World War One - Naval Race and Arms Race - GCSE History
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Imar explores the naval and arms races leading up to World War I. The naval race is highlighted by the launch of the dreadnought, prompting Britain and Germany to build their fleets, with Britain maintaining supremacy despite Germany's challenge. The arms race saw Europe divided into two military camps, escalating tensions and contributing to the war's outbreak. The video also discusses the impact of alliances and the growth of armies, emphasizing the role of military buildup in making World War I more likely.
Takeaways
- 🚢 The naval race was a significant factor leading up to World War I, with Britain aiming to maintain naval supremacy by having a fleet larger than the next three navies combined.
- 👑 Kaiser Wilhelm II's desire for a large navy was a catalyst for the naval arms race, challenging Britain's naval dominance.
- 🔥 The introduction of the dreadnought class of battleships revolutionized naval warfare, forcing both Britain and Germany to build up their fleets to maintain military power.
- 🏴☠️ Britain initially led in dreadnought production, but Germany's rapid naval expansion in the following years posed a significant challenge to British naval supremacy.
- ⚖️ The naval arms race contributed to escalating tensions between Britain and Germany, shifting their relationship from allies to potential adversaries.
- 🤝 Britain's response to the growing German fleet led to the signing of the Entente Cordiale with France, further drawing Britain into European affairs.
- 🔁 The arms race on land saw a significant increase in the size of European armies, with countries like France and Russia bolstering their forces in response to perceived threats.
- 📈 Germany's military strength was unmatched, with a well-trained and large army that was considered the strongest in Europe by 1914.
- 🇬🇧 Britain's focus on naval power came at the expense of its land forces, resulting in a decrease in the size of its army from 1900 to 1914.
- ⚔️ The overall arms race, both naval and land, heightened international tensions and contributed to the complex web of alliances and rivalries that ultimately led to World War I.
Q & A
What was Kaiser Wilhelm's stance on the German military?
-Kaiser Wilhelm wanted a very large army, emphasizing Germany's military strength on land.
What was Britain's naval policy known as?
-Britain's naval policy was known as the 'Two-Power Standard', which meant they wanted a Navy bigger than the next two navies combined.
What was the significance of the launch of the dreadnought?
-The launch of the dreadnought marked a shift in naval power dynamics, as it was a new type of battleship that rendered older types obsolete.
How did the dreadnought affect Britain's naval supremacy?
-Britain initially maintained naval supremacy by building more dreadnoughts than Germany, but the naval race challenged this dominance and increased tensions.
What was the term used by the Germans for dreadnoughts and what did it imply?
-The Germans called dreadnoughts 'Fon ships', implying that any other ship would only last 5 minutes if faced by a dreadnought.
Which year marked the beginning of Germany's dreadnought production and how did it compare to Britain's production that year?
-Germany began producing dreadnoughts in 1908, making two while Britain made two as well, but Germany had not produced any in the previous years.
How did the naval race between Britain and Germany escalate in the years leading up to WWI?
-The naval race escalated with both countries increasing their dreadnought production, with Germany sometimes outproducing Britain, which heightened tensions.
What was the outcome of the naval race in terms of dreadnought numbers between Britain and Germany?
-By the end of the naval race, Britain had built 29 dreadnoughts compared to Germany's 17, maintaining their naval supremacy.
How did the naval race contribute to the likelihood of World War I?
-The naval race increased the perception of Germany as a threat by Britain, leading to a shift in alliances and contributing to the conditions that made World War I more likely.
What was the Entente Cordiale and how did it relate to the naval race?
-The Entente Cordiale was an agreement between Britain and France, which was partly a response to the growing German naval threat, and it marked Britain's increased involvement in European affairs.
How did the arms race on land differ from the naval race?
-The arms race on land involved a buildup of military forces across Europe, with countries forming alliances and increasing their armies, which led to heightened tensions and contributed to the outbreak of WWI.
