The First World War
background and origins

The First World War period can be said to have been one of the most traumatic to have ever been experienced by the peoples of Europe and the World.

Some idea of the extreme dislocation and disillusion brought down upon people's lives, particularly the lives of the younger generation that had to directly face the various tragedies associated with the conflict, can be gained from reading Vera Brittain's "Testament of Youth."
Other highly relevant books being "The Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman, "Good Soldier Schweik" by Hašek and "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque.

If the First World War had not happened then it is very likely that the Russian Revolution would not have happened in the way it did or when it did. It is yet more likely that Fascism (which was itself in large part a reaction to a perceived threat of Bolshevisation against a background of deep discontent with the nature of the Peace Settlements) would not have managed to take hold in several European states.

Thus this War undeniably represents a critically defining watershed in European and World history.

Several pages of this Web site are about Comparative Religion and tend to show that there is a God with whom sincerely spiritual people may hope to "Mystically Commune."
The very emergence of such an internationally impacting collective tragedy as the First World War is, in many peoples' estimation, a cogent cause of questioning about the Existence, the Nature, and the Powers, of God.

Other pages of this Web site investigate the connections between "Spirituality and the Wider World" - and tend to suggest that people, as individuals and as members of groups, are motivated by Desire - Materialism, by Ethnicity - Wrath, by the claims of Reason, as well as by Spirituality - Wisdom.
If people were wholly spiritual in their nature it may be that Wars would be a great deal less likely!!!

Perhaps the most optimistic good that is open to being won out of the grim reality of any War can gained from a dispassionate assessment of its causes such that important insights can be arrived at into individual and mass motivations. Insights that that could - potentially - allow for a more enlightened pursuit of policies, by persons of goodwill, which would tend to be less likely to precipitate conflicts in the future.

What follows is intended as such a fairly dispassionate assessment of Europe's gradual descent into a what became a truly ghastly abyss of mutual destructiveness after August 1914.

  The outcome of the Wars of German Unification considerably altered the European political scene. Prussia's defeat of Austria in a "Seven Weeks War" of 1866 led to that Empire being excluded from German affairs and being reconstituted as an Austro-Hungarian "Dual Monarchy". France deplored the seizure of Alsace-Lorraine (now renamed Reichsland) by Germany.

In November 1871 the French politician Leon Gambetta, speaking of Alsace and Lorraine enjoyed a certain celebrity for saying "Let us not speak of our lost territiory, but let it be understood that we think of it all the time."
Certain statues in the Place de la Concorde that were associated with these provinces were draped in black as a token of national mourning.

During these times Bismarck strove to diplomatically isolate France denying her the opportunity of winning back these "lost" provinces as an outcome of another war. Aside from this limitation on alliances that might threaten Imperial Germany Bismarck hoped that France would progress and be reconciled and was prone to encourage her to direct her energies towards extending sway over parts of North Africa.

  The German Empire's establishment inherently presented Europe with the reality of a populous and industrialising polity possessing a considerable, and undeniably increasing, economic and diplomatic presence.

  Support for Socialist and Communist political movements continued and expanded. In Germany in 1869 the gradualist "Lassallian" socialists, who had a track record of concerning themselves with the development of worker's co-operatives agreed to join with other traditionally more revolutionary movements. The resulting Socialist Labour Party endorsed a "Gotha Programme" in 1875 which was criticised by Marx but remained as the charter of German socialism until the adoption of the more truly Marxist Erfurt Programme in 1891.

  In Britain meanwhile Socialism had developed in an atmosphere of relative economic buoyancy and political liberty where skilled worker's Trades Unions tended to seek to control the admission of persons to skilled trades, to seek to improve working conditions, and to provide sickness and unemployment benefits for their members. This skilled trades unionism tended to see advantage in working broadly with rather than directly against employers. After an economic crisis of 1879 produced seemingly endemic unemployment there was some support for a more insistent Socialism and unskilled workers trades unions developed.

