Let me answer it for you. I am proficient in the diplomatic history of the German Empire and have a deep understanding of the foreign policy of the German Empire

I don’t like to plagiarize from the Internet---The following is completely typed by hand Original, I hope you can respect it

As early as the Prussian era, Prussia and Russia have had long-term and good relations. After the establishment of the empire in 1871, the relationship between Russia and Germany has not weakened, and the Three Emperors were signed twice. Alliance---almost realized Bismarck's strategy of isolating France and stabilizing Europe. However, domestic political changes in Germany and the deepening crisis in the Balkans forced Germany to make a choice between Russia and Austria-Hungary---so Germany secretly signed the Dual Alliance (1879) with Austria-Hungary, but Bismarck still tried to pass reinsurance treaty to avoid a Russo-French alliance.

The problem is that the international situation changed a lot in the late 19th century. The problem in the Balkans could only be put out by Bismarck by tearing down the eastern wall to make up for the western wall - it could not be cured. Germany's internal industry, military Different forces such as the emperor and the emperor began to interfere in foreign policy---leading to a series of changes, including Bismarck's forced resignation, the abandonment of the reinsurance treaty, the introduction of high German tariffs, the blocking of Russian marketable bonds, etc.---ultimately leading to Germany and Russia turned against itself, and the Russo-French alliance emerged

To put it simply, the reasons can be divided into domestic reasons (agriculture, military, industry and the emperor) and international reasons (mainly Balkan and Near Eastern issues)

I once wrote a brief history of the diplomacy of the German Empire. I will excerpt and adapt it from my original article to explain the questions you raised

If you want to know more about the diplomacy of the German Empire If you want a panoramic understanding, you can read my article --- I will attach a link later (it is too long, so I will post it)

The Shabby Troika

Among Bismarck's diplomatic goals after 1871, the most critical was to isolate France, consolidate the fruits of victory, and achieve peace in Europe. The result of actual operation was the first Three Emperors Alliance (Dreikaiserbund) that came into effect in 1873. Bismarck made various efforts to promote a meeting between the German emperor, the tsar and the Austrian emperor in 1872 and reached a certain political understanding and established a five-year alliance.

But this alliance was only based on some similarities among the three countries---support for the traditional monarchy and the occupation of Poland. The three emperors agreed to work together to fight against pacifism and socialism, however, only to negotiate together to deal with emergencies from other countries that threatened the peace of Europe. This result was far from Bismarck's goal of completely isolating France. This troika maintained with old aristocratic etiquette is not reassuring. The Holy Alliance reached in 1815 is very similar to the Three Emperors Alliance. It was a 'United Nations' agreed by the five major powers to deal with the threat of liberalism. Tsar Nicholas I once confidently stated to the Austrian royal family that Russia could dispatch 500,000 troops at any time to ensure that any revolution in Europe would be quickly extinguished. During the riots in Hungary, the Russian army arrived as promised, acting as the European military police to ensure the maintenance of the European system. However, the growth of international power and the loss of control of public opinion have given birth to two "demons" that are more terrifying than liberalism and even socialism, which Bismarck feared most - pan-nationalism and chauvinism!

The Crimean War that broke out in 1854 was an ominous sign. The emergence of the Pan-Slavist movement in Russia made its leadership extremely eager to expand its influence in the Balkans to 'liberate' the Slavs, mixed with The preservation of the Orthodox 'Russian tradition'---attempts to control the Holy Land churches collided with Napoleon III's self-proclaimed patron of Catholicism. What deserves more attention is the budding chauvinism of Emperor Napoleon, who tried to deflect domestic conflicts with external wars, which directly led to the outbreak of war. Interestingly, due to the rapid spread of "anti-Pan-Slavism" ideas in the UK for unknown reasons, the anti-Russian sentiment in public opinion intensified - which actually led the UK to go against its usual policy and enter the war. The initial slow progress due to restrictions on military spending actually triggered a nationalist backlash for the first time, leading to a doubling of military spending - the role of nationalism and chauvinism began to show. As a result, the Vienna Convention system since 1815 completely collapsed.

