Politics of the Extreme and World War I (^) ‹ 175
The Beginning of the War: 1914–1915
Key events leading to the beginning of the war and an early stalemate included the following:
• On July 23, 1914, Austria, at Germany’s urging, moved to crack down on Serbian
nationalism by imposing demands that Serbia could not meet (Austrian control of media
and police entities), after the assassination of the Austrian Archduke.
• On July 28, 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia. Russia began military mobilization as
a show of support for Serbia; that mobilization triggered the Schlieffen Plan.
• On August 4, 1914, the German army invaded Belgium, heading for Paris. In the first
16 months of combat, France suffered roughly half of all its war casualties. Two-thirds
of one million men were killed.
• Belgian resistance gave time for British troops to join the battle in late August, but they
joined a retreat.
• Russian troops mobilized faster than expected and invaded East Prussia. On August 26,
1914, German Commander Helmuth von Moltke transferred troops from the Western
Front to the Eastern Front. The victory by the Germans at the Battle of Tannenberg
led to the liberation of East Prussia and began a slow steady German advance east-
ward. However, the timetable of the Schlieffen Plan was altered, and the Germans were
doomed to fight a two-front war.
• On September 6, 1914, French troops met the Germans at the First Battle of Marne.
• October and November 1914 saw a series of local engagements aimed at outflanking the
enemy, sometimes known as the Race for the Sea, which extended the front line west
until it reached the English Channel.
• The British determination to hold on to the entire French coast stretched the front
north through Flanders. In the First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914,
the German advance was halted for good, leading to a stalemate and the beginning of
trench warfare.
• The Alliance system pulled six countries (and their allies) into the war initially, with
Russia, Great Britain, and France on one side, and Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy
on the other. Because Italy’s membership in the Triple Alliance called for aid to Austria
only in the case of Austria’s being attacked, Italy quickly left to join the Triple Entente
forces, in hopes of regaining the northeastern part of the country under Austrian control.Total War
When war was declared in 1914, it was met with a joyous enthusiasm all across Europe.
Explanations for this reaction include the following:
• A fascination with militarism that pervaded European culture
• Feelings of fraternity or brotherhood that a war effort brought out in people who lived
in an increasingly fragmented and divided society
• A sense of Romantic adventurism that cast war as an alternative to the mundane, working
life of industrial Europe
Additionally, there were several shared expectations among Europeans as they went to war:
• Recent experience, such as the Franco-Prussian war of 1871, suggested that the war
would be brief; most expected it to last about six weeks.
• Each side was confident of victory.
• Each side expected a war of movement, full of cavalry charges and individual heroism.21_Bartolini_Ch21_171-180.indd 175 27/04/18 1:55 PM