WW1+Militarism+&+Alliances+WNN

Militarism & Alliances By 1871, Germany had rapidly industrialized and over time became one of the most powerful nations in the world. In 1870, Prussia attacked and successfully defeated France, and because of this victory, forced France to give up territory along the German border. Germany and France became enemies, so Germany quickly joined alliances with Italy and Austria-Hungary, and they became known as the Triple Alliance. This alliance scared Russian leaders who feared they planned to expand into Russia, so Russia decided to join France in opposing Germany and Austria-Hungary. In 1894, they signed the Franco-Russian Alliance, which said they'd fight side by side in a war with the Triple Alliance. The alliances in Europe encouraged militarism, which is the build up of armed forces to intimidate other nations. Eventually, German's militarism forced Britain to join the alliance system. In the late 1800s, Germany was clearly the strongest nation in Europe. In 1898, Germany also began building a modern navy, which threatened the British who depended on naval strength to protect from invasion. Soon after, an arms race had begun between Great Britain and Germany, which convinced the British to become closer with France and Russia. The British still refused to form a formal alliance, so their relationship with France and Russia became known as the entente cordiale- a friendly understanding. They later became known as the Triple Entente.