The Prussian landowners east of the Elbe River who were shocked by the 1848 Revolution had to adopt an "offensive defense", but suffered from the weakness of the king. By 1861, William I became king, and subsequently with many The parliament was dissolved for the first time, and finally in 1862, Bismarck, who liberals called "the last sharp crossbow fired by God to conservatives", was appointed as prime minister. Led by Bismarck, the conservative class carried out a series of military adventures and achieved astonishing achievements. The Alliance of Three Emperors that he actively advocated was not only to isolate France, but also to a certain extent included the defensive strategy of the East Prussian Junkers. However, Bismarck soon realized that he was embroiled in internal and external troubles. The old carriage may fall apart at any time in the whirlwind of pan-nationalism and chauvinism - especially in the Balkans, known as the "powder keg".

The arsonist on the powder keg

The Chinese are no stranger to the powder keg in the Balkans. In 1999, the "accidental bombing" of the embassy led to the deterioration of Sino-US relations. The complex political and ethnic issues in the Balkans can be attributed to the expansion of Ottoman Türkiye. In 1453, the Ottoman Empire captured Constantinople, ending the thousand-year-old Byzantine Empire, and expanded to the Balkans, once reaching Vienna. The subsequent rise of the Russian Empire, especially its two defeats of the Ottomans during the era of Catherine the Great, allowed Russian power to expand to the Black Sea and even the Balkans. However, as part of the Holy Roman Empire, Hungary became a bridgehead for Austria and other countries in the Balkans. As a result, three forces formed in the Balkans - Austria (Austro-Hungarian Empire after 1867), Russia and the Ottoman Empire. In addition, there is a complicated ethnic distribution---especially the Serbs, who have the biggest problem because of their complicated distribution range, which paved the way for more than a hundred years of war.

Since the independence of Greece, the Ottoman Empire has completely lost control of its European parts except Istanbul, and various local ethnic groups have acted independently. In the middle of the 19th century, Pan-Slavic ideas began to become popular, and the Russian royal family began to regard the Orthodox Christians and Slavs in Southeast Europe as "subjects in a certain sense" and believed that it had the responsibility to help them escape the tyranny of the Turks. As for the Austrian Empire, the large number of Slavs in the empire, especially the Serbs, were likely to be encouraged by the Russians to become independent. Therefore, the Austrian Empire has traditionally been firmly opposed to Russia's help in helping the Slavs on the east coast of the Black Sea become independent. After Austria lost to Prussia in the Seven Weeks War in 1866, it completely lost its influence in the German region, and the issue of Eastern Europe became a matter of life and death. For this reason, the Austrian emperor recognized the situation and recognized the internal power of the Hungarians in their region to form the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. The main purpose of establishing this two-headed dragon is to unite the Hungarians and squeeze out the Poles and Slavs. After Austria-Hungary joined the Alliance of Three Emperors, it thought that the Balkan issue might calm down. Unexpectedly, the arsonists, the Serbs, did not hesitate to blow themselves up and light the powder keg.

In 1875, the third year of the Alliance of Three Emperors, religious riots occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina to resist the Turks. As a result, nationalist thoughts were highly contagious, and after more than a year of dormancy, the riots spread to Bulgaria. Taking this opportunity, Serbia and Montenegro (Montenegro) declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Russia did not have Americans to restrain it at that time---thousands of "volunteers" joined the Serbian army. Austria-Hungary was extremely sensitive to any changes in the Balkans and strongly opposed Russian intervention. Bismarck also began to worry about whether he needed to choose between Russia and Austria, but fortunately, the Balkan issue was directly related to the Near East issue. Since the Crimean War, Britain had always supported the Turks against Russia, so it would not sit idly by. Russian Foreign Minister Gorchakov realized that Russia was likely to be isolated and fall into a second Crimean tragedy, so he began secret consultations with various countries and finally reached an agreement that if the Turks won, they would prevent them from further retaliating against the participating countries and keep the situation unchanged. . If the Turks were defeated, Russia would gain southern Bessarabia (Stalin was also interested in this area, leading to a violation of the 1939 secret agreement to go to war with Germany) and Austria-Hungary would gain Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania and Albania autonomy.

