Escaping the Deadly Embrace by Andrea Bartoletti

Author:Andrea Bartoletti
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cornell University Press

Conclusion

World War I was the result of attempts by Germany (encircled great power) to eliminate the latent encirclement of France and Russia (surrounding great powers). Since its unification in 1871, Germany tried to isolate France and prevent the emergence of a Franco-Russian alliance. After this primary goal failed, Kaiser Wilhelm II tried to split the Franco-Russian alliance using coercive diplomacy.

Russia’s decision to ramp up construction of strategic railroads in Poland after its diplomatic defeat in the First Balkan War was the main cause for the outbreak of the July crisis. The reduction in the time for Russian mobilization provoked an increase in its invasion ability because it could quickly concentrate its army in a simultaneous attack with France (actualized encirclement). Germany, again, attempted to split the Franco-Russian alliance by fomenting a localized conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia during the July crisis. The Russian order of general mobilization, which was supported by the French “blank check,” forced German leaders to declare war on Russia.

All the other European great powers were dragged into the conflict due to the tight network of alliances that had formed in the previous two decades. France supported Russia against Germany (immediate rival) because their alliance would not have survived another diplomatic defeat in a crisis in the Balkans. Since 1912, Great Britain was clearly committed to intervene on the side of France in case of a war with Germany (immediate rival) because a defeat of its ally would have allowed Germany to control the other side of the English Channel and to concentrate its forces in an amphibious assault of the mainland. Austria-Hungary’s decision to escalate the crisis with Serbia and, in turn, to participate in the major war on the side of Germany was driven by the fear that Russia (immediate rival) would surround its southern border by extending its influence in the Balkans.

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