World War In July And August 1914

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

When it comes The First World War, the most common argument for it being so is because ‘it was inevitable’. There are grounds for this argument, but equally there are grounds against it. This essay will attempt to explain why a local war became a world war in 1914, which will consequently answer whether it was in fact ‘inevitable’. It is more often the fact, as Ruth Henig explains, that all historical events have complex and multiple causes, and this is especially true of the outbreak of the First World War [1] . A huge factor which will be analysed is the entangling alliances that the major powers had been forming since the unification of Germany in 1871, principally the Triple Alliance (or Central Powers) of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (although a secret agreement with France effectively nullified Italy’s alliance with Germany), and the Triple Entente of Great Britain, France and Russia. Other factors include fervent nationalism within Europe, and especially Germany, Imperialism, notably Germany’s (or rather, Kaiser Wilhelm’s) envy of British and French empires, and militarism, the most prominent case being the Anglo-German naval arms race. John. H. Morrow. Jr. also points out a German, French and Russian race on land [2] . However, to clearly understand the events of July and early August 1914 it is wise to have some knowledge of the historical background on the preceding decades of Imperialism in Europe. W. H. Koch outlines that Imperialism, with Wilhelmine Weltpolitik as its specifically German version, provided the general framework and the basic tensions, Germany’s aim to uphold the conservative and monarchic principles by any means against the rising flood of democracy, plus its Weltpolitik, made war inevitable [3] . Indeed, inevitability seemed like the most likely reason for the outbreak of a world war, given that prior to the war Europe had been dubbed a ‘powder keg’.

The Balkan wars of 1912-1913, were just one part of a catalogue of events which eventually led to the outbreak of the First World War. Also, although the conflicts seemed localised to the area in and around the Balkans, all the major powers that eventually fought in the First World War had their own viewpoint of the conflicts. Russia was heavily involved in the establishment of the Balkan League (Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro), Russia viewed the league as a very useful tool should a war break out between her and her rival Austria-Hungary. Indeed, Austria-Hungary was looking for ways to expand at the expense of the Ottoman empire, as well as desiring a formidable port on the Adriatic. It is with the Austro-Hungarian case where we can see certain reliance’s the country had on Germany, for example, Austria did not want to commit to a war in 1912 without strong backing from Germany, it was the case instead that Germany said she would be prepared to go to war in 1914. This led to hesitation from Austria over the situation.

The second of the Balkan Wars saw the end of the Balkan League, which Russia had viewed as her defence against Austria-Hungary. As well as this, Russia’s overly pro-Serbia stance throughout the conflicts had driven a rift between Bulgaria and Russia, Bulgaria consequently aligned herself closer to the central powers. This led to Serbia being isolated against the might of Austro-Hungary and also meant Russia could not afford to lose her last vital ally in the Balkans, because of this Russia had no choice but to support Serbia unconditionally in foreign affairs, which came to fruition in the July crisis. Robbins explains the fear was held in Russia, and observed in Europe, that if Russia did not show support for Serbia it would deeply damage her prestige [4] . This, on top of Germany’s unconditional support of Austria-Hungary ,which had been promised with the ‘blank cheque’, meant that should Serbia and Austria-Hungary ever be drawn into a conflict the Two major powers of opposing alliance groups would be brought into play. This proved very much to be the case in July and August of 1914 and shows clearly why a ‘local war in the Balkans’ could not remain as such. Stevenson argues that by 1914 Austria-Hungary felt encircled and endangered in south-eastern Europe and Germany felt similarly about the European balance as a whole [5] .

Tension between Serbia and Austria-Hungary had existed long before the Balkan Wars and the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Austro-Hungarian government members, most notably Conrad Von Hotzendorf (Chief of the General Staff), had hoped to provoke a war with Serbia, they feared the power of Serbia and its ability to sow dissent and disruption in the empire's "south-Slav" provinces under the banner of a "greater Slav state." Another hope was that they could annex Serbian territories in order to change the ethnic composition of the empire.  However, government officials were aware of the threat from Russia and would not act unless action from Germany could be promised to counter any advances from the Russians, this came to be the case with the German promise of unconditional military support. This, as well as constant pressure from Germany to act decisively in the Balkans, almost forced Austria-Hungary into a position where the only option was war. This would bring in powers located outside the Balkans, such as Germany and Russia, which again would lead to further outbreaks as the alliance systems obligated.

Some of the long term factors of the First World War date back to 1871, after the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. The now unified Germany had annexed the French territory of Alsace-Lorraine, although historically the territory had always been disputed. This led to huge animosity from the French towards the Germans as she longed to restore and reclaim those lost lands. This wasn’t helped by the formation of the Triple alliance, 1879-1882, which was viewed in France as a clear move calculated to maintain French diplomatic isolation. In response to this the French urged Britain to abandon her so-called ‘splendid isolation’ foreign policy of not getting involved in foreign affairs in Europe, this coupled with the recently souring relation between Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary, led to the creation of the Triple Entente. Here then, it is clear to see that very early on France had been harbouring desires on German territory and the Franco-Prussian war, as well as certain diplomatic issues, frayed Franco-German relations to say the least. The two alliance systems showed a clear lack of cohesion in Europe, the fact they existed created a new rivalry and tension which previously had not existed. However, it may be unfair to argue that the alliances were not a necessity, given the strong position of Germany and Austria-Hungary in mainland Europe, as well as clear imperial ambitions from Germany.

