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International Politics, GOV 207 See also the material on my Western Civ II, Outline of Modern History, 20th Century pages at http://faculty.ucc.edu/egh-damerow/20th_century.htm
The World Wars: 1914 - 1945 Great Powers: Germany, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy, United Kingdom German Unification German Unification in 1871 made Germany the single most powerful state on the European continent. The way unification was achieved and German annexation of Alsace and Lorraine made France a mortal enemy seeking revenge (revanchism). Once unification had been achieved, Bismarck pursued a relatively peaceful defensive strategy in Europe. Bismarckian System Bismarckian System : A defensive system of alliances created by Otto von Bismarck to isolate France through a system of German alliances with both Russia and Austria-Hungary. Congress of Berlin 1878 Declining Ottoman Empire and the rise of nationalism in the Balkans creates multiple problems for the Great Powers. Russia and Austria-Hungary are rivals for dominance in the Balkans. Serbia is Russia's protege in the region. Bismarck finds it ever more difficult to restrain Russian and Austro-Hungarian hostility over the Balkans France and the United Kingdom
were historical enemies from the days of Louis XIV. They remained colonial rivals in the
Mediterranean and Africa.. Kaiser William II 1888 Kaiser William I of Germany dies. Three emperors' year.
William II becomes emperor. William II had a pan-German affinity and allied himself more closely with Vienna. He allowed the German-Russian alliance to lapse. He also believed that Germany needed to share in the race for colonies. As a Great Power, Berlin needed a Navy. In 1894, Russia signs a defensive alliance with France. France has slipped out of its isolation. In 1898, Germany began a rapid build up of its Navy. Admiral Tirpitz. This alienated the United Kingdom. 1899 - 1902 Boer War in South Africa. British put down white Afrikaaner (originally Dutch settlers) effort to establish their own country. Diamonds. 1902. German Chief of Staff Alfred von Schlieffen developed Schlieffen Plan. If two front war erupts, then attack France first and deal with less developed Russia second. This changed German strategy. 1902, United Kingdom and Japan sign an alliance. 1904, Dual Entente between United Kingdom and France. UK free hand in Egypt; France free hand in Morocco. March 1905, Kaiser William II visited Tangier in support of Moroccan independence. Created First Moroccan Crisis. Settled in 1906 in Spain at the Algeciras Conference. Recognized French dominance in Morocco. May 1911, French troops occupy Fez, capital of Morocco, to put down rebellion. Germans saw this as an effort to establish a French protectorate over Morocco. Germans send a gunboat to Moroccan port of Agadir. Second Moroccan Crisis. Resolved November 1911 with France getting a Moroccan protectorate but Germans get some compensation in Africa. September 1911, Italy declared war on Ottoman Empire and seized Tripoli in what is now Libya. Balkan Crises Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5. Humiliating Russian defeat. Balkan Crises in 1908, 1912, and 1913 Bosnia had been annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908 German backed Austria-Hungary versus Russian backed Serbia The Steps Leading to World War I June 28, 1914 Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdianad, crown prince, was assassinated in Serajevo, the capital of Bosnia. Assassination was the work of a Serbian nationalist and it had, we now know, the support of the Serbian government. Austrian Foreign Minister, Count Berchtold, decided to use this incident to get even with Serbia. He wants and gets reassurance from Berlin. What is called the carte blanche or blank check July 4, 1914, the Austrian ambassador to Germany discusses the crisis with William II. Get German reassurance. July 23, 1914, Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia with 48 hours to reply. Terms so harsh that most thought that Serbia would refuse to accept it. When the Russian Foreign Minister Sazanov saw the Austrian ultimatum, he declared: "This means a European war." July 25, 1914, Russia issued orders to prepare for the mobilization of its army. Serbia, surprisingly, accepted most of Austria's demands. Austria rejected the Serbian response and declared war on Serbia on July 28. July 29, 1914, Russian Tsar Nicholas II ordered a partial mobilization of the Russian army. At the last minute Kaiser William II and his Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg try to persuade Russian tsar not to mobilize and to try to avoid a general European war. July 30, 1914, Tsar Nicholas II ordered full mobilization of the Russian army. July 31, 1914, Kaiser William II sent Russia an ultimatum that Russian actions against Austria Hungary would lead to war with Germany. Germany demands that France give assurances that it will not go to war against Germany if Germany and Russia go to war. August 1, 1914 at 3:55 a.m., French government issues order to
