THE FLASH THAT SET THE WORLD AFLAME.
TEUTONS FIND IN A MURDER THE EXCUSE FOR WAR--GERMANY INSPIRED BY AMBITIONS
FOR WORLD CONTROL--THE STRUGGLE FOR COMMERCIAL SUPREMACY A FACTOR--THE
UNDERLYING MOTIVES.
The assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir apparent to
the throne of Austria, together with his wife, in Bosnia, during the
last days of June, 1914, is commonly regarded as the blow which forged
the chain that bound the European powers in bloody warfare. The tragedy
was the signal for putting on the world stage the greatest war play of
all times.
When Austria, regarding the murder of the Archduke as a National
affront, precipitated the conflict which has convulsed the universe, she
marked the way easy for Imperial Germany to put into effect a
long-contemplated plan for territorial expansion, and to wage a warfare
so insidious, so brutal and so ruthless in its character as to amaze the
civilized world.
Word-pictures were drawn, so to speak, of a mighty nation striving to
burst iron bands that were slowly strangling her, and her perfectly
natural wish to find outlets for her rapidly growing population and
commerce. Germany sought to obtain "a place in the sun," to use one of
the Kaiser's most unfortunate expressions, and the world soon found that
the "place" included the territory embracing a few ports on the English
channel, with control of Holland and Belgium, Poland, the Balkan
countries, a big slice of Asia Minor, Egypt, English and French colonies
in Africa, not to mention remote possibilities.
Germany's ambitions may have been laudable, but her methods of trying to
satisfy these ambitions were not such as to either gain for her the
"solar warmth" which she sought to win, or gain for her the friendship
of the nations of the civilized world. The drama which Germany directed
moved swiftly in this wise:
Austria claimed that Servia, as a Nation, was responsible for the
assassination of the Archduke in Bosnia. She sent an ultimatum to
Belgrade, making demands which the Servians could not admit. Thereupon
Austria declared war and moved across the Danube with her army.
THE FOUR GROUPS.
Austria's attack threatened to disturb the balance of power, because at
the time the continent was divided into four groups: The close alliance
of the central powers--Germany, Austria and Italy--referred to as the
Triple Alliance or Dreibund; the Triple Entente, or understanding
between Great Britain, France and Russia; the smaller group whose
neutrality and integrity had been guaranteed, or at least
recognized--Belgium, Denmark, Holland and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
sandwiched in between Germany, France and Belgium, together with
Switzerland. The fourth group included the Balkan nations: Bulgaria,
Servia, Montenegro, Greece, Turkey and Roumania, all drawn close to
Russia; Norway and Sweden, and the Iberian nations, Spain and Portugal.
The increase in the power of one of these groups would at any time have
been sufficient to precipitate a war, but in the movement of Austria
against Servia there entered a racial element. There was a threatened
drawing of another Slavonic peoples into the Teutonic system. Besides
this, the action let loose the flood of militarism which civilization
had been holding in check.
With this situation in mind, it is easy to understand how Germany could
precipitate a world conflict by attempting to keep open the way to the
near East, and controlling the markets as against Britain, France and
Russia. Back of all this was the question of commercial supremacy,
Germany showing her intention of keeping the way open to the near East
and dominating the markets as against Britain, France and Russia.
Russia could not stand by and see one of her Slavonic wards crushed, and
France, which held the Russian national debt, prepared to support her
debtor, whereupon Germany, threatened on both sides, struck. In doing so
the Kaiser ignored the rights of the small neutral states, invaded
Belgium and brought his armies within threatening distance of England.
France prepared to defend her country against Germany, and England,
alarmed by the move of Germany and sympathizing with Belgium, struck
back to avert the disaster which she felt must follow the German
movement, which had been threatening for years.
REGARDED EACH OTHER WITH SUSPICION.
All attempts to maintain a balance of power between the European
countries were from time to time jeopardized by various developments.
The elements in the continental group struggled against each other, and
the Nations, while seemingly at rest, regarded each other with
suspicion. One of the underlying forces that the world knew must at some
time be felt was of racial origin. The historical explanations of the
war would involve the retelling of almost everything that has happened
in Europe for more than a century.
But it is necessary to the long train of evil consequences which have
followed the interference of other powers in the settlement of affairs
between Russia and Turkey after the war of 1877, when Russia was
victorious. Russia and Turkey had agreed upon a large Bulgaria and an
enlarged and independent Servia, but at the Berlin Congress, which
Austria had taken the initiative in calling, Austria showed that she
wished to have as much as possible of this Christian territory of
Southeastern Europe kept under the domination or nominal authority of
Turkey. Austria feared Russia's influence with the new countries of
Servia, Roumania, Bulgaria and Montenegro, and therefore she desired to
have this territory remain Turkish by influence, to the end that she
might some day acquire part or all of it for herself.
One of the articles of the agreement of Berlin turned Bosnia and
Herzegovina over to Austria for temporary occupation and management.
Austria was a trustee of the country which lies between Servia and the
Adriatic sea, and while Austria's management was efficient, Servia
looked forward to the time when a union could be effected with Bosnia,
which would provide Servia with an outlet to the sea.
THE SERVIANS EMBITTERED.
But when Russia fell humiliated by the Japanese and the Young Turks
reformed their government, and there was prospect that the Turks might
demand the evacuation of Bosnia by Austria, the powers that had engaged
in the Berlin treaty were informed that Austria had decided to make
Bosnia and Herzegovina a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The
Servians were embittered, because this stood in the way of their
attaining their ideals, and their country was landlocked.
