Otto Von Bismarck's Foreign Policy During World War I

Pre-WWI
1) Otto von Bismarck’s foreign policy had the goal of securing the territory of Europe, staying peaceful with minimal conflict, and isolating France. In order to do this, Germany had to be on good terms with the Russians and Austrians, because a conflict between the two would not be beneficial for Germany. An agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia was made in 1871 to guard Germany against war with the French and to isolate them. It was known as Dreikaiserbund. This shortly disbanded after disagreements between Russia and Germany, prompting Bismarck to create the Dual Alliance with Austria in 1879. This was a form of defense, securing Germany’s position if something were to happen with Russia. When Russia feared its isolation and wanted help, The Reinsurance Treaty of 1887 was made between Germany and Russia to determine their areas of influence in the Balkans. It also affirmed that they would not fight over this land. The purpose of this treaty was to prevent a two-front war, which was when a country was fighting a war on two separate fronts, or with two different nations. A two-front war would harm a country, since it would not have enough military resources to fight both wars simultaneously. Overall, Bismarck succeeded in his
“By the 19th century, steam power, cotton production, and the railroad had arrived in France” (Eiffel Tower). A large asset that France had was its railway system. This was an industry that was always expanding. In addition, the resources of France provided more jobs for the French. With these resources, they could also create new things with the help of its increasing technology. All this greatly increased the French economy, helping to stabilize the nation. During the French Third Alliance, this was a period of an expanding industrial nation. This shows that despite problems within its government, France was still able to grow as a nation and have a high standard of