874 Ch. 22 • The Great War
advantage of the collapse of the shah’s authority, the two powers divided
Persia (Iran) into three zones—a Russian zone, a British zone, and a neu
tral zone—and agreed to respect each other’s zone of influence. The Rus
sians accepted British influence in Afghanistan, and both powers agreed to
stay out of Tibet. Russia hoped that Britain might support, or at least toler
ate, its interests in the Balkans, and its ultimate desire of controlling
Constantinople. The elimination of some of the tensions between Britain
and Russia strengthened the Franco-British Entente Cordiale.
The Europe of Two Armed Camps, 1905-1914
The inclusion of Russia in what was increasingly known as the Triple
Entente moved Europe toward a clear division into two camps. Cordial rela
tions, however, continued between Tsar Nicholas II and his cousin, German
Kaiser William II. The German emperor was also the grandson of Queen
Victoria of England—a standing joke in Berlin went that William feared no
one except God and his English grandmother. But in the Europe of entan
gling alliances, blood relations were subordinate to the logic of great
power interests and alliances.
The German government could find little reassurance in Italy’s nominal
alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Improved relations between
Italy and France confronted Germany with the prospect that Austria
Hungary would be its only dependable ally.
Should Austria-Hungary cease to be a power or, in the worst-case sce
nario, completely collapse because of national movements from within, Ger
many might be left alone, encircled by enemies. The German high command
prepared for a possible war against both France and Russia, a war that would
have to be fought on two fronts. This left the German government in the
position of having to support its troubled Habsburg ally unconditionally in
the Balkans.
Moreover, the German government, like the other great powers, began
to see military strength in a different way in 1904-1905. German military
planners, concerned that Russia was rapidly reconstituting its army in the
years following its humiliating defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904
1905, continued to build their forces, as did Austria-Hungary. The powers
increased ranks of soldiers and sailors, and almost frantically improved
weapons, aided by technological advances in warfare, including artillery that
could be fired more rapidly, machine guns, telephones, and even airplanes,
at first intended essentially for reconnaissance. Moreover, the German gov
ernment demonstrated that it was increasingly willing to use the threat of
war as a tool of diplomacy. This new approach reflected a growing sense that
it would be better to fight a war sooner rather than later, while Germany still
had what appeared to be a favorable military balance of power. In the mean
time, the public in every major power followed international politics with