World War I, if you can travel back to Europe in 1900, you will find that this is simply the best era in human history. Two industrial revolutions completely changed the world.

Just fifty years later, wealthy people live upstairs and downstairs, with electric lights, telephones, cars and trains. Especially the United Kingdom, France and Germany are even more proud. If you read the newspaper every day, you will find that your motherland is taking a step forward. Taking over the whole world in one step, the ancient civilizations, such as the Ottoman Empire and India, either disappeared or survived.

Those early overlords in Europe, such as the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal, were left behind and could only live in the corner. However, under this great situation, Europe is actually undercurrents. There are always dangers in the war. Later US Secretary of State Kissinger said that there was a long incubation period in World War I.

Europe has always been in danger of an imminent war. It was a miracle that the First World War could be postponed until 1914. On the surface, these European countries were harmonious but secretly they were full of contradictions. This is the main reason. There are three pairs of contradictions, the contradiction between France and Germany, the contradiction between Russia and Austria, and the contradiction between Britain and Germany. Among these three contradictions, the one with the longest history and the deepest hatred is the contradiction between France and Germany. France and Germany are feuding countries. France and Germany originally shared the same origin.

In 768 AD, Frank Charlemagne, the King of Hearts in poker, unified the entire Western Europe and established the Charlemagne Empire. After his death, his grandson divided the empire. In 843 AD, it was divided into the Kingdom of West Francia, the Kingdom of East Francia and the Kingdom of Middle Francia, which is the prototype of today's three kingdoms of France, Germany and Italy.

For more than 1,000 years, France and Germany have gone through many dynasties and changed their country names. The only thing that has remained is the tradition of not looking down on each other. For more than 1,100 years, the two countries have always been in conflict with each other. More than 200 conflicts broke out, an average of once every four to five years. Therefore, France and Germany are feuding countries, which is indeed worthy of the name.

In so many conflicts, France took advantage in most of them. However, in the last conflict before World War I, which was the Franco-Prussian War from 1870 to 1871, France even lost all its underpants. The French Emperor and Marshal MacMahon were so miserable that all 24 generals were captured in the Battle of Sedan.

King William I of Prussia took advantage of the situation and established the German Empire. He was crowned German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles in France. This humiliation to the French can be said to be extreme. France has to compensate 5 billion francs, which is equivalent to China's 1.3 billion taels of silver. I have to say that the French are indeed powerful, industrialized countries.

The compensation was paid off in three years. The cumulative compensation paid by the Qing government for foreign wars was 1.1 billion taels of silver, which was not paid off until 1936. The French used 1.3 billion taels of silver in three years It has been paid off, but the shame of Alsace-Lorraine is the hatred of the French. There is a text "The Last Lesson" that I have studied in school, written by a great French writer, and it talks about this matter.

More important than feelings is that Alsace-Lorraine is the most important coal and steel producing area in France. The absence of coal and steel during the Industrial Revolution almost meant that there were no warships and cannons. French propaganda posters at that time, They all picture Alsace-Lorraine as two girls who were taken away as slaves by the vicious German devils. Recovering these two territories is the common goal of the entire French people.

Germany is just the opposite. The most important purpose is to suppress France and never let France stand up. Therefore, the feud between France and Germany has reached its climax and is completely irreconcilable. They were the first and second strongest armies in the world at that time. This kind of conflict was very dangerous. The two children were not afraid of having conflicts every day. But if the two bosses were having conflicts, then the children should not even think about living a peaceful life.

Let’s look at the Russian Empire and Austria-Hungary. In fact, Tsarist Russia and Austria-Hungary have always been at odds. However, in order to compete with Britain, Tsarist Russia wanted to grab territory in Central Asia and needed to find a powerful country in Europe as an ally. Germany Look, let me bring my little brother Austro-Hungary with me. You two should stop fighting for my sake.

So in 1873, the German Empire, the Russian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire formed the Three Emperors Alliance. These three emperors refer to Kaiser Wilhelm I, Austrian Emperor Franz I, and Russian Emperor Alexander II. In this world, the enemies of the Tsar and Austria-Hungary became allies inexplicably.