  In France the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War featured a suppression of a "Paris Commune", and Socialism, by the French authorities in 1871 with many thousands being killed, exiled, or imprisoned. This suppression proved even more expensive of life and limb than the "June Days" of 1848. As Socialism recovered in France it also featured a rivalry between gradualist and revolutionary approaches to change.

  The economic crisis of 1879 was related to an intensification of international trading competition. Following on from the example set by a colonialism supported by the Belgian King, as a private venture, in the Congo after 1876 the colonisation of distant parts of the globe was increasingly seen by European governments as being of value in the securing of raw materials and of markets. A scramble for colonies in Africa and elsewhere ensued.

  In 1875 French politics, influenced by the recent reverse suffered at the hands of Prusso-Germany moved towards support for re-armament. Bismarck caused the German press to speculate about the likelihood of another war. Russia and Britain put pressure on the German Empire in support of France whilst Austro-Hungary kept her own council.

  In 1875 sections of the population of Bosnia-Herzegovina rose in opposition to the Ottoman Empire. Before many months had passed much of the Balkans were in revolt against the Ottoman power. In April 1877 the Russian Empire declared war on the Ottoman Empire and it seemed as if the Ottoman Empire in Europe might fall. This conflict was halted by a Treaty of San Stefano between the Russian and Ottoman Empires. It happened that this Treaty contained provisions that several western powers found unacceptable and the situation was placed before a Congress held in Berlin in 1878 at the invitation of Bismarck who offered to try to serve as an honest broker. The fact of this Congress being held in Berlin was an inherent acknowledgement of how prominent the newly established German Empire was in European "Balance of Power" considerations. Although Bismarck offered to serve as an honest broker Prussian policy had as one of its foremost objectives the continuance in being of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. This objective being based on such considerations as the German parts of Austro-Hungary seeking to be incorporated in a "Greater German" state which might prove less governable, in the broad interest of the Prussian tradition, than the Imperial Germany of post-1871. Those Slav lands which would inevitably become available to other geo-political arrangements if Austro-Hungary fell apart might well also function less amenably to the interests of Imperial Germany outside the Austro-Hungarian structure.

  The Congress of Berlin proved to be something of a watershed in European diplomacy. Russia was confirmed as having lost many of the gains she seemed to have made by the Treaty of San Stefano and was somewhat aggrieved. Austro-Hungary was allowed to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina but these territories were nonetheless still deemed to be Ottoman territory. Austria did not really welcome this occupation of what would probably prove to be restive Slav territories but from the point of view of the continuance in being of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy it was deemed preferable to their becoming available to annexation to a would-be Slav national state. Serbia, Montenegro and Rumania gained in independence from the Ottoman Empire.

  After 1878 Europe was to experience an unprecedented thirty six years where significant wars between states did not occur. There was however a complex, and continually adapting, web of diplomacy as states sought to ally to better preserve and strengthen their position internationally with the assistance of allies of the time. International affairs were, and are, vexed by considerations of looking out for the self-interest of the state in an unstable world and the consequent necessity of attempting to achieve situations consistent with the security and strength of the state. During the years of relative peace 1879-1914 there were many such International Treaty arrangements, only some of these will be specifically mentioned in the following sections.

  Bismarck was aware that the outcome of the Congress of Berlin had tended to alienate Russia and entered into alliance with Austro-Hungary in 1879. This secret alliance assured both parties of the others support if attacked by Russia. Bismarck, however, would appear not to have entered into this Treaty as an anti-Russian measure as such. It was of the first importance to Imperial Germany that the Austro-Hungarian "Monarchy" remained viable. By entering into this alliance, which seemed to offer the Monarchy much in the way of security, Bismarck hoped to limit diplomatic policy options of the Monarchy. By virtue of this limitation The Monarchy would not be available for alliance with Britain or France, also any tendency by the Monarchy towards the adoption of actively anti-Russian policies could be restrained.

  In 1882 Italy, discomfited by French expansion into North Africa, entered into a Triple Alliance with the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. This alliance promised German and Austro-Hungarian support to Italy if she were attacked by France, promised Italian support to Germany if she were attacked by France, and provided for Italian neutrality in the event of an Austro-Russian war. This adherence of Italy was not so much prompted by an actual fear of French attack as by the Italian Kingdom's need for reassurance that it would have friends internationally who were capable of assisting should Italian Republicans threaten the continuance of Italy as a Kingdom. The kudos, and recognition, inherent in being involved in international diplomacy with powerful partners helped to validate the Italian Kingdom.

