Essay on Bismarck's Brilliant Diplomacy

Germany's invasion of France via Belgium was the initial act of war that brought about the

commencement of war. However, is it fair to say that it was Germany and Germany alone who acted to

bring about this first step? I would argue that a series of events led to the German invasion of Belgium,

but to what extent could Germany be blamed for this series of events?

Germany was a new power in Europe; the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership in January

1871 was the result of the brilliant diplomacy of Otto von Bismarck who by skilful use of war, and his

excellent methods of convincing others of his good intentions created the new empire. However, the

emergence of the German empire had upset the balance of Central Europe maintained for centuries by

the Holy Roman Empire and temporarily sustained by the German Confederation. Many people believe

that the invoking of hatred within France by the creation of this new empire and the mistrust of the other

surrounding empires over Prussian expansionist tendencies led inevitably to a European war. The fact

that war was averted for nearly forty years was due to Bismarck's brilliant diplomacy. He managed to

convince the other European powers that Prussia's only ambition was to consolidate its gains and not to

expand further. He also made a series of complex treaties with Russia, Austria and Italy. The basic

outcome of this web of agreements was that Germany had a neutrality pact with Russia in the event of an

Austro-Russian war, whilst promising support to Austria and Italy in the event of a war with another

country. These treaties succeeded in isolating France a kept the peace for a considerable time, in this

way what Bismarck achieved was momentous. Whether, had Bismarck continued as German Chancellor

after 1890 on the accession of Wilhelm II, war may have been averted we will never know. It is unlikely

that Bismarck's delay could have been sustained indefinitely even had Bismarck remained as Chancellor.

However, war, if inevitable, would have come about in a different way under Bismarck as he would have

never allowed the alliance system of 1914 exist had he been in power.

Caprivi's legacy was not perhaps as rosy as his predecessor had intended. Despite France's still being

isolated and treaties still existing between Germany and Russia, Italy and Austria, the situation was more

complex. Problems had existed between Austria and Russia for many years over an area known as the

Balkans. The Ottoman Empire was in a state of disintegration with both Austria and Russia vying for a

greater influence in the area. Both powers held a right to do so as Russia, predominantly a Slav country,

felt that they should have an influence with their fellow Slavs. However, Austria felt that if she did not have

an influence in the area, Russia's policy would lead to a surge of Slav nationalist spirit with the inevitable

result that Austria's Slavic peoples would rise up and overthrow Habsburg rule. Austria was a declining

power by this time and had regions of the empire begun to break away, it was likely that a Slav nationalist

uprising would result in the overthrow of the system and an end to Habsburg rule. For these reasons,

Russia and Austria clashed frequently over the issue of the Balkans and indeed it was from this area that

the spark for the First World War would come.

The most important of the Balkan crises came in 1878. In 1876-77, full-scale Bulgarian uprising led to a

confrontation between Turkey (The Ottoman empire) and Russia that led to a war from 1877-1878 over

the future of Bulgaria resulted in a defeat for the Turks. The Russians then forced the Turks to sign the

Treaty of San Stefano. This treaty contained harsh terms that were felt by Britain and Austria-Hungary to

give Russia too much power in the Balkans area. Bismarck, unwilling to upset either Austria or Russia

decided to play the 'honest broker' in the conference of Berlin in 1878. The result was that Russia was

unhappy about the settlement over Bulgaria, as it appeared to them that the Germans, represented by

Bismarck had sided with Austria. Even Bismarck's diplomacy had floundered over the difficult and

complex situation in the Balkans. The result was a distinct cooling of relations between Russia and

Germany, resulting in the effectual invalidation of the Reinsurance Treaty between the two powers that

insured the neutrality of Russia in the event of a war with France.