International tensions led to alliances that, in turn, made tensions more
dangerous. Quarrels between two countries could easily expand to involve
all of the Great Powers. The Franco-Russian alliance and the link between
Germany and Austria-Hungary were both products of the late nineteenth
century; the twentieth century brought Britain out of isolation into a web of
agreements. British leaders had been shocked by the country's lack of
friends during the Boer War, when most of its naval power had been tied up
with the conflict in South Africa. Two crises over Venezuela—one in 1895
and a second in 1902—had reminded British leaders of the dangers of a
conflict with the United States, and there followed a rapprochement between
the two English-speaking Atlantic powers that eased the concerns of
the authorities in London. In 1908 American president Theodore Roosevelt
expressed the sentiment of friendship and mutual interest to an English
friend: "Do you know, I think I have become almost as anxious as you are
to have the British fleet kept up to the highest point of efficiency." The
warmed relationship with the United States was to pay huge dividends after
the outbreak of World War I. But earlier still, Britain found it possible to
close out other old quarrels and to make new friends. Between 1904 and
1907, Britain's new ties, first with France, then with Russia, let the island
nation concentrate its attentions on the burgeoning power of Germany.
In the formation (and dissolution) of alliances, the wishes of civilian
officials—prime ministers, foreign ministers—were paramount. Prime
Minister Otto von Bismarck had been the architect of Germany's longstanding
tie with Austria-Hungary at the close of the 1870s. Foreign
Minister Theophile Delcasse of France had been the dominant voice in his
country in favor of a rapprochement with Great Britain. But the actions of
mihtary leaders strengthened and sometimes reshaped aUiances. Messages
from the leader of the German general staff, Helmuth von Moltke, to his
Austrian counterpart, Conrad von Hotzendorf, during the Balkan crisis of
1908-1909 promoted the idea that Vienna could count on German help
against Russia even if armed conflict came at Austria-Hungary's instigation.
And the arrangements for cooperation between the armies and navies
of Great Britain and France bolstered the commitment the men in frock
coats had made.
World History