  A "Reinsurance Treaty" between the German and Russian Empires provided for the neutrality of one Empire if the other was involved in a war. There were exception clauses that operated however if Russia attacked Austro-Hungary or Germany attacked France.

  The German Kaiser Wilhelm I died in 1888 and was succeeded by a son, Freidrich Wilhelm, who had recognised liberal leanings but who was also fatally ill and as a result only held the Imperial throne for ninety-nine days. There was then another succession by which the somewhat wilful and erratic Wilhelm II came to the throne of Imperial Germany at the age of twenty nine.

  It was not long after gaining the throne that the incoming Kaiser and his inherited Reichskanzler (Imperial Chancellor) Bismarck had a battle of wills and the new Kaiser made it plain to Bismarck that he should think about retiring. The particular battle of wills had been about Bismarck's wish to undertake measures to combat the ever increasing strength of the Social Democrats. The new Kaiser, however, hoped to win over the Social Democrats through conciliation.

  The foreign policy followed under the new men in charge in the Imperial German foreign office allowed the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia to lapse through not being renewed in the summer of 1890. The Tsar of all the Russias, and the French Republic, both in search of powerful allies reached an understanding which was formalised in 1891 in an Entente Cordiale which provided for consultation should there be a threat to peace. During an official French visit to the Russian naval port of Kronstat, the "Autocrat of the North" stood bareheaded whilst the Marsellaise , the "Anthem of the Revolution" was played in his honour. Some discussions took place subsequently between the French and the Russian military authorities and culminated in the secret formal acceptance of arrangements whereby each undertook to aid the other if attacked by Germany.

  In 1894, Japan, newly emergent as an industrialising society, became involved in a war with China. This conflict was intended by Japan to win Korea to her control. This control was thought necessary because Tsarist Russia was constructing a Trans-Siberian railway that offered to dramatically increase Russian sway in the Far East. Japan hoped that Korea, under its control would become a bulwark against future Russian power. French, Russian, and German, protests were prominent in causing Japan to hand back Korea and Port Arthur, a port on the Liaotung peninsula in Manchuria, recently won from China, to Chinese control.

  German industry had developed markedly and was posing a pressing challenge to that of Britain in many markets. Many in Britain had taken exception to the content of a telegram sent by Wilhelm II to President Kruger of the South African Republic in January 1896. This telegram, sent in congratulation after the so-called Jameson Raid into the Transvaal from British South Africa had been repulsed "without appealing to the help of friendly powers", seemed to imply that Germany might give support to the Republic of South Africa against the British interest in the future. It may be that this telegram was in fact styled to be slightly provocative and as such intended to persuade other powers with whom Germany was diplomatically negotiating that there was a lack of full sympathy between Britain and Germany. Many in Britain had at this time some increasing consciousness of the degree to which Germany was rivalling Britain in trade as well as in power. Hence the Jameson Telegram touched more sensitive nerves than had perhaps been intended.

  After 1897 Imperial Germany followed a Weltpolitik (World Policy) which sought to raise her profile in the world such that it was more consistent with her economic and industrial strength. Weltpolitik also had advantages in allowing domestic attention, and domestic support, to be diverted away from challenges the powerful Social Democratic interest were apt to make to the policies preferred by the German establishment.

  In 1898 Germany embarked on a build-up of her naval forces, this programme was substantially expanded after 1900 with the view of attaining a situation where the German fleet could be seen in association with the fleet of another power as representing a fleet greater than that of Britain. The British for their part had some years previously become seriously concerned lest their traditionally preponderant navy should be challenged by the combined forces of France and Russia and were following a policy which hoped to ensure that the British fleet was larger than the combined fleets of any two other powers.

  In 1898 the Russians moved into the Liaotung Peninsula and the naval base of Port Arthur which Japan had been denied after the war of 1894.