With this bitterness rankling in her national breast, Servia joined
forces with Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro to drive the Turks out of
Europe. The larger powers, including Austria, tried to prevent the
action, but the heroic Balkan struggle is a matter of history. Servia
was to have secured as a share of the conquered territory a portion of
Albania, on the Adriatic. This would have compensated her for the loss
of Bosnia, but the great powers, led by Austria, stepped in, and a plan
was devised of making Albania an independent state or principality, with
a German prince to rule over it.
The Servians were bitter, and both Servia and Greece demanded of
Bulgaria portions of the territory acquired in the war and which had
originally been assigned to Bulgaria as her share. Bulgaria stood upon
her technical rights and precipitated the last Balkan war, which was
really made possible, or probable, by the Austrian policy. When the war
was concluded Servia had acquired more territory to the south, but she
remained a landlocked country, with Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania
stretching between her and the Adriatic sea.
This was the situation when the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand
and his wife occurred in Bosnia. The Archduke was, in effect, a joint
ruler with the Emperor Franz Joseph, who was nearly 84 years of age, and
the entire world realized that great events were likely to follow the
killing of the heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne. The murder
was committed by a young Servian fanatic, and Austria determined to hold
Servia responsible for the murder, and therefore presented her
now-famous ultimatum.
NO CAUSE FOR WAR.
Students of history hold that if there had been a proper respect for the
commendable desire of the Christian peoples in European Turkey to throw
off the Turkish yoke and become self-governing states, there would have
been no cause for war, so far as relates to Servia and the situation
which precipitated the conflict. There would have been developed a
series of peaceful and progressive countries of the non-military type of
Denmark, Sweden and Holland.
A wiser treatment of the Balkan problem might have averted the war, but
it could not have set aside racial differences, nor could it have ended
the curse of militarism or set at rest the distrust and fear which it
promotes.
The end of European militarism might have come about, however, through a
better understanding between Germany and France. This might have been
arrived at years ago if Germany had opened the Alsace-Lorraine question,
and had rearranged the boundary line between the two countries so that
the French-speaking communities lost in the Franco-Prussian war be ceded
back to France. The cost of maintaining the feud over Alsace-Lorraine
has been a burden to both France and Germany, and the progress which
Germany has made in world affairs, despite the burden of militarism
which she has earned, is one of the marvels of the century. And the
situation compelled France to maintain a defensive military organization
which was as great a burden to her and barrier to world peace as the
military burden of Germany.
STRAIN BETWEEN GERMANY AND RUSSIA.
Whether Germany conspired to bring on the war so that she could wage a
campaign of aggression has not yet been made clear, but the strain
between Germany and Russia had been growing for some time, and the
assassination of the Teutonic heir, Francis Ferdinand, by a ward of
Russia, created an occasion which gave Germany an opportunity to fight,
without being compelled to directly precipitate the conflict. Russia
could do naught else but come to the aid of Servia, and Germany by
reason of her alliance with Austria must aid the latter country.
Germany anticipated the entry of Italy into the conflict as the third
member of the Triple Alliance, but Italy did not regard Germany's action
as defensive and declined to aid Austria. Germany had made overtures to
Great Britain, but England had an understanding with France, which was
in the nature of a limited alliance, and Germany might have kept England
out of the struggle; but Germany proceeded with a plan to invade France
by way of Belgium, which was in violation of international agreement
establishing Belgium's neutrality and independence. Germany had nothing
to gain by choosing the Belgium route, for the fact is that even had the
Belgian government approved the movement, there must have been a French
counter-movement, which would have made Belgium the theatre of war just
the same.
Pan-Germanism has been described as one of the underlying motives in the
world war, and Pan-Slavism has always opposed Pan-Germanism.
Pan-Germanism is described as a well-defined policy or movement which
seeks the common welfare of the Germanic peoples of all Europe and the
advance of Teutonic culture, while Pan-Slavism, represented by Russia,
seeks in the main the uniting of all the Slavonic folk for common
welfare. The contact between these two has always been seething, and the
racial differences made burdensome the arbitrary alignment and political
geography arranged by the Berlin Congress.
OUTLETS TO THE WORLD'S MARKET.
The commercial side, however, was a big factor, for Germany sought world
markets for its products. In the near East are the grain fields of
Mesopotamia, and in the far East are the vast markets of India and
China. The great banking and financial interests of Europe have been
seeking the conquest of Asia for nearly half a century. German capital
built railroads through Asia Minor, but English capital controls the
Suez Canal. Russia welded the Balkan states until the Slavonic wedge
from the Black sea to the Adriatic barred Germany's way to the Orient.
England threatened the Kaiser's expansion on the sea; while Russia, on
one side, with France her strong ally, closed the Germans in on opposite
sides. So Germany must have outlets to the world markets.
The religious element was also a factor in the affairs of Europe, for
the territory has been divided into four large religious groups for
centuries. Moslems counted several millions of Turks, Bosnians and
Albanians in Europe, the Protestants among the Germans, English, Swiss
and Hungarians number about 100,000,000, while the Roman Catholics in
all the Latin countries, Southern Germany, Croatia, Albania, Bohemia,
and in Russian Austria and Russian Poland are about 180,000,000. The
Greek Catholics in Russia, the Balkan countries and a few provinces in
the Austrian Empire number more than 110,000,000.
The differences in religion have precipitated many European struggles,
but for more than a century the countries have been forced to assume an
attitude of tolerance, so that churches other than those established by
the State have thrived; But just what influence religions may have had
in the various incidents of the war it is difficult to determine.
The outstanding fact is that but for the arrogant, militaristic policy
of Imperial Germany, the differences between nations might have been
settled, and almost indescribable horrors of the war would never have
been experienced.