But the result was completely beyond the calculations of the great powers---the Turks won a great victory, and Russia could get nothing. The domestic Pan-Slavic groups strongly called on Russia to intervene directly. Tsar Alexander II claimed that he 'merely' wanted to 'protect' the local Orthodox Christians, but no major power was willing to support him. The tsar, who thought he had gained muscle through reforms, immediately returned to his true nature - to work alone! At this time, the Russo-Austrian War may break out at any time.

Both sides turned to Bismarck, Austria-Hungary sought support, and Russia hoped that Germany would be neutral, but both were rejected. After all, Alexander II was wiser than his father. He not only promised Austria-Hungary land (Bosnia-Herzegovina) as before, but also claimed that the size of the new independent country would be small. So with the acquiescence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia invaded the Ottoman Empire in 1877, and signed a city alliance with the Turks in San Stefano, not far from Istanbul, in 1878. At this time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and even Bismarck, discovered that the Tsar had sent everyone They were all lied to! The powder keg was not only ignited but became more numerous.

Multilateral Negotiations in Berlin

Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Andrassy felt that he was completely deceived. Russia and Turkey reached an agreement to establish a 'Greater Bulgaria', and actually had issues in the Aegean Sea. Haikou! This would definitely change the situation in which Austria-Hungary was trapped in a semi-encirclement in southeastern Europe and the Russian fleet could not leave the Black Sea, so Austria-Hungary mobilized. Britain even mobilized large-scale troops from India to prepare for war with Russia. Seeing that his Three Emperors Alliance was disintegrating, Bismarck had no choice but to act as an 'honest broker' and invite all parties to Berlin for multilateral negotiations to resolve the Balkan crisis in 1878.

Textbooks rigidly point out that this reflects the status of the German Empire as a great power and its status as a European arbiter. Bismarck did not think so, because the outcome of the meeting is likely to make Germany offend both parties. However, Bismarck made a lot of preparations before the meeting - reaching a consensus that Russia needed to reduce "Greater Bulgaria", and Britain needed to ensure the security of the Ottoman Empire to obtain Cyprus, while Austria-Hungary could still obtain Cyprus under the guarantee of the British Empire. Get Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The above conditions were finally passed at the meeting, but "Greater Bulgaria" was not only reduced, but also divided into three, with the north becoming independent, the southeast being autonomous, and the rest still being returned to the Turks. This simple map operation completely ignores ethnic issues and makes the Balkan issue more complicated. Now not only is Serbia a powder keg, Bulgaria is also in great danger. People from all walks of life in Russia lashed out at the Tsar as a "traitor" and described the meeting as "a siege of Russia led by the European prince Bismarck." Bismarck's decision in the meeting was not unreasonable. The strength of the British and Austria-Hungary was greater than that of Russia itself. However, the Russians had great trust in Bismarck, and this kind of meeting that prevented Russia from "returning with a full load" greatly affected the Russians' message to Germany. The British took this opportunity to reduce their pressure in Afghanistan and alienate Bismarck's continental stabilizer, the Three Emperors Alliance. 1878 happened to be the year when the Alliance of the Three Emperors expired. The deterioration of Russian-German relations made the renewal of the agreement come to nothing. The scene and result of the alliance between Russia and France - the 'Battle of the Titans' - immediately appeared before Bismarck's eyes. Bismarck was in a state of uncertainty at this time, or the fate of the entire German Empire was beginning to waver - should he desperately maintain the status quo, or strike preemptively?

Complex shock absorber

After the Berlin Conference, Bismarck realized that Germany must choose between Russia and Austria-Hungary---at least the difference in order. An alliance with Russia would not only break with Austria, but also offend Britain, its cunning opponent. As a result, Bismarck signed the secret German-Austrian Agreement (The Dual Alliance) with Austria-Hungary in the autumn of 1879. In essence, it was a military alliance completely aimed at Russia---when Germany or Austria-Hungary fought a 'third party', the contracting parties needed to Neutral---until Russian intervention. This treaty was renewed four times and lasted until 1918, when it ended with the collapse of the Second Reich. But Bismarck did not intend to completely break with Russia. He believed that he could "cool down" Russia. Austria-Hungary was on the defensive in the Balkans, so it was natural to support Austria-Hungary. But the special nature of the German Empire made its foreign policy depend not only on the international situation, but also on domestic issues. This phenomenon brought the beginning of the empire into a dead end, and even Bismarck found it difficult to control it.