  Britain had for some time avoided involvement in formal alliance with powers in mainland Europe but this policy began to seem less tenable as the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth. The British became more concerned about their security against possible coalitions of rivals. In 1902 the British adapted their "Two-power Standard" in naval forces into a "Three power Standard".

  In 1902 Britain sought to better secure her interests in the Pacific against possible Russian encroachment by entering into an alliance with Japan. The Japanese gained some reassurance from Britain that they would not have to face a Franco-Russian coalition alone in the Far East.

  There were mutual official visits by British and French heads of state in 1903. In 1904 some previous rivalries with France were settled to the point where an Anglo-French Entente was held to exist for purposes of consultation.

  Russian influence had recently been growing in Korea through the activities of persons who were ostensibly seeking to exploit timber resources there. In 1904-1905 Russia came to blows with Japan after intense rivalries had developed between these Empires in relation to their respective influence in Korea and Manchuria. This conflict irrupted on 8th February 1904 after Japanese forces made a surprise attack on Port Arthur. In the ensuing conflict Russia was obliged to rely on a single track railway across the vast expanse of Siberia to supply its forces in the Far East. Such shipments required unloading and reloading before and after a crossing of Siberia's Lake Baikal by ship. Port Arthur fell to the Japanese in January 1905. An attempt by Russia to retrieve the situation by sending its main fleet from the port of Kronstadt in the Gulf of Finland to the Far East met with disaster in a sea battle contested in the Tsushima Strait which separates Japan from Korea. In the event Japan prevailed and gained control of Korea and the Peninsula where Port Arthur was located. The reverses suffered in the war precipitated a more open expression of political discontent in Russia. Late in 1905 the Tsar was obliged to award a form of Constitution known as the October Manifesto. This Manifesto promised that there would be a Russian Duma or Parliament.

  On 31 March 1905 Wilhelm II, at this time of Russian weakness following the reverses suffered against Japan, indicated his support for Moroccan independence during a personal visit to the Moroccan port of Tangiers, this was potentially highly prejudicial to the interests of France as a colonial power in North Africa. An international Conference was held in southern Spain in January 1905 to discuss the situation of Morocco. Most of the participating countries offered France some support at this time whilst Germany found herself with only Austro-Hungary, and Morocco, on her side of the argument by March 1905 when the conference reached its final positions. This Moroccan crisis induced the Anglo-French Entente to develop a more overtly military dimension. From the time of crisis Britain became persuaded that her own security considerations compelled her to take a more serious interest in the "Balance of Power" on continental Europe.

  France had individual understandings with both Russia and Britain and attempted to promote a better understanding between Russia and Britain. The reverse suffered by Russia in 1904-1905 allowed Britain to view her less alarmingly as a strategic rival. Russia for her part saw advantage in achieving a less distant relationship with Britain as she hoped to inhibit alternative understandings between Britain and Germany as Germany was extending its influence into the Ottoman Empire and Persia. With Persian, Indian, and other areas of dispute resolved by negotiation the British, for their part, could view arrangement entered into with both France and Russia as conferring substantial assurances of security. A triple Entente between France, Russia and Britain was reached later in 1907.

  The naval arms competition took on new dimensions in 1906 with the launching by Britain of a radically more powerful class of warship which they called the Dreadnought. Previously formidable warships stood no chance against a Dreadnought class ship and if Britain wished to maintain the Three-power Standard in the future it would effectively have to be computed in terms of Dreadnought class ships which were vastly expensive to construct. Germany began to build a number of Dreadnought class ships soon thereafter.

 At an International Socialist Congress held in Stuttgart in August 1907 Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg and Julius Martov were the moving spirits behind the adoption of an anti-war resolution.

"If a war threatens to break out, it is the duty of the working classes and their parliamentary representatives...to exert every effort in order to prevent the outbreak of war by the means they consider most effective...In case war should break out anyway, it is their duty to intervene in favour of its speedy termination, and with all their powers to utilise the economic and political crisis created by the war to rouse the masses and thereby hasten the downfall of capitalist rule."