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The balance of power
Europe was organised into a network of formal and informal alliances
to create a balance of power
The major powers of Europe avoided war with each other successfully
for a generation until 1914. Instead, Europe largely exported its wars,
in the last great age of imperial expansion.
Within Europe, a series of interlocking alliances grew, meant to
preserve stability. In 1879 the two empires of Germany and
Austria-Hungary allied together, joined by Italy in 1881. This was
matched in 1894 by the unnatural alliance of republican France with
imperial Russia. Finally, in 1904, Britain agreed to an 'Entente
Cordiale' (literally a 'friendly understanding') with France, and in
1907 with Russia.
'...an attack on any one major power by another
would produce a general European war.'
The basis was that each alliance would support its members - the
'Triple Alliance' of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy against the
'Triple Entente' of France, Russia and Great Britain, so that an attack
on any one major power by another would produce a general European war.
In Britain's case this was not a formal alliance, but an informal
military commitment with the French. The Italians also were less secure
in their alliance; in 1914 they were to stand neutral, and a year later
they joined the Entente powers.
Between 1871 and 1914 further institutional, technological and
scientific developments, at least as great as those that had gone
before, made differences to the conduct of warfare that could not be
tested without a major European war. Colonial wars before 1914, and even
quite sizeable wars fought outside Europe like the South African War
(1899-1902) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5) gave only partial clues
to the future.
At full mobilisation, armies of many millions became possible, and in
1914 France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia each mobilised between
three and six million men. As the 20th century loomed, electricity and
chemicals joined iron and steam in industrial importance. In
communications, the telegraph was followed by the telephone in 1876, and
then by wireless and radio. In 1901 the first radio transmission was
made across the Atlantic. By the same date, trains had exceeded speeds
of 160kph (100mph), the first cars and lorries were making their
appearance, and the diesel engine made the ocean-going submarine a
practical weapon of war.
Two years later came the Wright brothers' first flight, potentially
adding air power to the means of war. The changes also included a new
generation of weapons, rifles, artillery and machine-guns, that would
remain in service throughout the first half of the 20th century, and
would not be entirely obsolete even at its end.
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