In 1877, only four years after the Alliance of Three Emperors was signed, a war broke out between Tsarist Russia and the Ottoman Turkish Empire. As a result, Austria and Turkey were defeated. The Russian army reached the Turkish capital Constantinople, which is today Istanbul, and forced Turkey signed an alliance under the city, stipulating that Tsarist Russia could dismember Turkey alone and inherit all its territories in Europe, mainly the Balkan Peninsula. As soon as the news came out, countries such as Britain, Austria, and Hungary became very upset.

Türkiye should belong to all of us, how can you eat it alone? So in 1878, Britain, Germany, Austria, France, Italy and Russia held a meeting in Berlin. At the meeting, Britain took the first turn to put pressure on Tsarist Russia, forcing Tsarist Russia to spit out some of the benefits it had already eaten. At this meeting Germany did not support its ally Tsarist Russia, but maintained so-called neutrality. This behavior of selling out its teammates made Tsarist Russia super unhappy.

The two countries began to accuse each other, and the relationship quickly deteriorated. It happened that this year the Three Emperors Alliance contract expired, and Tsarist Russia did not renew it, leaving the Three Emperors with two emperors.

As a result, no one can suppress the conflict between Tsarist Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The biggest point of conflict between the two countries is the Balkan Peninsula.

The Balkan Peninsula is located in southeastern Europe, with the Black Sea to the east and the Mediterranean Sea to the west and south. It faces Italy across the sea. There are more than a dozen ethnic groups living there, most of them are Yugoslavs, and they are all named Skino. Skinovovich, the Balkan Peninsula was originally the territory of Ottoman Turkey, but as it continued to decline, those Skinovovich began to refuse to accept it, and the situation became increasingly chaotic. Both Tsarist Russia and Austria-Hungary felt that their opportunities had come. .

Tsarist Russia believes that I have a blood relationship with the Slavs in the Balkans and I am strong, so I should be the protector of the Balkans as a matter of course. Some ultra-nationalists in Tsarist Russia are even more radical. They feel that all Slavs should use only one language, Russian, because Russian and Yugoslav languages ??also have Cyrillic alphabet, and there should only be one faith, Orthodox Christianity. There is only one country, Russia, and there can only be one leader, the Tsar. Anyone who does not recognize it is a traitor.

This situation made the Austro-Hungarian Empire very unhappy. Members of the royal family of the Austro-Hungarian Empire came from the Habsburg family. They first gained European hegemony through marriage. For example, the King of Austria, in The Queen of Hungary got married, and her son was the King of Austria-Hungary. The Habsburg family relied on marriage to have children and ruled Europe for hundreds of years. They had a famous saying, let others fight and let us get married.

Until the 19th century, European nationalism emerged, so the authority of the Habsburg family in Europe gradually declined. It has been declining until only the Austro-Hungarian Empire is returned to them, and now there is only so much left, so they want to restore their former glory and expand the territory of the empire. At this time, the Balkans are in chaos, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire regards this as a sign of their own The best opportunity in the main Balkans.

Both Tsarist Russia and Austria-Hungary were eyeing the Balkan Peninsula. In addition to land, there was another important reason, which was to gain access to the sea. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was very large, and at that time it was second only to Tsarist Russia. It is the second largest country in Europe, but its only real outlet to the sea is the Adriatic Sea, which is very narrow. If Italy doesn't nod, they won't be able to get out. However, Tsarist Russia only has Sevastopol on the Black Sea. If you want to get out to the Mediterranean, you have to go through the Turkish Strait. Once Turkey implements traffic control, it will be blocked in Beijing. Second Ring.

So if Tsarist Russia can have an outlet to the sea in the Balkan Peninsula, it can penetrate the Mediterranean Sea and even reach North Africa. In his words, it can enter the warm ocean. This temptation was too great, so Tsarist Russia and Austria-Hungary formed an irreconcilable contradiction surrounding the Balkan Peninsula.