Which alliance felt encircled by the other alliances during the arms race?
-Germany felt encircled by the Entente Cordiale, which consisted of France, Russia, and Britain, while France and Russia felt threatened by Germany's territorial ambitions.
Outlines
🚢 World War I Naval Arms Race
This paragraph discusses the naval arms race leading up to World War I, focusing on the rivalry between Britain and Germany. Britain, with the largest navy, aimed to maintain a 'triple standard' to ensure its naval supremacy. The introduction of the dreadnought, a powerful new type of battleship, spurred an arms race as both nations sought to build these vessels. Britain initially led with more dreadnoughts, but Germany quickly caught up, causing Britain to view Germany as a potential threat. This naval rivalry, along with the signing of the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France, increased tensions and contributed to the likelihood of war. The paragraph highlights the strategic importance of naval power and the impact of the arms race on international relations.
🔥 The European Arms Race
The second paragraph delves into the land-based arms race that paralleled the naval competition. By 1907, Europe was divided into two major military alliances: the Triple Alliance consisting of Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy, and the Triple Entente comprising France, Russia, and Britain. The secrecy of these alliances fueled mutual suspicions and fears of encirclement, particularly as each nation sought to expand its military might. The paragraph provides a snapshot of the military buildup in key European countries, noting the significant increase in the size of armies, especially Germany's. Despite Britain's focus on naval power, which led to a decrease in its land forces, the overall arms race heightened tensions and played a significant role in the outbreak of World War I. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for viewers to engage with the content and the channel.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡World War I
💡Arms Race
💡Naval Race
💡Dreadnought
💡Triple Standard
💡Kaiser Wilhelm II
💡Entente Cordiale
💡Triple Alliance
💡Triple Entente
💡Alliance System
💡Supremacy at Sea
Highlights
Kaiser Wilhelm's ambition for a large army and Britain's focus on maintaining naval supremacy.
Britain's naval strategy aimed to be triple the size of the next three navies combined.
Introduction of the dreadnought, a revolutionary class of warships that sparked an arms race.
Germany's initial lag behind Britain in dreadnought production, with no dreadnoughts made in 1906 and 1907.
Britain's naval supremacy in 1908 with two dreadnoughts compared to Germany's four.
Germany's naval expansion in 1909 with three dreadnoughts to Britain's two.
Britain's response to Germany's naval challenge by increasing dreadnought production.
The end result of the naval race with Britain having 29 dreadnoughts and Germany 17.
The naval race's impact on Britain's perception of Germany as a threat, increasing the likelihood of conflict.
The Anglo-French Entente Cordiale, a diplomatic agreement that drew Britain into European affairs.
The arms race on land, with Europe divided into two armed camps: the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente.
Germany's perception of being encircled by the Triple Entente and its drive to expand its military.
The growth of the French and Russian armies in response to the perceived threat from Germany.
Germany's military strength, leading to the largest and best-trained army in Europe.
Britain's focus on naval power at the expense of its land army, resulting in a decrease in troop numbers.
The escalating arms race and its role in increasing tensions, contributing to the outbreak of World War I.
A call to action for viewers to subscribe to the channel and visit the website for more information.
