- 27 Oct 2003 02:08
#231709
You sure opened a can of worms here Mr Bill.
You need to view the situation on two different layers. On the surface layer, you had Gavrillo Princip, a terrorist (and not representing Serbia), who assasinated the heir to the Austo/Hungarian throne Franz Ferdinand. Austria responded by demanding submission from Serbia. Serbia hesitated, and Austria declared war on Serbia. Germany's role was to advise Austria to take whatever measures they felt neccessary against Serbia. Russia, an ethnic ally of Serbia mobilised its army to prepare to help defend Serbia. Germany and Austria in turn declared war on Russia. Fearing a war on two fronts, Germany declared war on France and invaded the low countries. Britain wavered, but declared war on Germany when Germany invaded Belgium, who Britain had promised to protect.
The next layer that needs to be viewed digs much deeper, and puts all of this into context.
Austria
The Austro/Hungarian was imploding within as more and more of its multicultural subjects revolted. The actions of Princip was just the end of a long line of attacks on Austria from within. Serbia had in fact recently gained independence from Austria, and Austria was itching for an excuse to reign her back into the empire. This explains Austria's impossible ultimatum to Serbia - since she wanted to attack Serbia anyway.
Germany
Germany became a nation in 1871 when it defeated France and annexed the territories of Alsace and Loraine. To ensure France had no possibility of regaining these territories, the great statesman Bismark worked to isolate France diplomatically. He secured alliances and assurances from all the major powers. When Kaiser Wilhelm II came to power, he did not have the patience for Bismark's diplomatic tip toeing around. He wanted to make Germany into a colonial power that rivalled Britain and France. This is what caused the arms race and the build up of two seperate power blocks. So in a sense it was Germany who initiated the tension, but from another perspective it was the imperialism of Britain and France which created this situation in the first place (read AJP Taylor for more on this theory). The Kaiser succeeded in undoing the work of Bismark in isolating France, and by the eve of the war there emerged two power blocks: the triple entente: Britain France and Russia and the axis powers, or central alliance: Germany Austria and Italy.
France
France was humiliatingly defeated by Germany in 1871, and their two territories Alsace and Lorraine were annexed by Germany. From that moment on, France had a burning desire to declare war on Germany and reclaim its territory. France succeeded in establishing an alliance with Russia, thereby surrounding Germany. Eventually she was able to establish an alliance with Britain. France had a large colonial empire, mostly in Africa, but was weak militarily.
Britain
Britain was the undisputed world power, and had the largest empire the world has ever seen. Its navy was the most superior and by far the largest. During its time at the top, Britain saw its role as a balancing act: to maintain stability in Europe and not allow one country to establish any sort of hegemony. Thus we can then understand Britains reaction to Germany's arms build up - especially its build up of its navy.
Russia
Russia was stuck in a feudal system that had been abandoned by most of Europe for hundreds of years. The last tzar to rule Russia, Nicholas II, was probably the most reactionary of all the tzars. Nicholas's policies were deeply influenced by religion: he was appointed by God to keep Russia great and Russian people needed him to rule them. Nicholas also felt a religious duty to protect ethnic allies of Russia, including Serbia. Nicholas's decision to protect Serbia was consistent with his loyalty to his people, as well as his determination to keep Russia secure, and not let it be known that she can be bullied. Its probable that Nicholas didn't believe Germany would react to Russia's mobilization, it was an issue between Russia and Austria. And besides, the tzar and the Kaiser were cousins, Nicholas believed they had an understanding.
The Schlieffen Plan
From very early on, many Germans predicted that a war with Germany would eventuate. It was also obvious that Germany would have enemies both from the east (Russia) and west (France). To prevent a war on two fronts, Mr Schlieffen came up with a sophisticated plan. Germany would act defensively against the Russians, and mount a quick and decisive attack on France through the low countries. This was the quickest path to Paris, and it was assumed that once Paris fell, the rest of France would fall. After France's fall, Germany would transfer its troops to the eastern front to defeat the eastern threat. Therefore, the critical point about this is that in the event of war, regardless of who starts it, or where it starts, Germany was committed to attacking France first This explains Germany's seemingly unrelated declaration of war against France when war started between Russia and Germany.