The Strengths and Weaknesses of Major European Powers in Early Twentieth Century
In the early 20th century there were six main powers within Europe.
These were; Britain, Russia, Germany, Italy, and lastly France. All of
these six countries had influence in Europe and throughout the world
but Germany and Great Britain tipped the scales as heavyweights on the
world stage. However, all was not as it seemed, all countries had
weaknesses, as well as strengths. In this essay I am going to explore
this for all of the above countries.
GERMANY:-
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Germany was the strongest country in Europe, with the most powerful
army in the world. Since 1862 they had won wars against three of their
neighbours, including France.
Germany was well positioned in the centre of Europe. However, they
felt hemmed in by enemies or people who might be their enemies.
Germany was keen to win friends, so that they could feel more secure.
Germany was envious of the empires of Britain and France and they had
only a handful of small colonies worth almost nothing. They believed
that Britain and France should give up some of their colonies to make
things more equal.
Germany also thought that a powerful country should have a powerful
navy, and embarked on a vast naval expansion to rival Britain's,
however Britain reacted by increasing their already vast navy.
Germany was also emerging as the new industrial power in Europe with
high steel and coal production.
AUSTRIA:-
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Austria, or Austria-Hungary was one of the oldest states in Europe. It
was made up of many different races (Czechs, Magyars, Serbs, Croats
etc), but the ruling family is German. Many of the people in the
Austrian empire want to govern themselves, this created unrest in the
country.
Austria had interest in the land from the collapsing Turkish Empire in
the East, the area known as the Balkans. They resented Russia's claim
to look after some of the Slav people in their empire. In particular
...onger. But a generation later, the game was on once again; the war aims were much the same. Germany felt it must defend its way of life and stand up for progress. Britain wanted to defend the status quo but it used the excuse of the invasion of another country as the immediate pretext for entry: first Belgium, later Poland. In both world wars, Germany was the innovator, morally and technologically. Britain and France were fighting previous wars while Germany led the way in technology, techniques and tactics.
Militarily, from 1870 until 1914, most of Europe was arming itself at the rate never seen before in history. Desiring security and power, along with the conflict and tension during this time period forced all of the major powers involved in World War One to increase its military expenditures by at least 200%. Although Germany led this trend by a large margin, the desired effect – security and power – was difficult to attain, as the proportional rate that each country grew by was essentially the same as what it had begun with. Coinciding with this growth was the drastic change from a ‘defensive’ military mindset to one with a more aggressive tone. The French, taking a defensive stance during the 1870 Franco-Prussian War and Russia’s similar strategy against the Japanese in 1904-05, allowed for more of an aggressive military approach to take root. This is exemplified through the finalization of the German military strategy to quickly defeat France in case of war. Known as the Schlieffen Plan, it was developed in 1905.
It’s impossible to argue that the effects of World War One were devastating for all parties involved. Unfortunately the reason for the wars inception is not as transparent as its resulting destruction. This “Popular Amnesia regarding World War One” has been attempted to be unraveled by historians for decades resulting in multiple theories and explanations. The European imperial expansion that took place in the late 19th century and the tensions it created has been credited by many historians as a cause for World War One .This essay will examine the role that imperialism played in the lead up to the war, as well as the alliances that were formed as a result of the rivalries between European states.
In 1914, Europe was diving into two separate powers. One was Triple Entente composed of France, Russia and Britain. Other one was Triple Alliance, consists of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. (Pope 2) Each of the countries was connected with different treaties. The caused of European countries’ unstable political situation and threat of war was present. By arranging alliances with other governments, most countries found ways to protect themselves from assault. While Germany was becoming the center of the struggle, Europe made a spider web of tangled alliance that led most countries into two opposing powers. (Hamilton 16) In the late nineteenth century, the most surprising event in Europe was the birth of united state of Germany. Under the leadership of the Chancellor of Germany, Otto von Bismarck, system of alliances was established to achieve peace in Europe. By 1890, Bismarck succeeded in having every major power into his alliance system...
Conflict for power existed not only in Europe, but because of imperialism it spread across much of the Eastern Hemisphere. First and foremost, economic rivalries had developed between Britain, Germany, and France. The two Allied members of the group were very concerned about their Central opponent, as both wished to contain Germany’s territorial claims on the resource- and labor-rich continent of Africa.
