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Europe prior to WWI-including part I of The Guns of August. Edward VII. First King of England in the 20th Century Died in 1910-his funeral opened The Guns of August Oldest son of Queen Victoria Married to Alexandra of Denmark Mostly peaceful reign (save the Boer Wars-in South Africa).
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Edward VII • First King of England in the 20th Century • Died in 1910-his funeral opened The Guns of August • Oldest son of Queen Victoria • Married to Alexandra of Denmark • Mostly peaceful reign (save the Boer Wars-in South Africa). • Very focused on military and foreign affairs
Edward VII-Uncle to Europe • The German Emperor Wilhelm II-nephew • Tsar Nicholas II of Russia-nephew • Grand Duke Ernest Louis of Hesse-nephew • Duke Charles Edward of Saxe-Coburg-nephew • Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain-neice • Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden-neice • Crown Princess Marie of Romania-neice • Crown Princess Sophia of Greece-neice • Empress Alexandra of Russia-neice • King Haakon VII of Norway was both his nephew by marriage and his son-in-law
Edward VII-Uncle to Europe Continued… • King George I of Greece-brother-in law • King Frederick VIII of Denmark-brother-in-law • King Albert I of Belgium-cousin • King Charles I and King Manuel II of Portugal-cousin • Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria-cousin • Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands-cousin • Prince Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick-cousin
Wilhelm II, German Emperor/King of Prussia • Ruled from 1888 to 1918 • Forced Otto van Bismarck to resign as Chancellor and also got rid of his foreign policies. • Ultimate goal was to reclaim Germany’s “place in the sun”.
George V • The “new” king of England • Ruled from 1910-1936 • Collected stamps and smoked a lot • WWI took a toll on his health
Tsar Nicholas II • Last emperor of Russia • Married to Alexandra, Queen Victoria’s granddaughter • Saw Germany as the main enemy-even though the Kaiser was his cousin • A series of telegrams were exchanged during the war: ”The Nicky-Willy telegrams” • Forced to abdicate throne in 1917
King I Albert • Ruled Belgium from 1909-1934 • Upheld neutrality during WWI, standing up to Germany’s ultimatum • Held up Germany’s “plan” by resisting and giving France time to make military preparations
Helmuth von Moltke • In charge with carrying out the Schlieffen Plan. • He believed that once started, the plan could not and should not be motified
Joseph Joffre • Commander in Chief of the French military during WWI. • In charge of defending France against the Schlieffen Plan. • Devised Plan 17, which contained no over-all objective and no explicit schedule for operations.
Franco-Prussian War • Waged from July 1870- Feb. 1871 • Previously, Napoleon I had conquered German lands, in this battle, the roles would be reversed • This was a rapid and overwhelming victory for Prussia • This made a united German Empire possible and ended the Napoleonic Empire in France • Germany becomes a major European power and takes the French territory of Alsace-Lorraine
Entangling Alliances • Germany and France are bitter enemies • Germany is afraid of both Britain and Russia • Russia is weakened from it’s loss in the Russo-Japanese War • Britain is divided over the impending war and the loss in the Boer War. • Belgium is neutral-Britain has pledged alliance if Belgium is invaded • France is allied with Russia, but Russia had also been previously allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary
Entangling Alliances Continued • Italy enters into an alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungry, pledging neutrality • Serbia allies with Russia • Austria-Hungary and Germany are allied and would come to include the crumbling Ottoman Empire (whose land was very appealing to Austria)
The Moroccan Crisis • Morocco was given to France by Britain in 1904. • Germany announces its support for Moroccan independence in 1905. • Britain supports France and war is avoided by an international conference in 1906. • France agreed to make Morocco a French protectorate.
The Moroccan Crisis II • In 1911, Germany sent a warship to Morocco claiming that the French had violated international agreement. • Britain again defends France and Germany backs off in exchange for part of the French controlled Congo.
Crisis in the Balkans • In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexed the territory of Bosnia (which had formally been a Turkish province) • This threatened Serbia, which was also interested in this territory. War threatened between Serbia (allied with Russia) and Austria-Hungary (allied with Germany). War is avoided, but tensions are still high
The Balkan Wars of 1912-13 • The Balkan states, including Serbia, fought the Turks and drove them back to Constantinople. • The Balkans began to fight over the territory. Tensions increased again when Austria-Hungary forced Serbia to give up some of the lands gained. • On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the heir to the Austo-Hungarian empire) is assassinated in Sarajevo by the Serbian Nationalist group The Black Hand.
The Tuchman quote that has to be repeated (p. 133 in my book) • “Europe was entering, Moltke wrote, the struggle that will decide the course of history for the next hundred years”.