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What does 'balance of power' mean in the context of 19th-century Europe?
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All Flashcards in Topic 13.6
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13.6.112 cards
What does 'balance of power' mean in the context of 19th-century Europe?
A diplomatic situation where no single state is strong enough to dominate all the others — maintained through alliances and careful diplomacy.
What was Bismarck's central foreign policy goal after 1871?
To keep France diplomatically isolated so it could not find allies for a war of revenge over its 1871 defeat and loss of Alsace-Lorraine.
Name the four key elements of Bismarck's alliance system (1871–1890).
Three Emperors' League (1873/1881), Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary (1879), Triple Alliance with Italy (1882), and the secret Reinsurance Treaty with Russia (1887).
What happened at the Congress of Berlin (1878) and why?
The powers met to revise the Treaty of San Stefano after the Russo-Ottoman War; they shrank the new Bulgaria and gave Austria-Hungary rights to administer Bosnia-Herzegovina, defusing the crisis short-term.
Why did the Congress of Berlin settlement create long-term problems?
It left Austro-Russian rivalry over the Balkans unresolved — resurfacing in the 1908 Bosnian Crisis and the 1912–13 Balkan Wars.
Who was Wilhelm II and what change did he make in 1890?
German Kaiser from 1888; in 1890 he dismissed Bismarck and let the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia lapse, ending Bismarck's careful isolation of France.
What was the direct consequence of Germany dropping the Reinsurance Treaty?
Russia, with no reason to stay friendly to Germany, signed the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894 — exactly the two-front danger Bismarck had worked to avoid.
Define Weltpolitik.
Germany's post-1890 'world policy' of pursuing global colonies, prestige, and naval power to match Britain, driven largely by Wilhelm II.
How did Weltpolitik affect Britain's foreign policy?
The German naval race (Navy Laws, Tirpitz) alarmed Britain, pushing it to abandon 'splendid isolation' and sign the Entente Cordiale with France (1904) and an entente with Russia (1907).
Compare Bismarck's diplomacy with Wilhelm II's diplomacy.
Bismarck: cautious, defensive, focused on isolating France and balancing Austria-Hungary/Russia. Wilhelm II: personal, assertive, globally ambitious (Weltpolitik) — and far less careful about alarming other powers.
By 1907, how was Europe divided into rival blocs?
The Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) faced the Triple Entente (Britain, France, Russia) — a split driven largely by reactions to German policy.
What is the strongest counter-argument against blaming Wilhelm II alone for the breakdown of the balance of power?
Balkan nationalism and Austro-Russian rivalry over the declining Ottoman Empire were long-standing tensions that existed independently of German foreign policy.
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What was the 'Blank Cheque' of 5 July 1914?
Germany's promise of unconditional support to Austria-Hungary for action against Serbia, encouraging a harder line.
Name the two alliance blocs in Europe by 1907.
Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and Triple Entente (Britain, France, Russia).
Why did Austria-Hungary fear Serbian nationalism after the Balkan Wars (1912-13)?
Serbia had grown much stronger and more confident, becoming a magnet for South Slav nationalism inside Austria-Hungary's own multi-ethnic empire.
What triggered the July Crisis of 1914?
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
Why did the Schlieffen Plan fail?
It aimed to knock France out quickly then turn on Russia, but was halted at the Battle of the Marne (September 1914), leading to trench stalemate.
What was the 'Turnip Winter'?
The winter of 1916-17 in Germany, when the British naval blockade caused severe food shortages and turnips replaced potatoes and bread.
What two events triggered US entry into WWI in April 1917?
Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare against shipping and the Zimmermann Telegram (a proposed German-Mexican alliance against the USA).
Compare the military-defeat view and the home-front view of the Central Powers' collapse.
Military-defeat view: the Allies out-fought Germany in 1918. Home-front view: blockade, starvation and collapsing morale broke Germany from within before the army was fully beaten.
What happened at Kiel in November 1918?
German sailors mutinied, sparking revolution that spread to Berlin and led to the Kaiser's abdication days before the Armistice.
List the Central Powers.
Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.
What is the 'structuralist' vs 'decision-makers' debate on WWI's causes?
Structuralist view: the alliance system/arms race made war almost inevitable. Decision-makers view: individual choices in July 1914 actually caused the war.
Why was the order of the Central Powers' collapse in 1918 significant?
Bulgaria (Sept), the Ottoman Empire (Oct), and Austria-Hungary (late Oct) all surrendered before Germany, showing the alliance disintegrating under combined military and economic pressure.
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Total war
A war that mobilizes a nation's entire population and economy, not just its army, to fight.
What happened to Germany's economy during WWI (blockade)?
The British naval blockade cut off food and raw-material imports; by 1917-18 Germany faced severe shortages, and the 1916-17 'turnip winter' saw thousands die from malnutrition-linked illness.
How did WWI change women's roles on the home front?
Millions of women moved into munitions factories, transport, farming and nursing, filling jobs left by conscripted men — though most were pushed out again once the war ended.
Name one marginalized group whose WWI experience is debated.
Colonial and minority soldiers/workers (e.g. African and Asian colonial troops in French/British armies, or Jewish communities in Eastern Europe) — they served or laboured for empires that denied them equal rights, and some faced increased suspicion or violence during the war.
The Big Three
Woodrow Wilson (USA), Georges Clemenceau (France) and David Lloyd George (Britain) — the dominant leaders at the Paris Peace Conference.
What did Clemenceau want from the peace settlement?
Maximum security and punishment for Germany — reparations, territorial losses, and a weakened Germany that could never invade France again.
What did Wilson want from the peace settlement?
A 'peace without victory' based on his Fourteen Points — self-determination, open diplomacy, and a League of Nations to keep future peace.
Treaty of Versailles — key terms
Germany: War Guilt Clause (Article 231), reparations, army capped at 100,000, lost Alsace-Lorraine and colonies, Rhineland demilitarized.
Treaty of Sèvres vs Treaty of Lausanne (Ottoman Empire)
Sèvres (1920) dismantled the Ottoman Empire harshly; Turkish nationalist resistance under Mustafa Kemal forced a renegotiation, replaced by the much more favourable Treaty of Lausanne (1923).
Treaty of St Germain
Peace treaty with Austria (1919) — confirmed the break-up of Austria-Hungary and forbade union (Anschluss) with Germany.
Treaty of Trianon
Peace treaty with Hungary (1920) — Hungary lost about two-thirds of its pre-war territory and population.
Why is 'was the peace settlement fair?' a genuine historical debate?
Some argue it was too harsh on Germany (fuelling resentment and instability); others argue it was too lenient to truly weaken Germany, or that it was fair given the scale of WWI destruction — historians disagree on which flaw mattered most.
Topic 13.6 study notes
Full notes & explanations for Europe and the First World War (1871–1923)
History (2028+) exam skills
Paper structures, command terms & tips
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