Differences Between The Kaiser And The Tsar

Relations between the French and Germans were additionally beset, while France and Russia likewise had their disparities. The leaders of Austria-Hungary considered Serbia in charge of Archduke Francis Ferdinand 's demise in a terrorist assault in 1914. Leaders of Austria-Hungary wanted to rally the people of their vanishing empire going to war against the minuscule Serbia, trusting a

1914 was a devastating year for many countries of the world, as world war one began to take full effect. But as world war one shook the world; it began to question Nicholas II’s ability to rule Russia. In this essay i will discuss the extent of world war one’s responsibility in Nicholas II’s downfall, and the extent of other contributing factors. I will argue that Nicholas II’s own traits as a leader were the main reason for his downfall.

1. Assess the leadership capabilities of Kaiser Wilhelm II. What are his strengths and weaknesses?

This leads to the conclusion that the European powers were ready for war in 1914. It is important to realize that since the European powers made alliances with each other, small arguments concerning one power might lead to a war involving all the powers. In the case of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, this situation created a serious misunderstanding between Austria-Hungary and Serbia and as a result, the other nations in Europe involved in alliances with either 2 countries were obligated to support them. Alliances were originally created strictly for defensive purposes but by 1910, many of the alliances had changed their character like the Austro-German alliance. Germany promised to give military aid to Austria-Hungary to invade Serbia and on the other hand, Russia provided Serbia with military assistance. As alliances had become instruments of national aggression, the chances of war doubled. The probability of Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia due to the death of their heir increased because Austria-Hungary could rely on the support of Germany to help achieve its goal. In addition, this fragile interlock of alliances relied on the leaders of the European countries to act reasonably however, this was not the case in the situation of World War 1. The Kaiser of Germany felt his country was being denied the chance to unleash its full potential by Britain so the power hungry ruler was determined to

A young generation was emerging within Serbia and Bosnia whose experience of national and social struggles had taught them the effectiveness of violence as a means to achieve goals (as seen in the Balkan Wars 1912-13). It was a generation that demanded action and sacrifice instead of words and political wisdom (Cirkovic 246). Russia repeatedly assured their Slav brethren that they only had to wait (MacKenzie 58). Serbian agitation against Austria-Hungary was increased and the more the Austro-Hungarians attempted to subvert it, the more violent and fanatical it became. The fearlessness that was born from the support of Russia led those seeking Slavic unity to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, thereby triggering the cascade that began WWI.

A serbian terrorist group called the “Black Hand” killed Francis Ferdinand. After the assassination, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum or a final set of demands (457). In the ultimatum Austria-Hungary accused Serbia for not having a strict enough government and restricting the press. Also for allowing crimes to happen against the monarchy. The ultimatum demanded Serbia to stop all propaganda against their government and allow the Austria-Hungarian government representatives to suppress the subversive movement (Document 3).

This concept leads to the assassination of Austria’s archduke, Franz Ferdinand. This single event is known as the spark of World War I. Serbia wanted independence and freedom from Austria-Hungary. A Serbian nationalist by the name of Gavrilo Princep assassinated the archduke and his wife as they drove by him in a car. The Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist group, orchestrated the attack, causing Austria to declare war on Serbia who was backed by the Russians. Russia, who secretly wanted to have control over Serbia, claimed be motivated by Pan Slavism. Pan Slavism is essentially Slavic nationalism, or the belief that all Slavs should support each other. According to Document 3, Austria-Hungary then made many demands for Serbia to comply with. Serbia accepted almost all demands, but this was not acceptable to Austria-Hungry, who declared war on Serbia soon after. The rest of the European Powers followed due to the Alliance system. Another event, called the Moroccan crisis, also lead to the outbreak of World War I. Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany publicly declared his support for Morocco, angering of France and Britain. The visit was intended to serve as a demonstration that Germany would back Morocco against French expansion. Great Britain and France were extremely angry over what they considered to be their business. Germany had to take most of the blame for World War I as a condition of the Versailles Treaty. According to Document 4, the Treaty forced Germany to pay all reparations for the war and limit it’s boundaries and military size. Germany resented the Treaty and the countries involved. This would eventually lead to the Second World War. Russia left World War I to focus more on internal conflict (revolution). As Russia left the conflict, the United States was pulled into it. The Zimmerman telegram was a secret telegram sent from Germany asking Mexico to enter the war to weaken

Jean-Jacques Becker and Gerd Krumeich state that the attack on the Archduke would provide Austria-Hungary’s “political and military leaders with a convenient reason for dealing conclusively with the Serbian threat.” It was Austria-Hungary whom sent an ultimatum that they knew Serbia would not agree to. They did this knowingly, counting on Serbia to reject the ultimatum. Austria-Hungary took Serbia’s one reservation to the ultimatum as a declaration of war. Additionally, they are the reason why Germany became involved in the conflict. Although Germany provided Austria-Hungary a blank check, it was Austria-Hungary who decided that they would begin a conflict with Serbia. Austria-Hungary is ultimately whom should be held responsible for initiating World War I.