Although Bismarck claimed in his memoirs that the German-Austrian alliance began to be designed in 1866, there is no evidence that Bismarck had similar plans before 1879. Obviously Bismarck underestimated the speed of deterioration of the Balkan problem. . Of course, what he really wanted to hide was the domestic pressure he was under. The pressure from the agricultural giants east of the Elbe, who represented the core of the entire empire, and Bismarck's arrogance that he could attack Russia and tame it, led to the formal implementation of protective tariffs on German agricultural products in 1880. Russia is in a critical period of industrialization and is in urgent need of exporting agricultural products in exchange for foreign exchange, which undoubtedly deepens the contradiction.

The Center Party, the spokesperson for the Catholics in southern Germany, strongly supported the alliance with Austria. In order to deal with the emerging Socialist Democratic Party (SPD), Bismarck had to reconcile with the Catholics and chose the Austrian alliance. The General Staff, represented by the Junkers landlord class, began planning Eastern Front exercises in 1879 - targeting Russia. Moltke began to consider the issue of fighting Russia. Since then, the General Staff has planned two east-west front exercises every year, which undoubtedly affected Bismarck's foreign policy. Bismarck was suspicious of preemption, but the diplomatic moment did not exist. Coincidentally, the opportunity came - Alexander II was assassinated in 1881, and Russia had to struggle on the front of illiberal, socialist extremists. The new Tsar Alexander III hoped to establish a new alliance--but Austria-Hungary still wanted to draw Bismarck into trouble against Russia. Bismarck exerted pressure on Vienna through political and economic means and finally led to the Second Alliance of the Three Emperors.

The alliance stipulated that when any of the contracting states went to war with other powers, the other contracting states would remain neutral---this would ensure that Germany would fight alone against France. Russia and Austria divided their spheres of influence in the Balkans, and Austria-Hungary recognized "Greater Bulgaria". The three parties work together to prevent the Black Sea Strait from being used by the UK, and any changes in the Balkans require multilateral negotiations. In this way, Bismarck finally made Austria-Hungary give in, freezing the powder keg in a short time. Russia successfully isolated Britain. In fact, isolating Britain was very powerful for the German Empire. Bismarck did not necessarily foresee the prospect of conflict between Germany and Britain, but the imperial crown prince was a liberal and pro-British. During the Franco-Prussian War, the conflict between Bismarck and the crown prince intensified, and the Jewish politicians around the crown prince were constantly planning plans to fight against Bismarck. Bismarck avoided direct conflict with Britain because of the issue of the crown prince, and Russia would turn to put pressure on Britain after receiving the Balkan guarantee. For once, Germany was in a detached position, and Austria-Hungary was not involved, so the situation was far better than the Berlin Conference of 1878. In this case, 'Clash of the Titans' seems like a distant threat.

Bismarck publicly declared in 1881, ‘As long as I am Prime Minister, the German Empire will not have any colonial policy’. Bismarck hoped to draw the French government's attention to Africa, so that the conflicts between Britain and France would heat up and Germany could act as an arbiter. However, before the struggle between Britain and France started, France started fighting with Italy. It turned out that Bismarck had supported France in acquiring Tunisia, and Italy had invested heavily in Tunisia, which aroused the anger of the Italians. The Italian government was in conflict with the Pope. In order to isolate France and the Pope, Italy actively requested an alliance with Germany and Austria, which played into Bismarck's plan. As a result, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy signed the Triple Alliance in 1882. The alliance stipulated that if any contracting party was attacked by two or more powers, the other contracting states would provide support. There were special provisions, such as if Austria-Hungary went to war with Russia, Italy would be neutral. If France invaded Germany, Italy would need support. If Italy is attacked by France, the other two will need to join the war. In this way, France was completely isolated on the European continent.

