What did Germany do that was so bad that caused two enemies, France & England to become allies in WW1?

Answer 1

It wasn't that Germany did anything that was so bad, it was a complex 'web of alliances' which eventually lead to WWI.

B
Foreign Policy

Bismarck’s foreign policy began to change in the early 1870s, when it became clear that the other European powers would not tolerate further German expansion. As a result, Bismarck began to establish Germany as a European peacemaker and preserver of the status quo. In 1873 Bismarck negotiated the Three Emperors’ League with Austria-Hungary and Russia. The league was intended primarily to isolate France and forestall a European conflict that would be costly to the German Empire. At the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Bismarck forced Russia to abandon some of its recent diplomatic gains in the Balkan Peninsula. In order to maintain peace, these Russian losses were balanced by later concessions in other areas.

Bismarck was, however, unable to resolve growing tensions between Russia and a comparatively weak Austria-Hungary in the Balkans. To maintain the balance of power, Germany was forced to throw more and more weight behind Austria-Hungary. In 1879 Bismarck negotiated the Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary, which required the two countries to stand together in case of an attack by Russia. At the same time, Bismarck tried to placate the French, who were still hostile to Germany because of the Franco-Prussian War, by encouraging French overseas expansion.

Bismarck’s remaining worry was the British, who refused to commit to alliances with nations on the European continent. This refusal seemed to Bismarck to represent a potential threat to the stability of Europe. The chancellor’s solution was the two Mediterranean Agreements of 1887, designed to preserve the status quo from any threats from Russia. Britain joined with Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Germany in these agreements in order to protect its interests in the Middle East from Russian expansion. Bismarck then negotiated a separate treaty of nonaggression with Russia.

These alliances brought all the powers of Europe into a network in which any aggressor would, in theory, confront a powerful defensive coalition of the other major powers. Ideally this would deter any one power from acting alone, and maintain the peace in Europe. The weaknesses of this system, however, were its complexity and the fact that it was based on a common commitment to the status quo. Over the next 25 years this commitment to the status quo weakened, as the interests of the different nations diverged over such issues as arms buildups, territorial disputes, and trade practices. The complex web of alliances gradually began to collapse, eventually leading to World War I (1914-1918).

Answer 2

Rearmament, after Germany was founded in 1871 it began on a program of militarism which caused concern to both France and Britain so they formed an alliance called the Entente Cordiale during the early 20th century.

Answer 3

Well france and britain actually had a mutual protection pact prior to 1914 so if one was attacked the other would immediately fight for it . france also had a mutual protection pact with russia......so team one was france, britain, russia and serbis(cause serbia had a mutual protection pact with russia) so if any one of these countries was attacked they would all go to war together due to political agreements.

germany and austro-hungrian empire had a mutual protection pact as well. italy was also in this pact but joined the allies in 1916 when they tought the allies were going to win (typical italians hey)

so when archduke of austria was assasinated by a serbian terrorist in sarejevo in 1914 . the austro-hungarians declared war on serbia therfore (team 1) the allies all HAD to declare ON GERMANY GERMANY DID NOTHING BUT BACK UP ITS AGREEMENT WITH THE AUSTRO-HUNGAIAN and was forced into war

Answer 4

England and France had been traditional enemies, based originally on dynastic rivalry between their monarchs, going back far into the Middle Ages. From the late 1600’s, when France replaced Spain as the most powerful nation in continental Europe, England’s enmity became based on a steady policy to maintain a balance of power in Europe. England saw its interest as preventing any one nation from dominating Europe, and therefore continued to side against the strongest European power ... which happened to be France.

Germany became the most powerful nation in Europe in 1871 as a result of its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. Even then, England remained for another 30 years much more friendly with Germany than with France; partly because of strong links between the English and German royal families; but also because France continued to be viewed as the main rival in Africa and the Middle East to the British Empire.

England’s pro-German, anti-French attitude began to change after Kaiser Wilhelm II took power in Germany. The Kaiser suffered from an inferiority complex compared with his English Royal relatives. Time and again, he went out of his way to provoke England by acting contrary to its interests, for example in his encouragement for the Boers in South Africa.

But the main thing that the Kaiser did to encourage France and England to become allies in WW1 was to build a powerful navy. Germany was a land power with ambitions to be the leader of continental Europe: for Germany, possession of a powerful navy was no more than an optional extra. England, on the other hand, was dependent on world trade and had an empire scattered all across the globe: for England, possession of a navy too strong to be challenged by any rival power was absolutely vital. Yet the Kaiser deliberately set out to challenge England’s command of the sea. The price that Germany paid for his foolishness was to turn England into an enemy, instead of remaining a well-disposed neutral.

Faced with the threat of Germany’s new fleet, England negotiated a naval cooperation deal with France that allowed England to withdraw most of its Mediterranean fleet and concentrate its main naval strength in the North Sea, ready to fight Germany if necessary. The deal involved France in concentrating its naval strength in the Mediterranean. But this meant that the French would be open to German naval attack on its Channel and Atlantic coasts unless the Royal Navy intervened against Germany. That amounted to an English obligation to protect France at sea.

The last straw for England was Germany’s decision in 1914 to invade Belgium in order to attack France’s unprotected flank. Belgium’s neutrality was supposedly guaranteed by all the Great Powers (including Germany). Belgian neutrality mattered particularly to England, because in hostile hands Belgium’s ports on the English Channel could be used to raid English shipping.