However, Nicholas’s personality was not the sole reason why the Old Regime collapsed. Chubarov argues that “another Peter the Great could have saved the Romanovs and Imperial Russia. It is obvious though that the last tsar could not” . Nicholas’s lack of

It is hard to believe that such a grand war broke out due to a quarrel between just two nations, and the “blank check” is a noteworthy factor in the escalation of this war. Its significance to history is due to the fact that war between two countries and Germany’s support to Austria-Hungary quickly erupted into one of the most memorable and major wars in the world. For this very reason is why I myself became interested in this topic. In school we have learned a lot about World War I and the formation of alliances, but Germany’s pledge to support Austria-Hungary in their decision to attack Serbia was something I never took into account as a possible cause to World War I. Therefore this topic caught my attention as I began to question what position the “blank check” had in triggering such a massive war and if war could have been avoided if it was never issued. I believe for this very reason it is worthy of investigation and would attract the attention of others since it was a key aspect in the timeline of the world’s history. During my research I will be looking at primary and secondary sources, with respect to any biases that may be present.

The Serbian nationalists were the main cause of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination and aided in the start of World War I. After the Austria-Hungary Empire annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, the country of Serbia encouraged Serbians living there to rebel “against Austria-Hungarian rule in frequent protests and civil disturbances” (Pendergast 16). The Serbians began to fight for independence against rule of Austria-Hungary which led to the assassination of the Archduke of the Austria-Hungary Empire, Franz Ferdinand. The Black Hand was the terrorist group that murdered Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie. Not only was it “led by Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic, the head of Serbian military intelligence” but Austria’s Serbian ambassador is said to have known about the assassination beforehand (Pendergast 21). Serbian’s were sick of being ruled in an empire, so “militant groups like the Black Hand, wanted to untie the Slavic people in an independent pan-Slavic state” (Pendergast 45). They were determined to put all the Slavic people together as a separate nationality and destroyed people who got in their way, including Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of the Austria-Hungary Empire. With Franz Ferdinand being the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne, the Austria-Hungarian Empire began to call for a war against the Serbians but needed allies in order to have a chance of winning.

In this article Ostrowski discusses the nature of the Tsar’s power in collaboration with other Russian institutions including the boyars and church in the 16th and 17th century. Ostrowski attempts to refute the traditional use of a absolutist or autocratic framework by historians when studying Russia by proving a level of collaboration or exchange between the Tsar and the elite. This article is a helpful addition to this research paper as it will help develop my analysis of the way Orthodox Russian’s viewed and interacted with their

On July 28, 1914 the United States entered a war to end all wars World War I. America intended to stay out of conflict and keep peace but ‘‘Zimmermann Telegram’’ — a signal intercepted and deciphered by British intelligence from Germany’s foreign minister to his man in Mexico, offering the Mexicans the return of territories lost to the US if they joined the war on Germany’s side helped generate support for war. While fighting the government came to a realization that the that America did not have enough money to afford a war so the military couldn’t afford supplies. The idea for war bonds came into play. They will help money circulate and help pay for supplies. When the government issued war bonds the military could pay for everything they

The telegraph messages between the Kaiser and the Tsar of 28-29 July give great insight into Wilhelm’s leadership. His cruelty and aggressive leadership is evident when he feels justified by Austria- Hungary’s’ actions to avenge the death of their Duke Franz Ferdinand ‘You will doubtless agree with me, that all persons morally responsible for the dastardly murder should receive their deserved punishment’. His persuasive leadership tactics are seen when he tries to persuade the Tsar to not intervene with Austria–Hungary’s actions against Serbia. His manipulative leadership tendencies are clear as he tries to appel to the Tsar on a more human level.

One of the reasons led to World War One was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Serbian (Fromkin 121). Although multiple reasons have been affiliated to his assassination, most of those reasons revolve around upholding Serbia’s power. On the one hand, Austria-Hungary had planned to attack Serbia since it was at its weakest point due to the adverse effects of the Balkan War they had just undergone (Fromkin 122). On the other hand, Serbia was making an effort to regain control over Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was under the control of Austria-Hungary (Fromkin 122). Before the assassination of Franz, the Bosnia-Herzegovina crisis had heightened to a point where Austria intended to invade Serbia (Fromkin 74). It was evident that Serbia, through the assassination of Franz, was seeking to retain its independence and protect its regions from Austria-Hungary’s influence by intimidating