Alliance System Before World War 1 Essay

The formation of Alliance systems before world war one (WW1) is significant in the changing of relationships between powers because it created vast tension between six major nations. The Triple Alliance was signed in 1882 and was an agreement between Germany, Italy and Austria. It was a defensive treaty that promised they would give one another military support in case each of the countries were threatened. It was aimed to stop anyone who might threaten the three nations. In reaction to this, the Triple Entente was created. This was an agreement that included Britain, France and Russia as a result of hearing the news of the creation of the Triple Alliance. The terms were that each country did not require to go to war on behalf of others but it stated that they had a ‘moral obligation’ to support each other. With this said, the build-up of Alliance systems created huge tension between the six powerful nations. The result meant that any small incident was more likely to result in a large scale conflict because any disagreement consisting of more than one of the major players of Europe was destined to lead to war as their allies would have to join in. The alliance systems have undoubtedly caused tension and have been attributed to being part of the reason why WW1 started.
Moreover, the naval arms race of 1906 – 1914 was also significant in the changing of relationships between powers as Britain and Germany were battling it out for the biggest and best navy, therefore creating huge tension and influenced the build-up of WW1. In 1900 the Kaiser, Wilhelm, began to build up the German navy, announcing that he wanted Germans to sail all over the world and take for Germany ‘’a place in the sun’’. This was called the Weltpolitik. This was a policy which Wilhelm believed would build up Germany through imperialism, nationalism and militarism. To achieve nationalism and imperialism the Kaiser started to build up a stronger army and navy. The British realised that Germany wanted to challenge British sea power which at the time was the basis of Britain’s greatness ‘’Britannia rules the waves’’. A strong navy would also allow Germany to threaten British colonies overseas. Therefore, a naval race between Germany and Great Britain began between 1906 and 1914. This created huge friction between both nations and it is seen as one of the causes of WW1. In 1909, the British released there new weapon. The Dreadnought. A powerful new warship, making all others outdated. British defence policy was to ensure that the British navy was at least the size of the next two largest navies as outlined in the Two Power Standard. Britain boasted about having the largest and mightiest navy when war broke out in 1914. Britain managed to build 49 battle ships by 1914 compared to Germanys Nassau coming in at 29.
In addition to this, Germany was building up its arms. Germany had built the World’s biggest army. They had over 1.2 million men and had brought in conscription, compared to Britain’s small army of around 280,000 men who were voluntary. Germany spent more than any other country on their military and Germany’s factories were also making more weapons than anywhere else.
After World War One, a peace settlement called The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1918 and consisted of 440 articles setting out the terms for Germany’s Punishment.
The three most important politicians involved in the signing of the treaty were David Lloyd George of Great Britain, Georges Clemenceau of France and Woodrow Wilson of The United States of America. Each politician had different views on how Germany should be punished, USA wanted them to be treated fairly, Britain wanted harsh punishments however needed a strong Germany to trade with, and France wanted revenge on Germany. Clemenceau had seen France been invaded twice by Germany as he was 79. He wanted harsh punishments for
Germany.
The treaty effected Germany immensely and caused the Nation to be Economically, Politically, Militarily and territorially disadvantaged. Germany had to pay reparations of 6,600 million which lead to huge taxation on the German people. Germany was forbidden to join with Austria, and also lost the Saar, a coal area that was given to France. Germany had to accept the blame for the war (war guilt clause 231). This was forced upon Germany with threat of invasion. The German Military was dramatically decreased. The air force and submarines were banned, Germany was only allowed an army of 100,000 men with no conscription, they were only allowed six battle ships and six cruisers and there were to be no soldiers in the Rhineland. France were given Alsace and Lorraine, Germany lost land to create Poland and also lost the Saar and overseas colonies. This also resulted in Germany losing 6 million people as a result of land being taken.
The League of Nations was a new world order built into the Treaty of Versailles. It was designed to abolish war and keep the world safe. Its main aims were to encourage disarmament and stop wars, however in years to come, this would prove too good to be true. Germany was not allowed to join due to the Treaty of Versailles. Neither did Russia due to communism and neither did the United States as they didn’t want to be involved in the ‘’squabbles of Europe’’. There were 42 members of the League of nations, Great Britain and France were the main powers. All members had to agree for something to go ahead and there were to be no secret treaties. There was huge weakness in the League of Nations. Countries were more concerned with their own problems therefore didn’t want to be worrying about others and no countries could trust each other.