#23: 1911-1912 - Anglo-German Relations II

When Diplomacy Fails Podcast

Zack Twamley

19th Century, 20th Century, International Relations, Politics, Thirty Years' War, Korean War, 18th Century, First World War, Phd, 17th Century, European History, History, War

4.8 • 773 Ratings

🗓️ 19 August 2024

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

By late 1911, Germany had been embarrassed by the Second Moroccan Crisis, and the Anglo-French Entente had once again rallied. We might have expected Germany to double down on its provocative naval campaign, to increase the pressure on Britain. In fact, what happened instead was the beginning of a period of Anglo-German detente. This was initiated through the Haldane Mission of spring 1912, which sought to exchange restrictions on naval building with political guarantees.

The mission was not a success, but it did terrify the French, who worked to consolidate their agreements with Britain on the seas, with dramatic consequences. In this tug of war for Britain's friendship, though, her officials were far less free than they may have assumed. A strong current of anti-German sentiment had become entrenched in London, and it would take braver steps to reserve this trend. Could they do so, and snatch peace from the jaws of conflict? Join me here as we continue our look at Anglo-German relations on the eve of war.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	In summer
0:00.8	1914, the world went to war.
0:04.6	Now 110 years later, we go back
0:08.1	to those figures, to those debates,
0:10.8	to those questions,
0:12.2	in the greatest failure
0:13.8	in the history of diplomacy.
0:16.3	I am Dr. Zach Twomley.
0:18.7	You're listening to When Diplomacy fails.
1:01.4	And this is the July crisis. The spring and summer of 1914 were marked in Europe by an exceptional tranquility.
1:07.7	Ever since Agadir, the policy of Germany towards Britain had not only been correct but considerate. All through the tangle of the Balkan conferences, British and German diplomacy
1:12.4	labored in harmony, the long distrust which had grown up in the foreign office, though not
1:17.6	removed, was sensibly modified. Germany seemed, with us, to be set on peace. Winston Churchill
1:25.3	reflects on the pre-war mood, 1931.
1:31.0	By late 1911, Germany had suffered a painful diplomatic loss in the second Moroccan crisis.
1:37.7	The crisis over the future of Morocco had initially seemed like an opportune moment for Germany to gain concessions. Yet, once Britain placed
1:46.5	its thumb more heavily on the Entente scale, the German government came to reckon with its
1:51.2	miscalculation. Whatever its causes or its course, the events of the Second Moroccan crisis
1:56.3	are arguably less important than its immediate impact. We have already seen the increased cooperation
2:02.3	of Anglo-French general staffs and their identification of Belgium as a point of contention,
2:07.8	but in Berlin, the sense of dissatisfaction among the generals particularly facilitated a striking
2:13.8	new development. For the first time in over a decade, Maltke was now pushing for a steady
	...

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