Transcripts
[Music]
hi guys this is imar and today we are
looking at World War I and the arms race
and the naval race so first of all we're
going to look at the naval race now if
you've watched my Kaiser VH Helm's the
second video you'll know that Kaiser
vilhelm wanted a very large army and we
already know that Britain had the
largest Navy in the world they were a
very strong Navy it was their main thing
they didn't have loads of soldiers but
they had a very strong Navy and they
wanted to be triple standard which meant
that they wanted to have a Navy bigger
than the next three navies combined so
that was obviously massive but we need
to know a big part of the naval arms
race was the launch of the dreadnut and
this is where both um the dreadn
literally means fears nothing or
Fearless now the um Germans called them
Fon ships and that was because they were
estimated that they would um a another
ship would only last 5 minutes if faced
by a dreadn so Britain's Supremacy at C
had been based on the older type of
battles um ship so when the dreadnut was
um released this was a a chance for
Germany so now both of the countries
wanted to use these dreadnots to um to
build up their army so in in 1906 um
this was the when the dreads was
released by Admiral Fischer Britain made
one dreadnut and Germany made zero then
in 1907 Britain made three dreadnots and
Germany made zero so obviously Britain
start with the suprem with this
Supremacy at see and they make more
however in 1908 Germany actually make
two more than Britain because Britain
make two and Germany make four then
Germany make one more than Britain 1909
Germany make three Britain make two so
this is a bit of a worry for um Britain
because they're starting to be
challenged at sea so then in 19010
however Britain come back and they make
three and Germany make one Britain then
make five in 1911 Germany makes three
and this pattern continues until at the
end Britain have made 29 dreadnots
compared to Germany 17 so Britain still
have this Supremacy C but the problem is
it the the naval race does do a lot of
damage now they would believe that the
only reason that Germany was increasing
its fleet was because it wanted to
dominate Britain and Europe and this was
the reason why they were spending all
this money now although Britain were
actually a direct um they were direct
like allies with Germany they started to
see Germany as a threat and this meant
that the um that this meant that
basically the it was more likely that
Britain was going to fight against um
Germany and the naval rivalry basically
made World War I a more likely
possibility now because Britain was
becoming um wor by the size of um the
German naval fleet they also made an
agreement with um France called the onon
cordal if you watching my alliances
video um and basically this this meant
that um they started to become um
involved in uh European Affairs and as
well the onon cordal was one of the
reasons the alliance system was one of
the main reasons that World War I
actually started but now we're going to
start talking about the arms race which
is very different and um because it
obviously Naval races see armed races on
the land and by 1907 as I I've talked
about in my alliance video then um
Europe had been divided into two armed
camps and this was called The Triple
Alliance which consisted of Austria
Hungary Germany and Italy even though
they weren't too fond and then the
tripon taunt and that the triple on
taunt was um France Russia and umra
Britain so um the all the alliances were
defensive but the um as they were all
secret so this was not known so the all
countries were feared that each Lance
was um directly against them so Germany
felt that the onon codal um were trying
to encircle them whereas France and
Russia felt that Germany were trying to
expand its territory towards them so
this caused the Fierce and this is why
each of the army built um each of the
camps started to try and build up their
armies so if we look at the size of
armies in Europe um in 1900 1910 and
then 1914 when the war starts we can see
improvements in most of the countries um
and how they tried to build up so France
for example in 1900 they had 0.7 million
people they then built this up to 1
million people which is obviously quite
a few now um Russia however they did
have the largest army but they weren't
necessarily the best army there were
still the training wasn't the best and
this meant that they weren't as
successful as fighting but in 1900 they
1.1 million but after the fact that they
were defeated at Bosnia by Germany quite
easily they did try and build up their
army and ended up becoming um a major
superpower until they had 1.5 million
1914 however Germany were the strongest
of armies they were led the best and
they did have the strongest army and
they had 0.5 million people in 1900 and
then 0.8 in
1914 now Britain um did actually they
lost men in fact um because they were
that's that's the fact that they were
trying to do their Naval more than their
arm um their arms uh so that's why the
naval race which I mentioned before
obviously um caused Britain to actually
lose men which is why in 1900 they 0.5
million and then in 1914 they only had
0.4 million so all of this um building
up of arms created tensions between all
of the countries which was the main
reason why World War I actually broke
out because of obviously the 10 iions
are um building up as other countries
start to arm so thank you very much for
watching this video I really hope you
enjoyed it and you learned a lot from it
um for for now can you please subscribe
to my channel and visit my website the
links below thank you and see you soon
goodbye
تصفح المزيد من مقاطع الفيديو ذات الصلة
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