Was the First World War caused by an internal crisis in Germany?

The present essay deals with the question whether an internal political or social crisis in Imperial Germany sparked the beginning of what has come to be called The Great War. But firstly the uncertainty of whether Germany brought in the war in the first place must be dealt with. The question of Germany's responsibility in igniting the First World War is one that has raised many differences of opinion among historians who have attempted to address the issue. Holger H. Herwig, in his quest to answer this question has concluded: ...The greatest measure of responsibility, however, remains with Germany. Planners, both civilian and military, were all too eager to resolve their perceived diplomatic encirclement by use of force - "Now or never," as Kaiser Wilhelm II put it.1 It is a well know fact that the German military commanders of the time and many of the politicians eagerly wanted to ensure their countrys security (both economic and military) and obtain for Germany the status of world power. The only conflict between the military faction and the political leaders was in terms of how to proceed. The political wing wanted to make sure that an eventual war would only be fought a local scale. Their plan was one of patience, to fight one adversary at a time starting with Tsarist Russia. On the other side, the military sought to eliminate all their rivals as long as the Germany had military superiority in Europe; the German war machine may not have been the largest but it was the best equipped and trained in Europe so hence the German confidence. Otherwise both the ruling class and the military commander displayed the same aggressive stance towards the continental public. It cannot be said that one side would not try to come up with a different solution to the Reichs encirclement either than war; the only difference was the way they would precede with implementing it. But how did it Germany come into a situation in which the only outcome would be a brutal war? To answer this we must go back in time and analyse the world at the beginning of the twentieth century. Germanys unification of 1870-1871 brought a new competitive and aggressive country right in the heart of Europe and the balance of power was quickly being altered. Although having at his disposal an impressive arsenal, the first Chancellor of the young Germany, Otto von Bismarck, realised that however great German power would be it would not be able to fight a coalition against it, the most relevant example being that of Napoleonic France at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Bismarck concentrated on building up the Second Reichs industry and institutions and restoring the Concert of Europe, that way protecting his newly born empire. He then turned to ensuring security through a series of successive alliances with Austria and Russia, two great powers which were disputing their supremacy in the Balkan region. However by pressuring Russia he succeeded in his later years in office only to send St Petersburg int o the arms of France2. The only countries that remained allied with Germany were Austria and Italy which formed Triple Alliance. On the other side Russia signed a defensive treaty with France in 1894. It was 1897 that Germany would begin to show signs of aggression when the young and unstable emperor of Germany launched a new foreign policy entitled Weltpolitik3. It was a policy mainly aimed at China and the acquisition of colonies. It later turned out to be a disorganised trust for military power and political influence with no precise aim. It often meant that when a power gained something Germany would demand compensation. The Reich soon embarked into economic gambles, such as building a railway from Berlin to Bagdad, which would clash with British interests in the region. Basically Germany would interfere in most of the other great powers affairs in the next decade having confidence that no single state would risk a confrontation. To German dismay in 1904 the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale was formed putting an end to hundreds of years of war between the two states and beginning an era of cooperation.
1 2

Herwig, H. H., The Outbreak of World War I, 1991 Marks, Sally, The Ebbiding of European Ascendacy: An International History of the World 1914-1945, 2002 3 German for World policy

Between 1895 and 1905 imperialistic expansion reached its climax. This colonial rivalry had many implications. The colonial race led to the straining of relationships among the European nations. All the European powers except Austria and Russia had colonies in Africa, a natural consequence of which was many clashes between France, Britain, Germany and Italy. As examples, France rivalled with Germany over Morocco and with Italy over Tunis. France and Britain nearly came to war over their rivalry in the Sudan in 1898. A result of the colonial rivalry was an intensification of the arms race. The tensions and rivalries among the European nations induced them into thinking that their interests would be vitally at stake unless they were well capable of militarily dealing with their rivals. This mode of thinking saw a highly escalated arms race from 1871 onwards. 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. From 1910 to 1914 France increased her defence 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. The main naval rivals in the region were Britain and Germany. Under Admiral Tirpitz, State Secretary of the Imperial Naval Office from 1897, Britain began a long term ship building plan. On the other hand, the German Navy Law of 1898 increased the German battleships from nine cruisers to twelve, followed by a new law in 1900 which doubled the German battle fleet. In the meantime, Britain produced her first Dreadnought. Dreadnoughts were large, fast and heavily armed battleships with twelve inch guns. They set a new standard in naval armaments with nothing to rival them. The intensity of the naval race is reflected by the fact that between 1909 and 1911 Germany built nine Dreadnoughts while Britain completed 18 Dreadnoughts. As Britain built new naval bases for the Dreadnoughts in northern Scotland in 1913, Germany widened the Kiel Canal to allow the easy passage of her Dreadnoughts from the Baltic to the North Sea. As a result of the arms race, all the European powers were prepared for a war by 1914. Colonial rivalry also led to formulation of the system of alliances. The feelings of insecurity lead to the countries in Europe seeking allies through signing treaties and pacts. Often, these treaties contained promises of support in case of military aggression against any one of the nations. The treaties and alliances between the European nations were many, including Dreikaiserbund, Dual Alliance, Second Dreikaiserbund, Triple Alliance, Reinsurance Treaty, Franco-Russian Alliance, Entente Cordiale and Anglo-Russian Entente. The alliances lead to the emergence of two main camps in Europe. Italy turned to Germany and Austria as allies when she lost Tunis to France in 1881. Due to their mutual fear of Germany's expansionist activities in the Balkans, Russia and Britain patched up their differences and formed an entente in 1907. The aggressive attitude of Germany in both the first and second Moroccan crises also gave rise to closeness between Russia, France and Britain after 1907. The alliances were originally strictly defensive but by 1910, many alliances had changed their nature. The Austro-German alliance of 1879 was an alliance that could clearly be considered aggressive. After the Bosnian crisis in 1909, the German government promised to give military aid to Austria-Hungary, if Austria invaded Serbia and Russia intervened on behalf of the latter. The system of alliances meant that even a relatively small conflict could escalate into a major war, as the alliances would force other nations to participate in the conflict. The alliances were also made in secret, which lead to an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust amongst the nations. From 1890 onwards many economic conflicts arose between Germany and Britain. Germany had been experiencing a period of rapid industrialisation and growth in economy since 1871. By 1890, German products were competing with British manufacturers globally and German merchant ships threatened Britain's carrying trade. Germany also had economic conflicts with France. The provinces of Alsace and Lorraine that France lost to Germany in 1870 were both coal producing provinces. From 1871 onwards, France had to import coal from other countries. This lead to France having compete with Germany over Morocco, as Morocco was rich in resources. Though the Russian economy was by no means among the stronger ones, but she stilled rivalled 2

