Post on 27-Dec-2015
transcript
Edward VII
• First King of England in the 20th Century
• Died in 1910-his funeral opened The Guns of August
• Oldest son of Queen Victoria• Married to Alexandra of Denmark• Mostly peaceful reign (save the Boer Wars-in South Africa).
• Very focused on military and foreign affairs
Edward VII-Uncle to Europe
• The German Emperor Wilhelm II-nephew• Tsar Nicholas II of Russia-nephew • Grand Duke Ernest Louis of Hesse-nephew • Duke Charles Edward of Saxe-Coburg-nephew • Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain-neice • Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden-neice • Crown Princess Marie of Romania-neice • Crown Princess Sophia of Greece-neice • Empress Alexandra of Russia-neice• King Haakon VII of Norway was both his nephew by marriage and his son-in-law
Edward VII-Uncle to Europe Continued…
• King George I of Greece-brother-in law • King Frederick VIII of Denmark-brother-in-law
• King Albert I of Belgium-cousin • King Charles I and King Manuel II of Portugal-cousin
• Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria-cousin • Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands-cousin
• Prince Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick-cousin
Wilhelm II, German Emperor/King of Prussia
• Ruled from 1888 to 1918• Forced Otto van Bismarck to resign as Chancellor and also got rid of his foreign policies.
• Ultimate goal was to reclaim Germany’s “place in the sun”.
George V
• The “new” king of England• Ruled from 1910-1936• Collected stamps and smoked a lot
• WWI took a toll on his health
Tsar Nicholas II
• Last emperor of Russia• Married to Alexandra, Queen Victoria’s granddaughter
• Saw Germany as the main enemy-even though the Kaiser was his cousin A series of telegrams were exchanged during the war: ”The Nicky-Willy telegrams”
• Forced to abdicate throne in 1917
King I Albert
• Ruled Belgium from 1909-1934• Upheld neutrality during WWI, standing up to Germany’s ultimatum
• Held up Germany’s “plan” by resisting and giving France time to make military preparations
Helmuth von Moltke
• In charge with carrying out the Schlieffen Plan.
• He believed that once started, the plan could not and should not be motified
Joseph Joffre
• Commander in Chief of the French military during WWI.
• In charge of defending France against the Schlieffen Plan.
• Devised Plan 17, which contained no over-all objective and no explicit schedule for operations.
Franco-Prussian War
• Waged from July 1870- Feb. 1871• Previously, Napoleon I had conquered German lands, in this battle, the roles would be reversed
• This was a rapid and overwhelming victory for Prussia
• This made a united German Empire possible and ended the Napoleonic Empire in France
• Germany becomes a major European power and takes the French territory of Alsace-Lorraine
Entangling Alliances
• Germany and France are bitter enemies• Germany is afraid of both Britain and Russia
• Russia is weakened from it’s loss in the Russo-Japanese War
• Britain is divided over the impending war and the loss in the Boer War.
• Belgium is neutral-Britain has pledged alliance if Belgium is invaded
• France is allied with Russia, but Russia had also been previously allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary
Entangling Alliances Continued
• Italy enters into an alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungry, pledging neutrality
• Serbia allies with Russia• Austria-Hungary and Germany are allied and would come to include the crumbling Ottoman Empire (whose land was very appealing to Austria)
The Moroccan Crisis
• Morocco was given to France by Britain in 1904.
• Germany announces its support for Moroccan independence in 1905.
• Britain supports France and war is avoided by an international conference in 1906.
• France agreed to make Morocco a French protectorate.
The Moroccan Crisis II
• In 1911, Germany sent a warship to Morocco claiming that the French had violated international agreement.
• Britain again defends France and Germany backs off in exchange for part of the French controlled Congo.
Crisis in the Balkans
• In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexed the territory of Bosnia (which had formally been a Turkish province)
• This threatened Serbia, which was also interested in this territory. War threatened between Serbia (allied with Russia) and Austria-Hungary (allied with Germany). War is avoided, but tensions are still high
The Balkan Wars of 1912-13
• The Balkan states, including Serbia, fought the Turks and drove them back to Constantinople.
• The Balkans began to fight over the territory. Tensions increased again when Austria-Hungary forced Serbia to give up some of the lands gained.
• On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the heir to the Austo-Hungarian empire) is assassinated in Sarajevo by the Serbian Nationalist group The Black Hand.