Where does AJP Taylor locate the blame for the outbreak of the First World War? Is his argument convincing?
HIST 1801 - MODERN EUROPE, 1900-1945 Tutorial Paper
Week 3 - Question 1: Where does AJP Taylor locate the blame for the outbreak of the First World War? Is his argument convincing?
The 28th of July 1914 marks the date when Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia, the months that ensued saw the chain reaction like declarations of war by many countries ultimately leading to the outbreak of the First World War. Many historians over the years have tried to determine the causes and reasons as to why the First World War broke out, one such historian was AJP Taylor. Taylor was a British historian who specialised in 20th century European diplomacy; he wrote several books discussing who and what caused the First World War. Taylors views indicate he believes that the war can be blamed on Austria-Hungary, Germany and several key individuals, namely Count Berchtold the foreign minister of Austria-Hungary, German chancellor Bethmann Hollweg and Alfred Von Schlieffen a German strategist. Taylor believes that if these individuals acted differently the war could have been avoided. However, Taylor does not discuss the September Programme, outlining Germanys aim to create a ‘Mitteleuropa’ in Europe, thus calling in to question the persuasiveness of Taylor’s argument.
Taylor specifically, locates the blame on the foreign minister of Austria-Hungary Count Leopold Von Berchtold. After the assassination of the Archduke by a Serbian militant on the 28th of June 1914,1 Austria-Hungary wanted to punish Serbia but not because of this crime. Taylor states that “they wanted to punish a different crime – the crime that Serbia committed by existing as a free national state.”2 Count Berchtold played a major role in deciding the punishment of Serbia, persuading the Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Josef to send the Serbs a very severe ultimatum which was delivered on the 23rd of July 1914.3 Berchtold went on to disregard Serbia’s largely submissive reply, in which it only disagreed to two
Week 3 - Question 1: Where does AJP Taylor locate the blame for the outbreak of the First World War? Is his argument convincing?
The 28th of July 1914 marks the date when Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia, the months that ensued saw the chain reaction like declarations of war by many countries ultimately leading to the outbreak of the First World War. Many historians over the years have tried to determine the causes and reasons as to why the First World War broke out, one such historian was AJP Taylor. Taylor was a British historian who specialised in 20th century European diplomacy; he wrote several books discussing who and what caused the First World War. Taylors views indicate he believes that the war can be blamed on Austria-Hungary, Germany and several key individuals, namely Count Berchtold the foreign minister of Austria-Hungary, German chancellor Bethmann Hollweg and Alfred Von Schlieffen a German strategist. Taylor believes that if these individuals acted differently the war could have been avoided. However, Taylor does not discuss the September Programme, outlining Germanys aim to create a ‘Mitteleuropa’ in Europe, thus calling in to question the persuasiveness of Taylor’s argument.
Taylor specifically, locates the blame on the foreign minister of Austria-Hungary Count Leopold Von Berchtold. After the assassination of the Archduke by a Serbian militant on the 28th of June 1914,1 Austria-Hungary wanted to punish Serbia but not because of this crime. Taylor states that “they wanted to punish a different crime – the crime that Serbia committed by existing as a free national state.”2 Count Berchtold played a major role in deciding the punishment of Serbia, persuading the Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Josef to send the Serbs a very severe ultimatum which was delivered on the 23rd of July 1914.3 Berchtold went on to disregard Serbia’s largely submissive reply, in which it only disagreed to two
Bibliography: Duffy, M. (2009) Who 's Who - Count Leopold von Berchtold. Available from: < http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/berchtold.htm> [31/3/2012] Fischer, F. “Bethmann Hollweg’s September Programme, 1914”, in Fritz Fischer, From Bismarck to Hitler. The Problem Of Continuity in German History, London, 1970 (p 72 – 73) Fischer, F. “German War Aims”, in Fritz Fischer, World Power or Decline: The Controversy over Germany’s War Aims in the First World War, transl. Lancelot Farral Robert Kimber and Rita Kimber, New York, 1974 (p 21 – 26) Hodge, C. Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914, Volumes 1 & 2. Greenwood Press, 2008. (p 307) Keegan, J.”War Plans”, In J, Keegan, The First World War. Vintage Canada, 2000. (p 30 – 31) Taylor, A.J.P. “The Outbreak of the First World War”, in A.J.P. Talylor, Europe: Grandeur and Decline, Middlesex, 1967, (p 183 – 189) Simkin, J. (2007) Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg [Internet]. Spartacus Educational, United Kingdom. Available from: < http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWbethmann.htm> [2/4/2012]