with Germany and Austria over commercial privileges in the Balkans. Russia hoped to control the area because half of her exports passed through it. On the other hand, Germany began to build a railway in the area as early as 1888. Austria regarded the area as a field for profitable investment and as a big market for her manufactured goods. Due to the weakness of the Russian exporting capacity and the low strength of her economy, her economic conflict with Germany and Austria was not as intense as Germany had with Britain or France. For the more developed nations, economic rivalries undoubtedly played a considerable part in creating international tensions in the four decades preceding the First World War. On June 28, 1914, a Serb nationalist in the Bosnian town of Sarajevo murdered the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Austrian government, eager to expand in the Balkans and having secured unlimited German support on the issue, accused the Serbian government of having instigated the assassination. On July 23 1914 Austria issued an ultimatum to Serbia demanding a virtual protectorate over Serbia. Serbia refused to meet with one of the demands. A hasty and threatened Austro-Hungary declared the Serbian response to be unsatisfactory. Refusing to submit the disputed terms to international arbitration, Austria-Hungary, on July 28, 1914, declared war on Serbia. The next day Austrian artillery bombarded Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The Serbian ally, Russia, learnt of the ultimatum on July 24. On July 26 the Tsar reassured the Serbian crown prince that "Russia will in no case be indifferent to the fate of Serbia." However Russia did not order an immediate mobilisation of its armed forces, the tsar having been persuaded only on the 31st to mobilise his forces by his commanders. On the 1st of August, after having completed negotiations and exchanged information with Britain and France for a few days, Germany declared war unprovoked on Russia. Later the same day German officials asked the French government would remain neutral and if they wish to do so they must release their border forts into German custody. The following day, the 2nd of August, Germany delivered a 12-hour ultimatum to Belgium demanding the transit of German troops through this country, in violation to the 1839 treaties concerning the neutrality of this country. The next day Brussels denied the German request and the German response was to declare war on France. On the same day, the 3rd, Italy decided that it would maintain neutrality in the war as the treaty it was in with Germany and Austro-Hungary was purely defensive and it clearly concluded that the obvious aggressors in this war were in fact Austria and Germany. On the other hand, on the same day the Central Powers4 gained a new ally, the Ottoman Empire which meant that they would get more support for their cause in the East, fighting Russia. A new ally and a new front meant less strain on resources in the East and that lead to more forces concentrated in fighting France. On the 4th Germany invaded Belgium and thus at midnight Britain declared war on Germany bringing the war to a new level, a global one, as the British Empire stretched across all continents. Two days later the Habsburg Empire declared war on Russia and following the Entente pact France and Britain declare war on the Habsburgs on the 12th of August. At that moment what had started for many as a possible Third Balkan War became the first global war in human history. As the question of what country was to a higher degree responsible for dragging the world into a violent four year war, the initial question posed in the essay remains: was the First World War caused by an internal crisis in Germany? Having previously presented the main facts of the coming of the war and the actions of Germanys leaders, I believe that there was no crisis within Germany at the time. The Second Reichs political class, military leaders and the Kaiser were homogenous in one thought: a war was inevitable and Germany must strike first if it has any chance of being victorious in such a clash. When Germany should go to war was the most heatedly in the country however. The Chancellor of the time and the political class considered that Germany should take a slow approach towards its goal fighting its enemies one at a time in order to localise the war. The military commanders and the Kaiser believed that swift action was needed as Germany would soon no longer have superiority. The military class and the emperor made their assumptions on the premises of the 1905 Schliffen plan which involved a thrust through neutral Belgium in order
4

Another name used for the Triple Alliance

to outflank and overwhelm France. This plan would mean that perfect timing would be necessary and that the Germans were on a tight schedule. So as we see Germany was prepared to go to war and prepared one step at a time throughout a decade, some may say two. However if we trace the actions of each major power in Europe we can observe that all leaders committed serious mistakes in handling the challenges. All countries reacted to the others moves without analysing the situation in depth. We cannot conclude that it was Germany, or the fact that its leaders might have disagreed on strategy, that started the Great War. The fact remains that all leaders of the time share the blame as they were impotent in finding a compromise solution which would appease all sides.

BLU TEODORA-GABRIELA ANUL I, GRUPA 116 SPECIALIZAREA CARTOGRAFIE