Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-4rdrl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-28T17:13:52.317Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The First World War: Causes and Course

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

Hew Strachan
Affiliation:
Corpus Christi CollegeCambridge

Abstract

Image of the first page of this content. For PDF version, please use the ‘Save PDF’ preceeding this image.'
Type
Review Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Rohl, John (ed), 1914 Delusion or design?' The testimony of two German diplomats (London, 1973. P 21Google Scholar

2 Published in Britain as Germany's war aims in the First World War (London, 1967)Google Scholarand War of illusions: German polictes from 1911 to 1914 (London, 1975)Google Scholar.

3 Geiss, , ‘Origins of the First World War’, in Koch, , p. 79Google Scholar.

4 Ibid. p. 46.

5 Koch, p. 1.

6 Remak, , ‘1914 – The Third Balkan War: origins reconsidered’, in Koch, , p. 88Google Scholar.

7 Quoted in Porch, Douglas, Tke march to the Mame: the French army 1871–1914 (Cambridge, 1981), P. 55CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

8 Remak. in Koch. p. 89.

9 Zechlin, Egmont, ‘July 1914. Reply to a polemic’. in Koch, . p. 375Google Scholar: see also Turner, L. C. F., ‘The Russian mobilization in 1914’, in Kennedy, Paul M. ted.), The war plans ofthe great powers 1880–1914 (London, 1979), p. 260Google Scholar.

10 Joll. p. 17.

11 embodied in numerous articles and in Andrew, C. M. and Kanya-Forstner, A. S., France overseas: the Great War and the climax of French imperial expansion (London, 1981)Google Scholar.

12 Williamson, S. R.. The politics of grand strategy: Britain and France prepare for war, 1904–1914 (Cambridge Mass., 1969)Google Scholar.

13 Becker, J. J., 1914, Comment les Francois sonl entre's dans la guerre (Paris, 1977)Google Scholar.

14 Joll. p. 128.

15 Keiger, p. 77.

16 Williamson. Grand strategy; Porch, March to the Marne; Challener, R. D., The French theory of the nation in arms 1866–1939 (New York, 1955)Google Scholar; Ralston, David, The army of the Third Republic (Cambridge Mass., 1967)Google Scholar; Krumeich, G., Aufrustung und Innenpolitik in Frankreich vor dem Ersten Weltknega – Die Einführung der dreijahngen Dienstpflicht 1913–1914 (Wiesbaden, 1980)Google Scholar.

17 Porch, March to the Marne, ch. 11; Porch, , ‘The French army and the spirit of the offensive’, in Bond, Brian and Roy, Ian (eds.), War and society (London, 1975)Google Scholar.

18 Williamson, , Grand strategy, pp. 53–4Google Scholar, 121–2, 206–7, 220–1; Tannenbaum, J. K. ‘French estimates of Germany's operational war plans’, in May, Ernest R. (ed), Knowing one's enemies: intelligence assessment before the two world wars (Princeton, 1984)Google Scholar.

19 Keiger, pp. 126–7; C. M. Andrew, ‘France and the German menace’, in May. Knowing one's enemies.

20 Williamson, , Grand strategy, pp. 210Google Scholar, 212.

21 Mitchell, pp. 53–8, 98, 113–14.

22 Krumeich, Aufrustung und Irmenpolitik.

23 Ritter, Gerhard, The Schlieffen plan (London, 1958)Google Scholar; The sword and the sceptre (4 vols., London, 19701973)Google Scholar, II, ch. 9.

24 Fischer, , War of illusions pp 164Google Scholar, 169, Rohl, John C G, ‘Admiral von Muller and the approach to war, 1911–14’, Historical Journal, XII (1969), 651–73CrossRefGoogle Scholar, provides an account of the meeting without following Fischer s conclusions

25 Koch, p 14

26 Ibid p 18

27 Steinberg, Jonathan, Yesterdays deterrent Tirpitz and the birth of the German battle fleet (London, 1965Google ScholarHerwig, Holger, The German naval officer corps a social and political history 1890–1918 (Oxford 1973)Google Scholar, Herwig, , ‘Luxury’ fleet the imperial German navy 1888–1918 (London, 1980)Google Scholar, Berghahn, Volker R, Der Tirpitz-Plan Genesis und Verfall einer innenpolitschen Krisenstrategie unter Wilhelm II Dusseldorf, 1971)Google Scholar

28 All these articles are reprinted in Kennedy War plans

29 Koch, p 12

30 Fischer, 11 ar of illusions, p 177Google Scholar

31 Weir, Gary E., ‘Tirpitz, technology and building U-boats 1897–1916’, International History Review, VI (1984), 174–90CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Herwig, , ‘Luxuryfleet, pp. 87–8Google Scholar.

