
naval advisers. Although war was clearly discussed and it seemed as if it was regarded to be

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