In 1881-1883, with the help of Bismarck, the Austro-Hungarian Empire reached a consensus with Serbia and pulled Romania into the anti-Russian front. Germany and Austria would pledge to defend Romania, which would join the war if Russia attacked Austria. In 1882, the British occupied Egypt, and relations with France and Russia deteriorated, allowing the Three Emperors Alliance to successfully renew its contract in 1884. Bismarck brought his diplomatic talent to the extreme, and a complex shock absorber was formed that included the German-Austrian Secret Alliance, the Three Emperors' Alliance, the Triple Alliance, the German-Austrian Romanian Alliance and other agreements. It is worth mentioning that all treaties described Germany as the defensive party (except for the German-Austrian Secret Treaty), which meant that Bismarck had already made a choice between preemptive strikes and maintaining the status quo. 1884 is also known as the peak of the Bismarck system.

But just like the Tiger tanks of the Third Reich later, the complex power and suspension systems would fail in emergencies. Just one year after its peak, another crisis in the Balkans once again plunged Bismarck into a passive situation and exhausted him.

Uninsurable Reinsurance Treaty

As mentioned earlier, the division of 'Greater Bulgaria' into three parts at the Berlin Conference in 1878 would lead to further problems. Sure enough, the Balkan crisis broke out in Bulgaria in 1885. Grand Duke Alexander of Bulgaria took it upon himself to annex 'independent' southeastern Bulgaria, showing signs of getting rid of Russia. Alexander III was eager to prevent the merger, but unexpectedly, the end was already done. Russia's foreign policy completely failed, and he began to plan to annex Bulgaria. There is a danger of another war between Russia and Austria-Hungary, and the popularity of "Revenge General" Boulanger is increasing rapidly in France, making the West extremely unstable. Like a fire-fighting captain, Bismarck united France, Italy and Britain in March to reach the first Mediterranean Agreement---requiring the status quo of the Eastern Mediterranean to be maintained to curb Russian expansion. It was against this background that Moltke once again proposed a preemptive attack on Russia, but Bismarck simply rejected it.

The Alliance of Three Emperors was once again in danger of disintegrating. Bismarck rejected Moltke because he had other plans. Three months later, Bismarck secretly contacted Russia and signed a secret agreement on June 18. ---Reinsurance treaty. The Reinsurance Treaty stipulates that if one of the contracting countries is at war with a third country (except France and Austria-Hungary), the other party must remain neutral in good faith and try to localize the war. Germany recognizes that Russia has military power in Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia (ie, Southeast Asia). Bulgaria)'s 'superior position'. Both sides reiterated the agreement reached by the Three Emperors Alliance in 1881 - that Russia and Germany jointly exert pressure on the Ottoman Empire and do not allow other countries' navies to enter the Bosporus and Dardanelles - mainly targeting Britain.

In addition, in the additional text, Bismarck promised that Germany would remain neutral in good faith and provide moral diplomatic support when Russia took military action to defend the Black Sea Straits.

Bismarck's move suggested that he even supported Russia's occupation of Istanbul, but this behavior would definitely be strongly opposed by Britain and France. As stated in the reinsurance treaty, the treaty did not ensure Russia's neutrality in the war between Germany and France. But the treaty guaranteed that there would be no 'offensive' anti-German alliance. Moreover, Bismarck believed that the treaty could prevent the Balkan crisis from worsening. But what if Austria-Hungary was provoked and took the initiative to attack Russia? Then the reinsurance treaty will become a non-insurance treaty!

In his memoirs "Thoughts and Reminiscences", Bismarck wrote about the General Staff's desire to launch a pre-emptive war, saying that this desire was caused by the inevitable spirit of an institution. The agency did not want to comment. But it would be dangerous if such aspirations were faced by a ruler who lacked the insight and resistance to one-sided and unconstitutional measures. From this, we can also get a glimpse of the typical relationship between the General Staff and political leaders. Back to the original question, what will happen if an aggressive chief of staff faces a rash and weak-willed ruler who lacks insight and a prime minister who has no political autonomy? Woolen cloth?

