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fandomhigh2006-10-23 08:18 pm
notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2006-10-23 08:18 pm
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Interstellar Relations, Monday, 5th Period
Instead of Professor Roslin standing at the front of the class, Elizabeth was leaning against the desk, cupping a mug of coffee and glancing down at some notes in front of her. The SmartBoard at the front of the classroom was on.
Looking up as the class was seated, she smiled. "Hey, guys. Professor Roslin can't be here today, so you're stuck with me instead," she said. "And as I'm afraid I don't have any experience of interstellar relations --" And yes, that was said with a completely straight face, "We're sticking on Earth for this lesson."
"Okay, so we're looking at the build up to World War I. Like all other wars, it broke out because of a combination of short-term and long-term factors and different historians have offered different explanations. Most, however, would agree that these points were important factors in the outbreak."
The origins of World War I
1. The system of alliances.
2. German militarism and fear of encirclement.
3. The Moroccan crises of 1905 and 1911 and the struggle for overseas colonies.
4. The arms race.
5. Austria's seizure of Bosnia in 1908 and the Balkan Wars of 1912-13.
6. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand on June 28th, 1914.
7. The German invasion of Belgium on August 3rd, 1914.
Following Germany's victory over France in the Franco-Prussian war in 1871, the balance of power in Europe changed. In 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary signed a secret treaty promising to protect each other if eithere were invaded. In 1882, Italy joined this alliance, which is known as the Triple Alliance. To counter this, France and Russia signed a treaty of alliance in 1894. Russia was feeling vulnerable due to the signing of the Triple Alliance, while France had been diplomatically isolated as a result of the policies of Otto von Bismarck. The Franco-Russian Alliance promised mutual military assistance if either country was attacked. In the case of an attack by Germany or another member of the Triple Alliance assisted by Germany, Russia and France were to attack Germany at the same time, so it would have to fight in the West and the East.
"In 1894, Britain's foreign policy was to refuse to make alliances with anyone, in what was called Splendid Isolation. However, ten years later the growth of the German navy persuaded Britain that Germany was a real military threat against the British Naval supremacy. As a result, Britain made an agreement with France -- the Entente Cordiale. Despite German efforts to break this Entente, it survived to 1914 and was even strengthened in 1907 when Britain and Russia also signed an agreement. By 1914, therefore, the Great Powers in Europe were divided into two camps, known as the "Allies" or "Allied Powers" and the "Central Powers." Although the aims of these alliances was to keep the peace, in fact they ensured that the Great Powers became involved in World War I.
One treaty which also bore great importance in the start of the War was the Treaty of London, which had been signed and declared Belgium's neutrality and implied that the powers who signed it would defend that neutrality should it even be invaded. When the Germans invaded Belgium on August 3rd, 1914 in violation of the Treaty, the British declared war on August 4th. Informed by the British ambassador that Britain would go to war with Germany over the latter's violation of Belgian neutrality, German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg infamously exclaimed that he could not believe that Britain and Germany would be going to war over a mere "scrap of paper."
"Okay, moving on now to what was essentially the trigger. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot to death in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by a Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. Princip was a member of the "Black Hand," an organization committed to forcing Austria out of Bosnia. Although there was no evidence to link Princip with the Serbian government, the Austrian government used Ferdinand's assassination as an excuse to present Serbia with an ultimatum. When Serbia did not fully meet Austria's terms -- they agreed to nine out of the ten points -- Austria declared war and this started the chain of events which led to an all-out world war.
So, now we get to watch this complex series of alliance play out.
June 28th: Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo.
July 5th: Austrian government requests German backing if Austria-Hungary decides to use force against Serbia. German backing was agreed.
July 23rd: Ultimatum delivered to Serbia. Serbia agree to nine out of ten points.
July 28th: Austria declares war on Serbia. Serbia appeals to Russia, its ally, for help.
July 30th: Russia mobilizes troops and orders them to prepare for war.
July 31st: Germany sends ultimatum to Russia, demanding that Russia suspend all warlike measures within 12 hours. Germany also sends an ultimatum to France, demanding that it stays neutral.
August 1st: After Russia ignores Germany's ultimatum, Germany declares war on Russia. France mobilizes troops and also ignores Germany's ultimatum.
August 2nd: Germany demands from Belgium the right to send troops through its territory as part of its campaign against France. This was part of the Schlieffan plan.
