Germany, united in 1871 into an empire under the rule of William I, embarked on the path of creating a colonial power. Leading German industrialists and financiers put forward a program of broad expansion: in 1884-1885. Germany established a protectorate over Cameroon, Togo, South West Africa, territories in East Africa and part of the island of New Guinea.
William I
Germany's entry into the path of colonial conquest led to an exacerbation of Anglo-German contradictions. To further implement its plans, the German government decided to create a powerful navy that could end the naval domination of Great Britain. As a result, in 1898 the Reichstag approved the first bill on the construction of the navy, and in 1900 a new bill was adopted, providing for a significant strengthening of the German fleet. [1]
The German government continued to carry out its expansionist plans: in 1898 it seized Qingdao from China, turning a small settlement into a fortress, in 1899 it acquired a number of islands in the Pacific Ocean from Spain. Britain's attempts to reach an agreement with Germany were unsuccessful due to the growing contradictions between them. [2] These contradictions were further intensified in connection with the grant by the Turkish government in 1899, after the visit of Emperor Wilhelm II to the Ottoman Empire and his meeting with Sultan Abdulhamid II, the German Bank of the concession for the construction of the main highway of the Baghdad railway, which opened Germany a direct route through the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor to the Persian Gulf and providing her with important positions in the Middle East, which threatened the sea and land communications of Great Britain with India.
Wilhelm II
Abdulhamid II
Back in 1882, in order to establish its hegemony in Europe, Germany initiated the creation of the so-called Triple Alliance - a military-political bloc of Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy, directed primarily against Russia and France. After the conclusion of an alliance with Austria-Hungary in 1879, Germany began to strive for rapprochement with Italy in order to isolate France. [3] In the midst of an acute conflict between Italy and France over Tunisia, Otto von Bismarck managed to persuade Rome to come to an agreement not only with Berlin, but also with Vienna, from whose strict rule the Lombardo-Venetian region was liberated as a result of the Austro-Italian-French war of 1859 and the Austro-Italian War of 1866. [4]
O. von Bismarck
The contradictions between France and Germany were aggravated by the latter's claims to Morocco, which led to the so-called Moroccan crises of 1905 and 1911, which brought these European countries to the brink of war. As a result of the actions of Germany, the solidarity of Great Britain and France only increased, which was manifested, in particular, in 1906 at the Algeciras Conference. [5]
Germany tried to use the clash of interests between Great Britain and Russia in Persia, as well as the general disagreements of the Entente members in the Balkans. In November 1910, in Potsdam, Nicholas II and Wilhelm II personally negotiated issues related to the Baghdad railway and Persia. [6] The result of these negotiations was the Potsdam Agreement, signed in St. Petersburg in August 1911,according to which Russia pledged not to interfere with the construction of the Baghdad railway. Germany recognized Northern Persia as a sphere of Russian influence and committed itself not to seek concessions in this territory. [7] However, in general, Germany did not succeed in separating Russia from the Entente.
As in other imperialist countries, there was a rise in nationalist sentiments in Germany. Public opinion of the country was preparing to wage a war for the redivision of the world. [8]
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Italy, having completely united in 1870, did not remain aloof from the struggle for colonies. Initially, the Italian expansion was directed to Northeast Africa: in 1889 part of Somalia was captured, in 1890 - Eritrea. In 1895, Italian troops invaded Ethiopia, but in 1896 they were defeated at Adua. [9] In 1912, during the war with the Ottoman Empire, Italy captured Libya [10], later turning it into its colony. [11]
As early as 1900, there was an exchange of notes between Italy and France on the mutual recognition of the latter Italian claims to Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, which were opposed by Austria-Hungary, and Italy - French claims to Morocco. In 1902, an exchange of letters between the French ambassador to Rome Barrer and the Italian foreign minister, Prinetti, concluded a secret agreement between France and Italy, which provided for the mutual neutrality of France and Italy in the event that one of the parties became the object of an attack or, as a result of a direct challenge, was forced to in defense, take the initiative to declare war.
Thus, despite the fact that Italy formally remained a part of the Triple Alliance by the beginning of World War I, colonial interests pushed her government, headed by Antonio Salandra, to join the Entente and join the war on her side in 1915. [12]
A. Salandra