It can be seen from the above that although Bismarck was worried that the radical line of the Austro-Hungarian Empire would drag Germany into the war, he was even more afraid of Germany's domestic problems. If the Agrarian League and the General Staff ignore the political costs, it is very likely to bring Germany into war. But on the other hand, could Bismarck guarantee that his tightrope act could last forever? The improvement of France's defense facilities on the Western Front made it increasingly difficult to fight France alone. The General Staff's calls for Russia's preemptive strike are getting louder and louder. Russia's industrialization is extremely dependent on German investment. However, the military is worried that Russia will use these funds to improve the railway network in western Russia---and the German General Staff relies most on it. Railway - Grand Army Combat. So under the joint action of the General Staff and farmers, the German government simply banned Russian securities in November 1887! ---The consequences of this approach are unimaginable. Russia has to introduce capital from France, a "rebellious country", to develop its economy. The pre-industrial elites in Germany went against the tide of history, not only suppressing emerging industrial groups but also causing serious damage to German diplomacy.

Then Russia and France cooperated to fight against the British on the Egyptian issue - which made Bismarck's nerves even more tense. Russia's growing ambitions in the Balkans made Bismarck disappointed with Russia. In order to warn Russia, Bismarck suddenly made the secret German-Austrian Agreement public, and finally reached the Second Mediterranean Agreement with Britain, Italy and Austria-Hungary in December---fundamentally preventing any form of Russian occupation of Bulgaria. In 1888, Bismarck supported Russia to remove the anti-Russian Bulgarian Grand Duke from power, thus resolving the Bulgarian problem.

Bismarck linked the Balkans to the Near East through the two Mediterranean Agreements, promoting mutual containment between Russia, Britain, Italy and Austria-Hungary. However, the fervor of pan-nationalism puts this complex structure in danger of disintegrating at any time. Bismarria's own pragmatic flexibility and prestige can temporarily suppress the flames, but how long can this situation last? Bismarck wrote worriedly in a letter to his son in 1886, "Once Russia and Austria start a war, no matter who is the attacking party, Germany will have no choice but to join the Austro-Hungarian Empire." As the international situation becomes increasingly tense, Germany's flexibility space is getting smaller and smaller. Moreover, there is a question that Bismarck did not consider, or was unwilling to consider - are the Germans really 'satisfied'? As the largest exporting country, the Germans are willing to serve as a processing workshop forever and succumb to the "Franks" (Rothschild) in Frankfurt?

The pilot leaves the ship and meets the 'insidious son of Poseidon'

1888 is the so-called 'year of the three emperors'. The old emperor William I and the 'pro-British' crown prince ( Reigning for less than three months) died of illness one after another - and Crown Prince Wilhelm became the new German emperor, namely Wilhelm II. The 29-year-old Wilhelm II was young and energetic, and soon clashed with Bismarck on this political view. Most of today's various works have a negative attitude towards Wilhelm II, believing that he was self-willed and arrogant---and even believed that he had mental illness---this is a trick used by some historians to damage people (Hitler and Stalin could not escape it) ). However, this attitude of Wilhelm II was not just a personal problem, but also related to the systemic 'disease' of the Second Empire. The contemporary critical historical school in Germany believes that the imperial policy of Bismarck's era was a kind of "Bonaparte-style semi-dictatorship", with Bismarck operating as the center of power---this put the emperor in an awkward position. Even William I privately told French diplomats, ‘In the government of Prime Minister Bismarck, it is not easy for me to be the emperor’. However, Bismarck will pass away one day after all, so who can fill this power hole? Wilhelm II was obviously aware of this problem, and he was particularly worried about the power of the Social Democrats. Therefore, he completely disagreed with Bismarck on the issue of anti-socialist laws (also called extraordinary laws). As expected, the changes in the situation in the Imperial Reichstag completely negated Bismarck's attitude of adhering to extraordinary laws---and dissolving the Reichstag was a temporary solution but not the root cause. In Bismarck's memoirs, he explained that the "biggest" conflict between him and Wilhelm II lay in the foreign policy towards Russia. He claimed that Wilhelm II was "seeking" an "anti-Russian policy." Of course, the main reason why Bismarck said this was that the former Emperor William I held a pro-Russian attitude. This undoubtedly reflects that Bismarck was a "life-saving veteran" and that he supported the former emperor's policies and won the sympathy of the world. He constantly emphasized the consequences of antagonism with Russia---this is indeed correct. Russia is the only way for other major powers to blackmail Germany. However, the problem is that since the Crimean War, when Russia's strength was at its lowest point, Russia has sought help from Germany. Now that Russia's strength has grown, it has become difficult to control it. William II believed that he should unite with Britain to fight against Russia to get rid of the strategic disadvantage. In any case, Bismarck's conflict with the emperor intensified, eventually leading to his forced resignation in 1890.

