Causes of WWI - Militarism

Question 1

What does militarism mean?

Answer 1

• The love of war

- The increasing of one’s armed forces

Question 2

Who was the dominant naval power in 1900?

Answer 2

Britain

Question 3

What did Kaiser Wilhelm do in 1898?

Answer 3

Announce his intention to build a powerful German navy

Question 4

Who felt threatened by Germany’s naval expansion?

Answer 4

Britain

Question 5

Why was Britain so threatened by Germany’s naval expansion?

Answer 5

Britain wanted to remain the dominant naval force in the world.

It also didn’t understand why Germany needed a large navy in the North Sea.

Question 6

Why did Germany claim it needed a navy?

Answer 6

To protect its growing shipping trade

Question 7

What did Britain build in 1906?

Answer 7

The first Dreadnought

Question 8

What was a Dreadnought?

Answer 8

A new type of battleship that was faster and more powerful than any ship that had gone before

Question 9

What did Britain’s building of the Dreadnought trigger?

Answer 9

A naval arms race between Germany and Britain

Question 10

When did Germany build its first Dreadnought?

Answer 10

1908 (two years after Britain’s first dreadnought)

Question 11

How many Dreadnoughts had Britain built by 1914?

Answer 11

24

Question 12

How many Dreadnoughts had Germany built by 1914?

Answer 12

17

Question 13

What is an arms race?

Answer 13

When two nations compete to have the largest armed forces

Question 14

What was glorified in Germany?

Answer 14

War

Question 15

What evidence was there that the Kaiser loved war?

Answer 15

• He preferred being photographed in uniform
• He loved parades
• He was involved in Germany’s military planning

Question 16

Who was General von Moltke?

Answer 16

The Chief of German General Staff

Question 17

What did von Molkte say in 1912 about war?

Answer 17

That war was “unavoidable”

Question 18

How large was the French army by 1914?

Answer 18

5 million

Question 19

How large was the Russian army by 1914?

Answer 19

6 million

Question 20

How large was the British army by 1914?

Answer 20

Only 250,000

Question 21

How large was Germany’s army by 1914?

Answer 21

4.9 million

Question 22

Why was Britain’s army so small?

Answer 22

It was a naval power - it didn’t need a large army

Question 23

Whose army increased the most between 1900 and 1914?

Answer 23

Germany’s (0.5m to 4.9m)

Question 24

What did historian James Joll say about the arms race?

Answer 24

That is “contributed to the sense that war was bound to come”

Question 25

Who became emperor of Germany in 1888?

Answer 25

Kaiser Wilhelm II

Question 26

What does Kaiser mean?

Answer 26

Emperor (derived from the ‘Caesar’)