The Entangling Alliances Program Simplified
A. Bismarck’s shrewd assessment of German needs (Realpolitik)
1. Re: France
2. Re: A-H & Russian (3 Emperor’s League 1872(-logic: 3 autocracies
3. Re: Italy (w/ Aus=triple alliance)- the logic? (Tunisia 1881)
4. Summary of first diplomatic period
B. 1890: Bismarck’s resignation; Germany fails to renew alliance w/ Russia

B. 1890: Bismarck’s; Germany fails to renew alliance w/ Russia
1. Major turning point & Dip Rev of ENORMOUS proportion: anti-German pole coming together with France at center
2. 1890-94: Franco-Russian Accord (Germans saw no logic)
3. 1902: secret Italian-French Agreement (composed difficulties over Morocco)
4. 1904: Anglo-French accord (thanks to Kruger Telegram, 1896 & German naval build-up)
5. 1907: Triple Entente of England, France & Russia (thanks to Moroccan Crisis of 1905, & composition of English-Russian difficulties
6. Summary of 2nd diplomatic period-These were the “Entangling Alliances” that would bring all the major European powers into war, when it would break out.
There was a big German naval build-up
Causes of the Great War
The outbreak of a succession of hostile conflicts between various powers that boiled over into World War I

The Allied Powers (a.k.a. The Triple Entente)
1. Main= England, France, Russia
2. Italy joined this side in 1915
3. Other powers who joined: Serbia, Rumania, Greece, Japan, & U.S. (Prof H-P’s father recalls…)
The triple Alliance (a.k.a. the Central Powers)
1. Main = German, Austria-Hungary, & Italy (till 1915)
2. Other powers who joined: Bulgaria & Ottoman Empire

II. The War Itself: An Analysis of Key Points
A. Expectation of rapid success
On all sides
Existence of general staffs did not help
Germans had their Schleiffen Plan” to launch an offensive, in case of total Russian mobilization; French had plan 17 should Germany attack her.
1914 Highlights:
6/28/14- assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand & wife in Sarajevo, Serbia; ut it was summer and few people expected war;
6/23/14- A-H sends ultimatum to Belgrade (Serbia) which partially complies; meanwhile, heads of state of the major European powers (including the Germans0 & all foreign ministers initiate flurry of diplomatic efforts to avert war (all sorts of visits back and forth);
Vital to understand: political leaders were not uniformly against the war (e.g. the Austrian crown council, excepting Hungarian premier Count Tisza, favored war against Serbia):
Negotiations ultimately break down, Serbia, having Russian backing, still evasive
7/28 A-H declares war on
A very key issue: Russian mobilization & great German fear of 2-front war (signif. Of Schlieffen Plan)
N.B. Tsar willing to hold back, but as negotiations went nowhere, he was pressed finally to approve general mobilization
July 31: Germany proclaimed “state of threatening danger of war” & sent Russia 12 hr ultimatum to cease preparations on the German frontier
Germany then asked France how she would act if hostilities erupted between Germany & Russia
British requested that Germany respect Belgian neutrality; Germany refused
August 1: French reply to Germany;
3:55 pm France began Mobilization
4 pm