TREATY of LONDON

1. TREATY of LONDON In 1839, Britain and Germany both signed a treaty guaranteeing the neutrality of Belgium.

2. Franco-Prussian War Two very important things came out of the Franco-Prussian war: The creation of the state of Germany. A Germany-French rivalry, due in large part to Germany�s annexation of the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine.

3. Bismarck is Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck becomes chancellor of the new German state. He is a brilliant strategist who starts the alliance system that would divide Europe prior to WWI.

4. Wilhelm II becomes Emperor Wilhelm was jealous of Bismarck�s power and forced him to resign. Whereas Bismarck had been a brilliant statesman, Wilhelm II was actually not very smart.

5. A Difference in Policy Bismarck wanted to always be friends with Russia to avoid having to fight a war on two fronts. Wilhelm II was not afraid of Russia and insulted them. Bismarck did not want Germany to be a naval power. Wilhelm II wanted to build a strong navy.

6. The Results Wilhelm II�s treatment of the Russians drives them into an alliance with France. Germany is now has hostile powers to its East and to its West!! Wilhelm�s desire to build a strong navy puts Germany into conflict with Britain. Eventually BRITAIN, FRANCE AND RUSSIA form the TRIPLE ENTENTE

7. Germany allies with Austria-Hungary Wilhelm II chooses an alliance with Austria-Hungary over an alliance with Russia. Germany and Austria for the DUAL ALLIANCE. Italy is invited into the alliance, which makes it a TRIPLE ALLIANCE

8. Trouble in the Balkans The Balkans had been controlled for centuries by the OTTOMAN EMPIRE. The Ottoman Empire was in decline, which left a POWER VACUUM IN THE BALKANS Austria-Hungary made a move to fill this vacuum by ANNEXING BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

9. Unfortunately� Bosnia-Herzegovina was full of ethnic Serbians and was right next door to SERBIA. Serbia wanted all of the Serbs to be united in one country. This was a threat to Austria-Hungary because if the Serbs got their own country, all of the other nationalities in the Austro-Hungarian empire would want their own too.

10. Archduke Franz Ferdinand The Archduke of Austria-Hungary went down to Bosnia-Herzegovina for a vacation. He was shot by an ethnic Serb living in Bosnia-Herzegovina (remember, there were a lot of Serbs in Bosnia) The Austro-Hungarians blamed the shooting on Serbia and used it as an excuse to declare war!

11. Russia Gets Involved! Austria-Hungary invades SERBIA! GERMANY gives approval to the invasion and supports Austria-Hungary, hoping that its strong support will make the Russians stay out of the conflict. The Russians are ethnic cousins of the Serbians (both are Slavic nations) They mobilize their army to get ready to aid Serbia

12. Russian mobilization provokes Germany Russia mobilizes. Germany knows that France will support Russia. To avoid having to fight a war on two fronts, they put the SCHLIEFFEN PLAN into effect. The Schlieffen plan called for Germany to use 90% of its troops in the West to knock out France quickly, and then turning East to take care of the Russians.

13. Schlieffen Plan Cont�d To do this, they would avoid the heavily-fortified French-German border by attacking through Belgium. This violates the TREATY OF LONDON, giving Britain an excuse to declare war on Germany!!!

14. The Results Due to an incompetent General (a buddy of the Kaiser), fierce Belgian resistance and a quick response by the British the Schlieffen plan fails. This leads to a stalemate on the Western Front where millions of lives were lost for almost no gain of territory. THE GREAT WAR became a war of ATTRITION where both sides wear each other down until one is forced to give up.

15. THE U.S. Gets Involved Germany, in an effort to knock Britain out of the war, resorted to UNRESTRICTED SUBMARINE WARFARE. This made Germany unpopular in the U.S., especially after the well-publicized sinking of THE LUSITANIA. The Lusitania was a British-flagged ship carrying ammunition which made it a legitimate military target. Nevertheless, over 100 Americans were sailing on the Lusitania when it was attacked, infuriating the American public.

16. The Zimmerman Telegram Germany decided to escalate its submarine warfare in 1917. They knew this was likely to bring the U.S. into the war so they sent a telegram to Mexico. This was the Zimmerman Telegram which promised Mexico money and lost territory if they would declare war on the U.S. The British intercepted the telegram, and gave it to the U.S. This provoked major outrage and led to us declaring war on Germany.

17. U.S. Involvement Over 3,000,000 U.S. troops were to serve in WWI, helping to break the stalemate in the West and end the war.