August 3rd: Belgium refuses to allow German troops to cross its borders, but Germany invades Belgium anyway.
August 4th: Britain sends an ultimatum to Germany at 11am giving it 12 hours to withdraw from Belgium. At 11pm, Britain declares war on Germany.
"Okay, so, first of all, any questions?" asked Elizabeth, reaching down for a bottle of water. "What we're going to do is look at World War I as a whole example of how humans and our governments relate to one another on an international level. How much of this remains constant, and take a moment to think about just how different it could have been without all these treaties in place."
Once that was finished, Elizabeth placed her half-empty bottle down on the desk. "Now we're going to take a quick look at the impact of outside influence. The war became pretty much world wide when Britain entered, because with it came the remainder of the British Imperial colonies and dominions, which offered financial and military support from Australia, Canada, India, Newfoundland, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa.
On August 19th, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson addressed Congress and made public the U.S. policy of neutrality. During his address he warned U.S. citizens against taking sides in the war for fear of endangering the wider U.S. policy. This official stance that would last until 1917 when Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare - which seriously threatened America's commercial shipping - forced the U.S. to finally enter the war on April 6th, 1917. Previously, the U.S had provided a great deal of aid for the Allies and this continued to pour in. By the end of the war, for example, 89,000 tonnes of meat and 600,000 horses had been sent to Europe. Britain owed the US $4,277 million and France owed $2,997 million.
The US's decision to enter the war on the side of the Allies was a crucial factor in ending the military deadlock for two reasons. Firstly, it was a morale boost for the Allied soldiers in the trenches. And second, when the troops eventually arrived, it was in great numbers, although it took some time for the American presence to make a difference on the war. The US had a great navy, but it had virtually no army. Millions of men had to be conscripted and trained. There were few weapons factories. Tanks, guns and even rifles had to be supplied by the British and French, not the other way around. No American tanks and hardly any American planes ever reached the Western Front. The US introduced conscription on May 18th, 1917. By June 5th, over 10 million men were registered for service. From March 1918, 250,000 men were sent overseas per month. By the end of the war, nearly 2 million men were in Europe. This was more than the total number of British forces then in action.
"So, outside forces certainly made a great impact in this war and one lesson from it, I guess, is not to sink civilian ships," added Elizabeth, grinning and half shrugging as she leant against the desk.
[ooc:Argh. Some of it got overwritten without me noticing *goes to fix* Am cursed by this, I swear Fixed it. OCD on it's way up!]
Looking up as the class was seated, she smiled. "Hey, guys. Professor Roslin can't be here today, so you're stuck with me instead," she said. "And as I'm afraid I don't have any experience of interstellar relations --" And yes, that was said with a completely straight face, "We're sticking on Earth for this lesson."
"Okay, so we're looking at the build up to World War I. Like all other wars, it broke out because of a combination of short-term and long-term factors and different historians have offered different explanations. Most, however, would agree that these points were important factors in the outbreak."
The origins of World War I
1. The system of alliances.
2. German militarism and fear of encirclement.
3. The Moroccan crises of 1905 and 1911 and the struggle for overseas colonies.
4. The arms race.
5. Austria's seizure of Bosnia in 1908 and the Balkan Wars of 1912-13.
6. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand on June 28th, 1914.
7. The German invasion of Belgium on August 3rd, 1914.
Following Germany's victory over France in the Franco-Prussian war in 1871, the balance of power in Europe changed. In 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary signed a secret treaty promising to protect each other if eithere were invaded. In 1882, Italy joined this alliance, which is known as the Triple Alliance. To counter this, France and Russia signed a treaty of alliance in 1894. Russia was feeling vulnerable due to the signing of the Triple Alliance, while France had been diplomatically isolated as a result of the policies of Otto von Bismarck. The Franco-Russian Alliance promised mutual military assistance if either country was attacked. In the case of an attack by Germany or another member of the Triple Alliance assisted by Germany, Russia and France were to attack Germany at the same time, so it would have to fight in the West and the East.
"In 1894, Britain's foreign policy was to refuse to make alliances with anyone, in what was called Splendid Isolation. However, ten years later the growth of the German navy persuaded Britain that Germany was a real military threat against the British Naval supremacy. As a result, Britain made an agreement with France -- the Entente Cordiale. Despite German efforts to break this Entente, it survived to 1914 and was even strengthened in 1907 when Britain and Russia also signed an agreement. By 1914, therefore, the Great Powers in Europe were divided into two camps, known as the "Allies" or "Allied Powers" and the "Central Powers." Although the aims of these alliances was to keep the peace, in fact they ensured that the Great Powers became involved in World War I.