The Varying Intensity of the Cold War in Europe The German surrender on the 7th May 1945 marked the end of the Second World War in Europe and heralded the beginning of a new conflict. This conflict would develop into the Cold War between the two largest countries in the world at the end of the Second World War, the United States of America (USA) and The Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR). This essay will examine the Cold War from a European perspective. It is important to examine the Cold War from a European Perspective because within Europe the USA's and the USSR's spheres of influence had a physical border.
In addition, having lost the war, the humiliated Germans were forced by the Allies to sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 that officially ended World War I. According to the harsh terms of the treaty, Germany had to hand over many of its richest industrial territories to the victors, and was made to pay reparations to the Allied countries it devastated during the war. Germany lost its pride, prestige, wealth, power, and the status of being one of Europe's greatest nations. (Resnick p. 15)
Early in World War II, Germany decisively demonstrated the devastating effect of a new paradigm in military power. The allies had to play catch up and adapt quickly in order to survive. Germany’s early success quic...
In the nineteenth, the political unification and industrialization causing many results in European nations’ growth in military power in the transatlantic. Towards the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, the political and military strength allowed the United States and Europe to wield unprecedented political, military, and influence around the globe. These powers in their military and politics were achievable by the ideologies, or isms, in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Liberalism, nationalism, and socialism helped shape the political and economical structure of the North America and Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth century.
In 1877, a young man wrote an impassioned treatise to his colleagues at Oxford.“I contend that we are the finest race in the world and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race,” wrote Cecil Rhodes, only 24 years old at the time. “Just fancy those parts that are at present inhabited by the most despicable specimens of human beings” he mused, “what an alteration there would be if they were brought under Anglo-Saxon influence.” Like many other Britons of his day, Rhodes was a staunch imperialist. The document cited, his famous “Confession of Faith,” was an unbridled expression of his belief in British racial superiority.
The Main Strengths and Weaknesses of the Major Powers of 20th Century At the beginning of the 20th century the five main powers in Europe
Dominant powers exerting control over weaker nations is not a historical anomaly, as it occurred before the rise of the Romans, but new imperialism’s intensity, due to the Second Industrial Revolution and competition, marks a pronounced time in history. When countries began gaining significantly from taking the natural resources from others, they developed new technology. These technological progresses strengthened Western expansionism more, as the production of rifles and maxim guns increased. These technological progresses strengthened Western expansionism, as the production of Maxim guns increased, further boosting the strength of New Imperialism. This typhonic, overseas expansion of nationalism had a considerable amount of consequences and even directly led to the first World War. New Imperialism equated to the destruction of a continent–leaving it in shambles. Very minimal to no positive aspects resulted from this 1890’s form of
World War I was the most destructive and deadly war for its time the world has ever experienced. There was a great amount of effort put into insuring that it would not happen again. At the Paris Peace Conference the ground work was laid for a new safer, and more organized Europe. In doing so it was necessary to instruct new laws, and to reestablish boundaries of countries. This meant that the losers of the war, mostly Germany, would have to suffer the most. The resulting laws agreed on by all the attending countries were known as The Treaty of Versailles. The treaty of Versailles failed to ensure permanent global peace because Germany resented the terms of the treaty. Feeling as if the treaty were unfair, Germany became increasingly set on
France aimed to get revenge on Germany for the Franco - Prussian war of 1970 - 1971 where France were disastrously defeated, Germany aimed to stay free from an invasion from France and keep Austria-Hungary happy as France and Austria- Hungary were on either side of German, and Russia wanted an ally so it could feel safe form Germany.
The New Imperialism during the 19th century throughout Africa and Asia was an influential prompt to the rise of colonialism and powerful European empires. Consisting of raw materials, markets for European business, and provided resources made the African and Asian colonies extremely ingenious for European empires. However, as the 20th century emerged, imperialism suddenly faded and became a sentiment of the past. Surely even one of the most influential empires at a certain point in time – Britain, gradually came at ease with dropping its imperial rule over some colonies. Likewise, following gory and extensive battles, a parallel approach was taken by France. Nevertheless, the utmost spark to the 20th century decolonization was primarily spurred by Europe’s economic condition, the altercation of superiority thought by Europeans, as well as the worldwide expansion of nationalism.