World War I: Origins and Characteristics

Causes of World War I

Political Causes

• Germany abandoned the policy of balance between the great powers (Realpolitik) after Bismarck's resignation.
• Kaiser Wilhelm II aimed to seize political and economic leadership in Europe from Britain, leading to an aggressive and dangerous foreign policy.
• Formation of two rival power blocs:
  • Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (1882)
  • Triple Entente: France, Britain, and Russia (1907)
• "Peace Navy" (1905-1914): Major powers prepared for war, significantly increasing spending on weapons.

Economic Causes

• Germany became a huge industrial power after 1871.
• Great Britain saw Germany as a formidable commercial rival.

Territorial Causes

• 1st Moroccan Crisis (1905-1906): Germany opposed France's occupation of Morocco. At the Conference of Algeciras (1906), France secured a protectorate over Morocco despite German protests.
• 2nd Moroccan Crisis (1911): Germany sent a warship to Agadir to harass France after French troops were sent to Fez to suppress a riot. Germany accepted a French protectorate in Morocco in exchange for a portion of the French Congo to avoid war.
• Franco-German rivalry since 1871 over Alsace and Lorraine (ceded by France to Germany after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871).

Nationalist Cause

• Political instability in the Balkans (former territory of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire).
• In 1908, tension increased when Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, angering the Turkish Empire.
• 1st Balkan War (1912): Aimed to expel the Turks from the Balkans. Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Montenegro fought the Turkish Empire, evicting it from the Balkan Peninsula. A new state, Albania, appeared in 1912.
• 2nd Balkan War (1913): Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece to seize territory won from the Turkish Empire in the 1st Balkan War. Bulgaria was defeated and lost the territories it had gained.
• Severe tension between Austria-Hungary (supported by Germany) and Serbia (backed by Russia) over control of the Balkans.
• The secret society "Black Hand," based in Bosnia-Herzegovina, favored expelling the Austrians and uniting Bosnia-Herzegovina with a "Greater Serbia." Any "spark" could cause war.

Characteristics of the First World War

It was a confrontation unlike any before. Its features are:

• New weapons and defense systems (toxic gases) were used, along with new technical developments (telephone) and control systems (naval blockade).
• The war led to the massive incorporation of women into the workforce.
• The economy was focused on the war, with the sole purpose of producing armaments. The civilian population suffered rationing, and there was increased state intervention in the economy.
• Propaganda played a crucial role in maintaining the morale of the population and troops.