One treaty which also bore great importance in the start of the War was the Treaty of London, which had been signed and declared Belgium's neutrality and implied that the powers who signed it would defend that neutrality should it even be invaded. When the Germans invaded Belgium on August 3rd, 1914 in violation of the Treaty, the British declared war on August 4th. Informed by the British ambassador that Britain would go to war with Germany over the latter's violation of Belgian neutrality, German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg infamously exclaimed that he could not believe that Britain and Germany would be going to war over a mere "scrap of paper."
"Okay, moving on now to what was essentially the trigger. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot to death in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by a Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. Princip was a member of the "Black Hand," an organization committed to forcing Austria out of Bosnia. Although there was no evidence to link Princip with the Serbian government, the Austrian government used Ferdinand's assassination as an excuse to present Serbia with an ultimatum. When Serbia did not fully meet Austria's terms -- they agreed to nine out of the ten points -- Austria declared war and this started the chain of events which led to an all-out world war.
So, now we get to watch this complex series of alliance play out.
June 28th: Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo.
July 5th: Austrian government requests German backing if Austria-Hungary decides to use force against Serbia. German backing was agreed.
July 23rd: Ultimatum delivered to Serbia. Serbia agree to nine out of ten points.
July 28th: Austria declares war on Serbia. Serbia appeals to Russia, its ally, for help.
July 30th: Russia mobilizes troops and orders them to prepare for war.
July 31st: Germany sends ultimatum to Russia, demanding that Russia suspend all warlike measures within 12 hours. Germany also sends an ultimatum to France, demanding that it stays neutral.
August 1st: After Russia ignores Germany's ultimatum, Germany declares war on Russia. France mobilizes troops and also ignores Germany's ultimatum.
August 2nd: Germany demands from Belgium the right to send troops through its territory as part of its campaign against France. This was part of the Schlieffan plan.
August 3rd: Belgium refuses to allow German troops to cross its borders, but Germany invades Belgium anyway.
August 4th: Britain sends an ultimatum to Germany at 11am giving it 12 hours to withdraw from Belgium. At 11pm, Britain declares war on Germany.
"Okay, so, first of all, any questions?" asked Elizabeth, reaching down for a bottle of water. "What we're going to do is look at World War I as a whole example of how humans and our governments relate to one another on an international level. How much of this remains constant, and take a moment to think about just how different it could have been without all these treaties in place."
Once that was finished, Elizabeth placed her half-empty bottle down on the desk. "Now we're going to take a quick look at the impact of outside influence. The war became pretty much world wide when Britain entered, because with it came the remainder of the British Imperial colonies and dominions, which offered financial and military support from Australia, Canada, India, Newfoundland, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa.
On August 19th, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson addressed Congress and made public the U.S. policy of neutrality. During his address he warned U.S. citizens against taking sides in the war for fear of endangering the wider U.S. policy. This official stance that would last until 1917 when Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare - which seriously threatened America's commercial shipping - forced the U.S. to finally enter the war on April 6th, 1917. Previously, the U.S had provided a great deal of aid for the Allies and this continued to pour in. By the end of the war, for example, 89,000 tonnes of meat and 600,000 horses had been sent to Europe. Britain owed the US $4,277 million and France owed $2,997 million.
The US's decision to enter the war on the side of the Allies was a crucial factor in ending the military deadlock for two reasons. Firstly, it was a morale boost for the Allied soldiers in the trenches. And second, when the troops eventually arrived, it was in great numbers, although it took some time for the American presence to make a difference on the war. The US had a great navy, but it had virtually no army. Millions of men had to be conscripted and trained. There were few weapons factories. Tanks, guns and even rifles had to be supplied by the British and French, not the other way around. No American tanks and hardly any American planes ever reached the Western Front. The US introduced conscription on May 18th, 1917. By June 5th, over 10 million men were registered for service. From March 1918, 250,000 men were sent overseas per month. By the end of the war, nearly 2 million men were in Europe. This was more than the total number of British forces then in action.
"So, outside forces certainly made a great impact in this war and one lesson from it, I guess, is not to sink civilian ships," added Elizabeth, grinning and half shrugging as she leant against the desk.
[ooc:
Re: Causes of World War I
Re: Causes of World War I