Bismarck's successor, Caprivi, believed that he could not maintain his predecessor's complex treaty system---he believed that the reinsurance treaty conflicted with the German-Austrian alliance, so in 1890 Russia proposed to renew the reinsurance treaty At that time, it was rejected by the German government. The reinsurance treaty enabled Bismarck's 'masterpiece' to achieve the purpose of two-way containment of Russia and Austria. The abandonment of the treaty meant a major change in German foreign policy. Russia's attitude proves that it considers the reinsurance treaty to be better than nothing, and to abandon it would be to push Russia towards France. After 1890, the British securities market was also closed to Russia, so that Russia could only rely on French capital to complete Russia's modernization.

Under the dual influence of the ‘pro-British faction’ and the ‘Anglophobic faction’ in Germany, Germany began to try to move closer to Britain, the ‘sinister son of Poseidon’.

British expansion in Africa and Asia created considerable conflicts with France and Russia. In the 1890s, the British had to face challenges from the French in North Africa and Afghanistan. Fighting against the Russians and the Dutch rebellion in South Africa - the long front made the British leadership believe that the 'glorious isolation' of the past was no longer feasible. Especially in 1887, the crisis in the Near East gave Britain and Germany a certain goal of "unification". During the Bismarck era, conservative forces expressed concerns about cooperation with a liberal country like Britain, believing that it would affect Germany's internal affairs. Therefore, Bismarck always maintained a friendly distance from the "Sons of Poseidon". However, in the William era, the German Democratic Party (DDP) had long been in decline, and the Social Democratic Party was the most serious problem, so the negative impact of the alliance with Britain was reduced. In 1890, Britain and Germany reached an agreement to exchange some German colonies in East Africa with the British-occupied Helgeland Island. In this way, the contradiction between Britain and Germany in East Africa was basically resolved, and a formal alliance between Britain and Germany was immediately put on the agenda. However, Britain's centuries-old trick is to 'combine the second strongest to attack the strongest'. The experienced Gladstone will not stand in the same trench with the Germans. On the contrary, Britain always flirted with Austria-Hungary from time to time, provoking it to fight against Russia. This is also an important reason why the Three Emperors Alliance failed repeatedly. Germany also began to have direct conflicts with Britain on the issue of market expansion - Germany did not have the strong military strength and international influence of the United States in later generations to crowd out the pound sterling zone, and Germany's internal views on colonial issues also became radical. The German Colonial Association, established in 1882, had become a powerful "outside force" by the end of the 19th century. The "Eastern Mark Zone" was not feasible and could not be consistent with Russia. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had different aspirations, which made the African policy even more important. And the long border between Russia and Germany makes it impossible for Germany to completely establish an anti-Russian alliance with Britain. However, while the German leadership was hesitating, secret contacts between Russia and France had begun. In 1891, the French military had already begun contact with St. Petersburg. A year later (1892), a military alliance between the two countries was established to support each other. Now Germany was really going to face the 'War of the Titans' - Germany and The relationship between Russia can no longer be restored

Link to my article

Hesitation after the rise---The foreign policy of the German Empire (1871-1914)

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Hope it helps, there is the German Empire Feel free to ask me about history questions

Reference materials

Thinking and remembering Bismarck

Blackbourn, David. The Long Nineteenth Century: A History of Germany, 1780 –1918

Fischer, Fritz. From Kaiserreich to Third Reich: Elements of Continuity in German History, 1871–1945