A History of Modern Europe - From the Renaissance to the Present

The Europe of Two Armed Camps, 1905-1914 879

France, Serbia, and possibly—given its announced interests in Tyrolean Aus­
tria and Dalmatia—Italy. The German government demanded that Russia
recognize Austria-Hungary’s annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The
Russian government, viewing itself as a victim of German bullying, now
sought a closer relationship with Britain. With German shipyards rapidly
producing the most modern and heavily armed fighting ships at a frighten­
ing pace, British officials quickly gave up their reservations about the
Entente Cordiale with France.
The Bosnian Crisis left deep scars on Russian relations with Austria­
Hungary. Serb relations with Vienna worsened. The Habsburg government
presented poorly forged documents to support claims that Serb authorities
were trying to stir up the Slav populations within the empire. However, in
fact, several groups of devoted Serb nationalists, including “The People’s
Defense” and “The Black Hand,” received tacit support from the Serb state,
as well as Russian encouragement.

The Second Moroccan Crisis (1911)

Germany also provoked the Second Moroccan Crisis. France had estab­

lished a virtual protectorate in Morocco, which violated the Algeciras agree­

ments of 1906. Using a local rebellion against the new Moroccan sultan as

an excuse, a French army marched on the town of Fez, allegedly to protect

French settlers. When the French government did not offer to compensate

Germany because France had added another protectorate to its empire, the

German emperor sent a small gunboat, the Panther, to the port of Agadir.

It arrived on July 1, 1911, with demands that Germany receive the French

Congo as compensation for France’s claiming Morocco as a protectorate.

France refused, bolstered by its closer relations with Britain, Russia’s

increased stability, and a wave of nationalist sentiment at home. Even Ger­

man moderates seemed angered at what appeared to be a British commit­

ment to preventing Germany from finding its “place in the sun.”

The Second Moroccan Crisis, like the first, passed without war. In

November 1911, Germany agreed to recognize Morocco as a French pro­

tectorate in exchange for 100,000 square miles of the French Congo. But

the crisis further solidified Europe’s competing alliances. Britain and France

now formalized the agreement by which each pledged to aid the other in

case of an attack by Germany. In April 1912, the British and French admi­

ralties established zones of responsibility for their fleets—the French in

the Mediterranean and the British in the English Channel and the North

Sea. The arms race intensified.

The Balkan Wars

The Bosnian Crisis of 1908 had demonstrated that events in the Balkans

could carry Europe to war. In 1911, the Turkish Ottoman Empire provided