1 / 12

The Declaration of War

The Declaration of War. ‘What are we really fighting for?’ . Treaties and Alliances. Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia Germany held previous French territories Germany knew they were militarily superior to French

signa
Download Presentation

The Declaration of War

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Declaration of War ‘What are we really fighting for?’

  2. Treaties and Alliances Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia Germany held previous French territories Germany knew they were militarily superior to French Believed they would only be invaded if France had one or more powerful allies Great Britain and France traditional rivals Germany believed France and UK would never become allies

  3. Triple Alliance cont… • Germany believed that France would need Russia or Austria – Hungary • German secured an informal agreement with Russia and Austria – Hungary in 1872 to assist each other in case of war…making the Three Emperor’s League • Became Two Emperor’s League know as the Dual Alliance • In 1881 France seized Tunisia (Northern Africa) angering Italy • Germany convinced Italy to join the Dual Alliance making it the Triple Alliance

  4. Reactions To The Triple Alliance • Caused great concern for Russia and France • Russia and France created the Franco – Russian Alliance • Franco – Russian Alliance promised military assistance if either country invaded by members of the Triple Alliance • Mobilisation of troops if the other did so • Dual Entente

  5. Britain Joins the Picture • Britain begins to see Germany as a threat • Believes that they need to expand into Asia to curtail German expansion there • 1902 Anglo – Japanese Alliance • Double benefit as Britain was able to contain Russian expansion • Japan saw it as a sign of their being a ‘major power’

  6. Britain and France Unite • 1904 British and French Government sign the Entente Cordial • Spheres of influence in each others colonies (mainly Egypt and Morocco

  7. Morocco Crisis • 1905 Crisis: Germany called for Moroccan Independence and established a international conference to discuss this. • Britain backed French right to posses Morocco ensuring Germany’s plan to cause a rift between Britain and France backfired • 1911 Crisis: Civil unrest, sultan calls for French military assistance, Germany mistrusted this approach and sent a battleship to Morocco and demanded African territories • Britain assisted France through direct threats of war • Germany felt that the Triple Entente was isolating and threatening them

  8. Triple Entente • With the success of the Cordiale Entente France acted as an intermediary between Britain and Russia • This was successful

  9. Germany and Britain • Tensions continue to simmer • Britain feel provoked by Germany’s desire to create a navy of comparable size

  10. …Meanwhile • Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russian Empire already strained relationships pushed even further over the still disputed territories Bosnia Herzegovina. (Balkans) • Serbia organised a coalition of Balkan states intent on attacking Turkey which they did

  11. …and finally the shot that heralded so many more… • Austrian royalty Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife visit Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) • Both assassinated by Serbian Nationalist ‘Black Hand’ • No proof of Serbian involvement • However, Austria felt the need for revenge • Issued a list of 10 demands they knew would not be met • Austria started mobilising its troops, and requested German assistance • Serbia met 9/10 demands • Austria not satisfied and declared war on Serbia on 28/6

More Related