World War I – Treaty Of Versailles- Essay, Research Paper

World War I – Treaty of Versailles-

In the peace settlement Germany was forced to accept sole

responsibility for causing World War I. This was a totally

justifiable demand on the part of the victorious powers. The Treaty of

Versailles was enacted into history in June 1919 with Germany forced

to accept sole responsibility for causing World War I. Since then

there has been considerable debate concerning the war but even today

historians still cannot fully agree upon the causes. Some support has

been given to the theory that Germany was totally responsible for the

war however substantial evidence does not support that view.

Therefore the insistence by the victorious powers to include in the

Treaty that Germany accept total blame cannot be justified. This

essay examines certain events and actions prior to the July crisis.

These caused tension and hostility among nations but did not have a

direct bearing upon the war. Also it has been determined that there

were decisions and courses of action taken by several nations

following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand heir to the

Austrian-Hungarian throne which did have a direct bearing upon World

War I.

Development of political and military alliances caused tension

and hostility among nations leading up to World War I. Two major

alliance systems developed due to conflicting national interests

which had been evident during the past two decades throughout Europe.

These were the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy

and the Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia. Also several

smaller countries became indirectly involved in the alliances which

effectively divided Europe into two Armed Camps . Russia pledged to

support Serbia in order to prevent further Austrian-Hungarian

expansion into the Balkans. Germany stated its support for

Austria-Hungary and Britain had given its support for Belgium s 2.

neutrality in 1839. However while these political and military

alliances existed there is no direct evidence to indicate that any

nation declared war on that basis. There had been several crisis

during the period 1905-1913. First the Moroccan crisis involving

France and Germany during 1905 and 1911. No wars eventuated only

tensions and fears regarding Germanys aggressive expansionist

policies. Britain supported France being involved in Morocco and

France conceded some territory in the Congo to Germany. Second the

1908 Balkans crisis eventuated because of the collapse of the Ottoman

[Turkish] Empire. Austria-Hungary annexed the provinces of

Bosnia-Herzegovina. Serbia was insensed and sought Russian

assistance. Germany became involved and Russia backed down. Finally

two wars developed in the Balkans. The first Balkan war [1912] was

between Turkey and the Balkan League [Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece]

with Turkey being driven out of the Balkans. The second Balkan war

[1913] occurred between Bulgaria and Serbia/Greece. Winning this war

strengthened Serbs position and this gave Austria-Hungary concern

regarding its influence in the Balkans. The main significance of the

Balkan wars was the position of Britain and France placing restraint

on Russia and Germany restraining Austria-Hungary. This did not

happen with the July crisis of 1914 which resulted in World War I.

[Condron - The Making of the Modern World] Also the two Balkan wars

resulted in renewed antagonism between Bulgaria and the other Balkan

states especially Serbia and caused general dissatisfaction because

of the interference of the great powers in Balkan politics.[Grolier -

World War I]. Evidence does support that while the various events

discussed did not contribute directly to World War I they did indeed

contribute to extreme tensions and suspicions between the great powers

and certainly fueled the arms race which in effect prepared nations

for the total disaster that was to follow the July crisis.

The arms race which mainly involved Britain and Germany began

in 1896 when Germany took the decision to significantly expand its

navy. This intense competition which developed created significant

tensions between nations. The intensity to expand was further fueled

following each major crisis which developed during the period

1905-1913. Britain hardened its position towards Germany. The arms

race also extended to other areas such as the expansion and

modernization of armies. Evidence suggests that due to the large

increase in expenditure on navies and armies together with 3.

transport and equipment Britain and the European nations were in fact

preparing for a war that they knew would eventuate at some stage.

Germany ignited the arms race with its aim to develop a navy two

thirds the size of Britain s to protect the vulnerable North Sea and

possibly through the fear of encirclement but evidence supports

that Britain led the arms race and thus this action contributed

significantly towards the carnage and destruction that resulted from

World War I.

The assassination of Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, heir to the

throne of Austria-Hungary occurred on the 28 June, 1914. This crisis

was seen as the key event that started World War I. Austria-Hungary

were presented with an opportunity to move against Serbia and resolve

it s Balkan problems. Germany agreed to support Austria-Hungary and

presented them with the infamous Blank Cheque resulting in

unconditional support. Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum containing

impossible demands in effect provoking war with Serbia. However

Serbia agreed to most of the demands. Germany advised

Austria-Hungary to negotiate but instead they declared war on Serbia

(28 July 1914). Russia immediately mobilised its troops and Germany

supported Austria-Hungary. By August 1914 all major European powers

except Italy, had become involved. Britain delayed its entry until

German troops moved through Belgium in order to attack France.

The alliance system failed to prevent war as previously but

perhaps nations did not expect it to escalate outside the

Austria-Hungary and Serbian borders. Russian mobilisation may have

been a show of strength for Serbia or perhaps it was in relation to

the Schlieffen Plan. However the speed with which the mobilisation of

European armies occurred would not have given time for negotiation.

The Schlieffen plan was put into action by Germany and controlled by

the Generals rather than the German government. It was apparently

very rigid in nature and it was the Schlieffen Plan or nothing even

though Germany at that point had no specific quarrel with France.

However what really contributed to the commencement of World

War I. Historians today still cannot agree upon the causes.

Nevertheless it is suggested that the events leading up to the July

crisis such as imperial rivalry, arms race, alliances and the Balkan

wars though not directly related 4. must share some blame. This view

can be supported due to the immense tensions and hostility that was

generated among Britain and the European nations. Evidence suggests

that there was no single major cause for World War I but in effect

there was several major events associated with its commencement. For

instance the assassination of the Austrian-Hungarian heir Franz

Ferdinand while an important event because it triggered off a series

of events did not have any direct bearing on the war. However the

Austrian-Hungary declaration of war upon Serbia did and this hatred

for Serbia had been building up over many years. Also blame can be

shared by Russia, Germany and France over their mobilisation

plans-particularly Russia who commenced action first. Germany was

further to blame for its totally unconditional support for

Austrlia-Hungary who was the aggressor in the war with Serbia. It

seems their thinking was that the war would be contained within the

Balkans. Finally Britain must share some blame because had they been

more decisive in supporting France then Germany would most certainly

have had second thoughts about invading France under the Schlieffen

Plan.

Military alliances resulting in Germany s encirclement,

diplomatic mistakes, the arms race, imperial rivalries and immediate

causes combined to cause World War I eg/ July Crisis. Each was a

signficant factor, no one cause was the sole cause. It is clear that

the Articals of the Treaty of Versailles, claiming sole German

responsibility for causeing World War I was unjust, thus it was a

shared responsibility for the cause of World War I.