32 Marder, Arthur J., From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow: the Royal Navy in the Fisher era 1904–1919 (5 vols., London, 19611970), I, 373Google Scholar.

33 Lambi, p. 355.

34 Quoted in ibid. p. 343.

35 Quoted in Joll, p. 186; see also Koch, H. W., ‘Social Darwinism as a factor in the new imperialism’, in Koch, pp. 319–42Google Scholar.

36 Lambi, pp. 242–44.

37 Janssen, Karl-Heinz, ‘Gerhard Ritter: a patriotic historian's justification’, in Koch, pp. 297–8Google Scholar.

38 Erdmann, Karl Dietrich, ‘War guilt 1914 reconsidered: a balance of new research’, in Koch, p. 357Google Scholar.

39 N. Stone, ‘Moltke and Conrad: relations between the Austro-Hungarian and German general staffs, 1909–14’, reprinted in Kennedy. War plans.

40 Erdmann, in Koch, p. 361.

41 Ibid. p. 361; also Zechlin, in Koch, p. 376. Both are using Trumpener, Ulrich, ‘War premeditated? German intelligence operations in July 1914’, Central European History, IX (1976), 5885CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

42 Erdmann, in Koch, p. 362.

43 Steiner, Zara, Britain and the origins of the First World War (London, 1977), pp. 120–4CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

44 Mommsen, Wolfgang J., ‘Domestic factors in German foreign policy before 1914’, Central European History, VI (1973), 36–9Google Scholar; Koch, pp. 14–15.

45 In ‘July 1914’, Koch, , p. 384Google Scholar; his earlier essay, ‘Cabinet versus economic warfare’, originally published in 1966, followed the Ritter/Fischer line, Koch, pp. 227–8.

46 For example, he contends that Bethmann aimed to avoid prolonging the war by doing the minimum militarily, and he elaborates on Bethmann's respect for international law. Zechlin, in Koch, pp. 217–20

47 Lambi, pp. 124, 244.

48 On Vienna's central and neglected role in the origins of the war. Williamson, Samuel R. Jr, ‘Vienna and July 1914: the origins of the Great War once more’, in Williamson, and Pastor, Peter (eds.), War and society in cast central Europe, vol. V: essays on World War I: origins and prisoners of war (New York, 1983)Google Scholar.

49 Geiss, in Koch, p. 81.

50 Joll, p. 13.

51 Remak, Joachim, ‘1914 – the Third Balkan War: origins reconsidered’, in Koch, p. 99Google Scholar.

52 Stone, , ‘Moltke and Conrad’, pp. 237–40Google Scholar.

53 Lieven, pp. 75–80.

54 Ibid. pp. 45–6.

55 Ibid. pp. 126–7.

56 Keiger, pp. 98–100.

57 Lieven, p. 48.

58 keiger, pp. 153–4.

59 Turner, ‘Russian mobilization’, p. 263Google Scholar.

60 Keiger, pp. 159–60.

61 Leven. pp.10–11.

62 keiger, pp 15–9.

63 Joll, p 6.

64 .Ibid p 119.

65 Ibid p 201.

66 Fischer, Fritz ‘world power and German war aims’ in Koch, p 183Google Scholar.

67 Joll, James. ‘The 1914 debate continues: Fritz Fischer and his critics’ in Koch. p. 31Google Scholar.

68 Joll, p.143: see also p. 144 for a similar point.

69 Ibid. p. 141.

70 Ibid. p. 64.

71 Ibid. p. 84.

72 Gooch, John, ‘Mr Haldane's army’, in The prospect of war: studies in British defence policy 1847–1942 (London, 1981)Google Scholar; Spiers, Edward M., Haldane: an army reformer (Edinburgh, 1980)Google Scholar, and ‘The regular army in 1914’, in Beckett, Ian F. W. and Simpson, Keith (eds), A nation in arms: a social study of the British army in the First World War (Manchester, 1985)Google Scholar; see also Williamson, , Grand strategy, pp. 92101Google Scholar, 302–3.

73 Hazlehurst, CameronPoliticians at war July 1914 to May 1915: a prologue to the triumph of Lloyd George (London. 1971)Google Scholar, part I; on the survival of the Liberal government as a cause for war, see Wilson, K. M‘The British cabinet's decision for war, 2 August 1914’, British Journal of International Studies, I (1975), 148–59CrossRefGoogle Scholar, and The policy of the Entente: essays in the determinants of British foreign policy 1904–1914. (Cambridge, 1985)Google Scholar.

