The Alliance System was a complex network
of agreements, contracts and understandings that can be difficult to
understand. Your job is to simplify things so that you
understand things!
- Begin by reading Farmer (42-9) and jotting down in rough
the details of all the 'alliances' he mentions.
- Next either draw or get from the Internet a map of the
alliance system (like the one in McAleavy p.5 or Brooman p.15
- Underneath the map draw up a timeline of how the Alliance
system came about. Begin with the Dual Alliance in 1879 and end
with Triple Entente of 1907.
- Explain how the Alliance System was meant to prevent war. The
key word needed in your explanation is 'deterrence'.
- Explain how the Alliance System actually made war more likely
(rising tensions, military plans, military rivalries, arms race
etc.) and more difficult to contain (i.e. local conflict might
quickly become international)
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Alan Farmer Modern European History
1890-1990 (42-49)
McAleavy (5)
Brooman The End of Old Europe (14-15)
Trenches on the Web timeline 'the long fuse' http://worldwar1.com/tlprewar.htm
gives a detailed chronology of the causes of WW1 including the
alliances.
The Open
Door website has a set of notes and diagrams to explain the
alliance system (amongst other things).
The BBC
Curriculum Bite site has good maps and clear explanations about
how the alliances came about. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/hq/causes1_01.shtml
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| How did the
arms race contribute to rising tensions between the Great Powers?
This is not actually referred to in
the syllabus but is important background to understanding how the
alliance system was more than a diplomatic agreement. As well as
promises of military support, there was also real preparation
for war.
Under the heading 'Planning for War',
create two sets of notes that explain how the countries in the
alliances prepared for war (i) at sea (ii) on land.
Words/names/images to be included:
Dreadnought, Naval Race, German Naval Law, Tirpitz, Fisher, Naval
League, Risk Theory, Two-Power Standard, Schlieffen Plan, Plan
17.
Explain briefly how the war plans
helped make war more likely.
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Brooman The
End of Old Europe (16-19)
BBC
World War One
BBC Schools WWI Curriculum Bite
Trenches
on the Web
Spartacus
WWI Encyclopedia
Learning
Curve: The Great War
SchoolHistory
links for IGCSE |
| Alliances and
Empire: How did the Tangier Crisis (1905) and the Agadir Crisis
(1911) increase tensions between the Great Powers?
Read Brooman (20-21). Put a heading
'How did colonial problems create tensions between the Great Powers?
Two case studies.
(i) Tangier Crisis (1905)
(ii) Agadir Crisis (1911)
For each explain the following
briefly: (a) What caused the crisis? (b) What happened? (c) What was
the consequence? War was avoided in each case, why?
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Brooman - The
End of Old Europe (20-21)
Farmer - The First Moroccan Crisis, 1905-06 (48-9) and The Second
Moroccan Crisis, 1911 (51-2)
See The
Corner website for good clear explanations.
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