In 1900, the contradiction between France and Germany and the contradiction between Russia and Austria were already very tense, and a new pair of contradictions was born, the contradiction between England and Germany. When Germany was first founded, Prime Minister Bismarck had been pursuing a continental policy. To put it bluntly, if Germany wanted to be the hegemon, the most important things were two things. The first was to restrain France, and the second was not to allow other countries on the European continent to form alliances.

In 1888, German Emperor Wilhelm I passed away at the age of 91. His successor, Friedrich III, only served as emperor for 99 days before he died of throat cancer. The new emperor Wilhelm When the Second Emperor came to the throne, as soon as he took office, he felt that the old Prime Minister Bismarck was too annoying and kept nagging him all day long. I had to get rid of him first. The opportunity came soon.

A disagreement occurred in 1890. The reason was that William II enacted a series of humanitarian laws, such as prohibiting child labor, restricting female workers, and requiring Sunday rest. Bismarck said that it was not possible to play like this. Who would work if he was resting? As soon as this word spread, the whole German people scolded the inhumane prime minister. The young Emperor Wilhelm II became the great savior of the working people.

With the support of the masses, William II had the confidence to show off his cards. This time William II decided to send someone to tell the old general that he would either abolish the regulations or resign. Bismarck was 75 years old at this time, and he had long lost the vigor he once had. He used to slam the table and quarrel with William I. He was silent for a while and said, I am not feeling well and I will go to the palace tomorrow to pay my respects to His Majesty. In this way, the iron-blooded prime minister finally left his position.

William II did a good job on the surface and said that I was in pain, as if I had lost my grandfather again, but this was God's arrangement and I must obey it. Bismarck had been playing with people's hearts for decades, and he never accepted this trick. Later, his epitaph was written as a loyal servant of the German Emperor Wilhelm I. The German emperor wanted to break out of the European continent, occupy colonies and re-divide the world. German public opinion began to publish editorials. German Foreign Minister Bülow officially declared publicly that England would have the ocean and France would have the land. Germany could only have the sky in its dreams. Times, gone forever.

We also want a territory under the sun. When we say this, the people who are most afraid of us are actually the British. You also want a territory under the sun. The UK has the largest territory, with 33.5 million square kilometers. If you want the land under the sun, you must definitely want it from me, and the Germans are not just talkative, they will take action immediately.

First of all, he wanted to build a railway. The railway started from Berlin, the capital of Germany, and then passed through the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Balkans to Constantinople. It crossed the channel from Ankara to Baghdad. Within two years, Berlin reached Ankara. It's completed.

Once the railway is built, German influence will penetrate deep into the Middle East, which will seriously threaten British colonies in Asia. There will also be conflicts between Britain and Germany in Africa. Germany's plan is to expand along the equator, cutting off Africa from West Africa to East Africa. Britain's goal is to build a railway from Cape Town in South Africa to Cairo in Egypt that runs through the north and south of Africa. However, Germany blocks the British road at every turn. Tao, Britain has never succeeded in cultivating it.

Britain and Germany have come to a close on the colonial issue, and Germany has touched another restricted area of ??the British navy. The navy and colonies are two pain points for Britain and cannot be touched. Wilhelm II was convinced that if Germany wanted to seize world hegemony, it must establish maritime hegemony.

So a navy must be brought out. Germany can quickly build a navy that can threaten Britain and force Britain to recognize Germany's maritime hegemony. A navy cannot be built overnight. In 1904, King Edward VII of England visited the Kiel military port in Germany and said at the subsequent state banquet, "We I want to use the majesty of the guns and guns of the German fleet to welcome His Majesty the King of England who has come from afar. This will make the British afraid, because I want to become the world hegemon, and the most important force is the navy.

For many years no one dared to challenge the British Navy. Now the Germans not only want to compete for colonies, but also build a navy. This is something that the British cannot tolerate under any circumstances, so the British newspaper said in horror that the country with the most powerful army in the world is now having the most powerful navy in the world. , So as a result, another conflict formed between Britain and Germany. Although this conflict was formed the latest, it is the most acute, even surpassing the feud between France and Germany.

So the irreconcilable conflicts are getting more and more intense. If everyone wants not to fail in the future war, they all start to find friends to form a team for themselves. To be continued.