74 Steiner, , Britain and the origins, pp. 220–3Google Scholar.

75 Zechlin, in Koch, p. 199.

76 Remak, in ibid. p.87.

77 Quoted in Marder, , From the Dreadnought, I, 112Google Scholar.

78 Liven, p. 4.

79 e.g. Kahler, Miles, ‘Rumors of war: the 1914 analogyForeign Affairs, LVIII (1979/1980), 374–96CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Layne, Christopher, ‘1914 revisited: a reply to Miles Kahler’, Orbis, XXIV (1981), 719–50Google Scholar; International Security, IX, no. 1 (summer 1984)Google Scholar was devoted to the Origins of the war, and its articles have now been published as Miler, Steven E. (ed.), Military strategy and the origins of the First World War: an ‘International Security’ reader (Princeton, 1985)Google Scholar.

80 Joll, p. 202.

81 This has become the main theme of the writings of John Terraine.

82 Neilson. p. 281.

83 Burk, p. 8.

84 Burk, p. 5.

85 Neilson, p. viii.

86 Jeffery, p. 56.

87 Ibid. pp. 64–5.

88 Neilson, pp. 8–9. 116.

89 Ibid. p. 278.

90 Ibid. p. 142–6.

91 Ibid. p. 265.

92 Ibid. p. 272–3.

93 See, for example, Ibid. pp 191, 209.

94 Burk, pp. 21–2.

95 Morris, A. J. A., The Scaremongers: the advocacy of war and rearmament 1896–1914 (London 1984)Google Scholar.

96 Quoted in Haste, Cate, Keep the home fires burning: propaganda in the First World War (London, 1977), P. 43Google Scholar.

97 A point frequently stressed by Sanders, and Taylor, , and also by Beesley, Patrick in Room 40: British naval intelligence 1914–18 (London, 1982)Google Scholar; see P. M. Kennedy ‘Imperial cable communications and strategy 1870–1914’. reprinted in Kennedy, War plans.

98 Avner Offer has recendy highlighted the Royal Navy's attention to blockade against Germany until Fisher's departure in 1910. This was neglected by the Roval Navy after 1910, and by Marder, subsequently, Offer, ‘The working classes, British naval plans and the coming of the Great War’, Past and Present, no. 107 (05 1985). 204–26Google Scholar.

99 Sumida, s own views are summarized in ‘British capital ship design and fire control in the Dreadnought era Sir John Fisher Arthur Hungerford Pollen and the battle cruiser’, Journal of Modem History LI (1979) 205–30Google Scholar Sumida s presentation of his argument is quite cautious but it was used more combatively by Roskill, Stephen, in Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty the last naval hero an intimate biography (London 1980), pp 62–6 72Google ScholarThe implied criticism is of Marder From the Dreadnought Marder on the whole endorses Fisher s work

100 Sumida, Pollen papers, p 334Google Scholar

101 Marder, , From the Dreadnought I 395–7, III 4–5Google Scholar

102 In addition to Sumida s edition of Pollen s privately circulated works there is a book by his son Pollen, AnthonyThe great gunnery scandal the mystery of Jutland (London, 1980)Google Scholar

103 Bennett, Geoffrey, Naval battles of the First World War (London. 1968), p. 244Google Scholar.

104 Marder, , From the Dreadnought, III, 169Google Scholar.

105 Roskill, , Beatty, pp. 186–7, 190Google Scholar.

106 Sumida, , Pollen papers, p 340Google Scholar.

107 Marder, Arthur J., ‘The Dardanelles revisited: further thoughts on the naval prelude’, in From the Dardanelles to Oran: studies of the Royal Navy in war and peace 1915–1940 (London, 1974)Google Scholar; James, Robert Rhodes, Gallipoli (London, 1965), pp. 60–5Google Scholar.

108 Graham, Dominick and Bidwell, Shelford, Fire-power: British army weapons and theories of war 1904–45 (London, 1982)Google Scholar.

109 Fewster, p. 113.

110 James, , Gallipoli, p. 153Google Scholar; Herbert, A. P., The secret battle (Oxford, 1982; first published 1919), p. 79Google Scholar.

111 Ibid. pp. 222–3. 334–5.

112 Fewster. p. 155: also p. 153.

113 James, , Gallipoli, p. 351Google Scholar.

114 Fewster. p. 27. Bean's close involvement with the Australian War Memorial, which he conceived as a shrine to honour the dead of Australia's ‘Thermopvlae’, reinforces the point: see Jnglis, K. S.. ‘A sacred place: the making of the Australian War Memorial’, War and Society, III (1985), 99126CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

115 Jeffery, p. 121.