Although British activities in mainland Europe had dwindled since the Crimean War, as well as being engrossed in consolidating her empire, the growth of German naval power and indeed commercial power made Britain increasingly apprehensive of her. Germany recognised the threat Britain’s navy posed, having witnessed the British naval blockade of South Africa during the second Boer War, Germany knew a blockade of her North coast would be disastrous in war scenario, as well as recognising the effectiveness of blockading foreign territories in an offensive scenario, thus Admiral Von Tirpitz flagged a huge expansion programme of Germany’s high seas fleet. This led to the Naval arms race between the two nations in the years 1898-1912. Needless to say, this led to tension between the two countries. On top of this there had been two instances before 1914 (the Moroccan crises in 1905 and 1911) where Britain, France and Germany had been involved in a conflict with Britain and France on the one hand and Germany on the other [6] . If there was any indication that relations between the three biggest powers in Europe were unstable the Moroccan crises made it blindingly obvious. It would be the case then, that if Russia should be drawn into a conflict against Austria-Hungary and Germany, Britain and France would be obligated through alliance to support her. Thus meaning what previously would have been a local war in the Balkans between Serbia and Austria-Hungary would now lead to a much larger conflict which would escalate rapidly.

Russia’s entry into the war had its long term factors just as any of the other major powers. First and foremost Russia was always looking for ways to strengthen her position as the protector of Eastern Christians in The Balkans (such as the Serbians). She also harboured old ambitions of expelling the Turks from Constantinople and expanding Russian territory into eastern Anatolia and Azerbaijan, doing so will give Russia dominance in the Black Sea. An excuse to do so was more than welcome to the Tsar. Another very important factor is the obligation presented by the Triple Entente. Should a conflict break out where one of the alliance members was threatened it would draw in all the allies (This proved to be case shortly after Germany declared war on Russia at the start of the war).Moreover, Russia and Serbia held tremendous animosity towards the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Undoubtedly the trigger for the outbreak of the First World War was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914. The crises which followed would not have happened otherwise. Germany’s involvement is paramount here; the so-called ‘blank cheque’ [7] that Germany presented to Austria-Hungary prompted an over-aggressive ultimatum to be presented to Serbia. The ultimatum was quite extreme to say the least, needless to say it would never have been accepted by Serbia, regardless of the fact the 48-hour deadline which accompanied it gave the Serbian government very little time to come to an informed decision. The assassination of the Archduke provided Austria-Hungary with what they believed to be a valid casus belli to secure more territory in the Balkans, to expand had always been an ambition of Austria especially. Richard Thoumin explains that these Austro-Hungarian ambitions displeased Russia greatly being the apparent self-appointed protector of her ‘Slav Brothers’ [8] Within the month of July the alliance systems come into play across the board, The initial Serbian response to the ultimatum is to attempt to buy time by complying for the most part, however, when Russia assures the Serbian councillors that they have their support. The promised support from Russia emboldens Serbia, very similar to how German support emboldened the Austria-Hungary ultimatum (as well as severe pressure for Austria-Hungary to act quickly from Germany). With support from Russia, Serbia mobilizes, various messages are sent between opposing alliance trees, including messages from Germany to Britain encouraging neutrality if war breaks out in the Balkans. Following the evasive reply given to the ultimatum by Serbia and aware of her mobilisation, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia on July 28th 1914. Due to the nature of the alliances soon all the major powers of Europe were drawn into the war, it was impossible for the war to remain localised to the Balkans, especially after Germany had embarked on her Schleiffen Plan.

To conclude, it would be fair to say perhaps that for four days the events of July 1914 led to a ‘local war in the Balkans’ from July 28th to August 1st. However it is clear to see why a local war could not have remained as such. The most important reason for this is the two opposing alliance systems between the six major powers of Europe, they had created tensions and rivalries that previously had not existed in Europe since the Napoleonic era. Once Russia and Germany were at war with each other it was absolutely inevitable that all nations in their respective alliance systems would have to go to war. The long term animosities and ambitions of the major powers came to light, such as the French ambition to reclaim Alsace-Lorraine and German ambitions to expand her empire. The description of Europe as being a ‘powder keg’ is absolutely true, with major powers all harbouring certain imperialistic ambitions and clear tensions between them all that was needed was one spark to ignite the fighting. Although it may be unfair to blame one country in-particular, it is most probable that Germany was responsible for the war being as large as it became, if she had not have assured Austria with a ‘blank cheque’ or encouraged them to act so harshly on Serbia in July 1914, and perhaps if she had not embarked on her Schlieffen Plan, the war may well have remained localised in the Balkans between Austria-Hungary and Serbia.

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