To What Extent is it Reasonable to blame Germany for the out
Germany's invasion of France via Belgium was the initial act of war that brought about the commencement of war. However, is it fair to say that it was Germany and Germany alone who acted to bring about this first step? I would argue that a series of events led to the German invasion of Belgium, but to what extent could Germany be blamed for this series of events? Germany was a new power in Europe; the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership in January 1871 was the result of the brilliant diplomacy of Otto von Bismarck who by skilful use of war, and his excellent methods of convincing others of his good intentions created the new empire. However, the emergence of the German empire had upset the balance of Central Europe maintained for centuries by the Holy Roman Empire and temporarily sustained by the German Confederation. Many people believe that the invoking of hatred within France by the creation of this new empire and the mistrust of the other surrounding empires over Prussian expansionist tendencies led inevitably to a European war. The fact that war was averted for nearly forty years was due to Bismarck's brilliant diplomacy. He managed to convince the other European powers that
The plan assumed that it would take months for the Russian war machine to get moving, giving Germany enough time to achieve victory against France. On 26th July 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia despite Serbia's acceptance of all bar one of the conditions on the ultimatum. This treaty contained harsh terms that were felt by Britain and Austria-Hungary to give Russia too much power in the Balkans area. However, war, if inevitable, would have come about in a different way under Bismarck as he would have never allowed the alliance system of 1914 exist had he been in power. Problems had existed between Austria and Russia for many years over an area known as the Balkans. They felt that in an age where an insult could not be left unavenged somebody must be to blame. The basic outcome of this web of agreements was that Germany had a neutrality pact with Russia in the event of an Austro-Russian war, whilst promising support to Austria and Italy in the event of a war with another country. Germany can certainly be blamed partially for contributing to the outbreak of war, but other factors and other countries perhaps played a more pivotal role in Germany's invasion of France in 1914. Austria was a declining power by this time and had regions of the empire begun to break away, it was likely that a Slav nationalist uprising would result in the overthrow of the system and an end to Habsburg rule. The war came about because of the mismanagement of a crisis. Caprivi's legacy was not perhaps as rosy as his predecessor had intended. France was showed immediate interest in this agreement as it resulted in not only an ally, but also a means through which to get even with Germany. The result is that we see Germany turning away from liberal ideas during his reign. However, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to mobilise fully right across the front because of the practicalities of mobilising the huge Russian army, had communication between Russia and Germany been better, perhaps the crisis could have been controlled by an explanation of actions on Russians part, as both Tsar Nicholas II and Kaiser Wilhelm II seemed intent on averting war.
Common topics in this essay:
Wilhelm II,
Franz Ferdinand,
Austria Austria,
Stefano Treaty,
Austria Italy,
France Belgium,
Cheque' Austrians,
Britain December,
Germany Russia,
German Confederation,
european war,
outbreak war,
wilhelm ii,
austria italy,
led war,
'blank cheque',
war averted,
reinsurance treaty,
archduke franz ferdinand,
archduke franz,
franz ferdinand,
kaiser wilhelm ii,
san stefano treaty,
tsar nicholas ii,
war russia's mobilisation,
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Acceptance Essays
