World War One German gULT
Few historical areas can have aroused as much debate as that of the origins and causes of WW1. The thousands of documents and eyewitness testimonies collated have allowed historians to construct exceedingly detailed illustrations of what happened in the days, months and years leading to the outbreak of war. Despite having researched, in many cases, identical material, there is no end of disagreement among historians as to who, or what, caused the war. Just some of the more plausible theories include apportioning the blame to Germany; Austria; Russia; Serbia; France; Britain; everybody (collective responsibility); nobody (accidental war) and Capitalism. It is difficult to believe but (perhaps unsurprisingly considering the historical talent involved) each case is stated with such conviction and sense that, in isolation, all appear essentially unquestionable. While some of the theories can be dismissed as fundamentally flawed, a more convincing reason is needed to explain the multitude of conflicting exegeses. The above suggests that, "on the one hand (WW1) was massively over-determined and on the other that no effort to analyse the causal factors involved can ever fully succeed.1" Most prev
However, the Tsar did not want a war; in a telegram to the Kaiser (29th July) he begged Wilhelm II to 'do what you can to stop your allies going to far20', in an attempt to 'avoid such a calamity as a European war21'. A culmination of many inveterate factors pointed directly toward armed conflict on a grand scale. Russia and Austria both deserve some blame for the outbreak of WW1. The main policies of Weltpolitik were to build a German Navy strong enough to impose neutrality on the British in any future European war; to make Germany a major imperial power, by way of territorial expansion; to use foreign-policy to unify the country and weaken the appeal of socialism. Serbia, contrary to Remak (whose theory points the finger at Serbia along with Austria), did not want war; 'exhausted by the previous Balkan strugglesa(she) desired a period of stability and a peaceful settlement of the July Crisis17'. By denouncing the negative, one hopes to assert the positive. Therefore, any effective account, while recognising the multitude of interwoven causes, must pick a cut-off point, where causes stop being causes and start being conditions. Who rules in Berlin: Moltke or Bethmann? 35' (Wilhelm II did not even get a mention). The following will demolish the theories of collective responsibility (in the traditional sense), war by timetable (accidental war) and of Austria as main perpetrator, with Bethmann-Hollweg emerging as the principal culprit. The last does not bear on 'Sammlungspolitik', the idea that Germany went to war to prevent revolution, by distracting the populace with a glorious foreign policy; this shall be discussed later in more depth. To this end, Germany was prepared to launch the First World War to become a weltmacht, and actively encouraged Austria-Hungary to start a war with Serbia, even when it became clear that such a war could not be localised. Was War Inevitable?In short, yes. Austria-Hungary was not prepared to bow out gracefully, and Germany, stranded with an ailing ally and an unreliable one (in Italy) was left seeking a reconstruction of the balance of power in Europe. ious attempts have failed to procure a satisfactory answer because they have attempted to reduce the various contributing factors to some fundamental cause.
Common topics in this essay:
World War,
Wilhelm II,
France Britain,
July Crisis,
Social Darwinism,
War Inevitable,
Sammlungspolitik Fischer,
Responsibility German,
German Navy,
Konne Zilliacus,
world war,
july crisis,
wilhelm ii,
mobilisation plans,
balance power,
july 1914,
war bethmann-hollweg,
july 31,
power europe,
germany blamed,
assassination archduke franz,
germany blamed planning,
glorious foreign policy,
archduke franz ferdinand,
'third balkan war',
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