mobilize French army. August 2, 1914 Germany demands unhindered passage through Belgium. Belgium as a neutral country refused. August 3, 1914 Germany declared war on France and marched its troops through neutral Belgium. This was a clear violation of international law as it then existed. August 4, 1914, Great Britain declared war on Germany for having violated Belgian neutrality, which the British had internationally guaranteed and saw as vital to their own national interests. World War I 1914. First Battle of the Marne. Germans come within 11 miles of taking Paris but fail. Trench Warfare on the Western Front. 300 miles from Belgium to Swiss border. For most of the four years of fighting the trenches never shifted more than ten miles. Eastern Front. After some initial Russian successes, the Germans won a major victory at Tannenberg in Eastern Prussia. Then trench warfare set in too. Naval warfare was a stalemate with German fleet bottled up by British. Germans developed the Unterseeboot, U-boat, and began to torpedo British shipping without warning in violation of the law of the sea. British developed the convoy system to guard against submarines. No quick victory. World War I became a war of attrition. Russian Revolution of March 1917. Tsar is overthrown. Provisional government headed by Alexander Kerensky is formed. This government is mildly socialist, liberal, and democratic. War is continued. Political prisoners are freed. Bolsheviks return from Siberia and Exile. Lenin, Trosky, Stalin. Russian Revolution of November 1917. Coup d'etat of the Bosheviks. Communist Revolution. Lenin takes Russia out of World War I. Germany has won against Russia. Harsh peace terms of Brest-Litovsk. With victory on the Eastern front at hand, Germans believe they will win on the Western front. The initiate unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic in January 1917. U.S. Entry into World War I in April 1917. Unrestricted submarine warfare, violations of neutrality by Germany bring US into war. President Woodrow Wilson. 14 Points state American war aims. Last German offensive in August 1918 is halted. On October 3, 1918, Germans seek armistice. November 11, 1918, armistice goes into effect. Germany has lost the war. No enemy soldier of Germany has yet stepped on German soil when the armistice is signed. Hitler will use this fact later as the basis for his claim that Germany had been stabbed in the back. Peace Settlements: The Versailles Treaty with Germany The Twenty Year Crisis False Peace of the 1920s Rise of Stalin in Russia Rise of Mussolini in Italy A Weak League of Nations The Great Depression The Rise of Hitler in Germany The Spirit of Appeasement in the Democracies Japanese Invasion of China Italian Attack on Ethiopia The Spanish Civil War Austrian Anschluss on Germany The Czech Crisis and the Munich Conference The Nazi-Soviet Pact worked out by Foreign Ministers Vyacheslav Molotov of the Soviet Union and Joachim von Ribbentrop of the German Third Reich on August 23, 1939. German and Soviet dismemberment of Poland beginning on August 1, 1939. World War II has begun. World War II War in Europe Germany and Italy against France and United Kingdom Invasion of Poland Phony War Invasion of Denmark and Norway Fall of France Italian attack on Greece; Germany to the Rescue Hitler attacks his Ally Russia in Operation Barbarossa on June 22, 1941 US entry into World War II after Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 Russia turns the tide after Battle of Stalingrad North African Invasion Allied Invasion of Italy Second Front is Opened after the Normandy Invasions of June 6, 1944--D-Day April 20, 1945, Soviets reach Berlin April 28, 1945, Allied armies meet at Elbe May 8, 1945, Germany surrenders unconditionally is divided into four military occupation zones. War in Asia Japanese attack on China in the 1930s Pearl Harbor. Japanese attack on US Navy stationed in Hawaii on December 7, 1941 Japanese Empire Naval Battle of Midway--turning point of war. Atomic Bombs. First atomic bomb with 14,000 tons of TNT was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945--100,000 dead; Russia declares war on Japan on August 7, 1945; Second atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Japanese government sues for peace on August 10. Japan formally surrendered to the U.S. on September 2, 1945. VJ- Day. World War II is over. For information on the Holocaust.
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