War and Peace

David G. Williamson is a retired Head of History. He has written several texts for AS and A2, and undergraduate level.

Chapter 1 International Relations 1878-1941: An Introduction 1. The Ideological Background 2. The Great Powers 1879-1941 Chapter 2 Bismarck's Alliance System 1879-90 1. The Period of Adjustment 1871-8 2. Bismarck's Web of Alliances 1879-83 3. The Anglo-French Quarrel over Egypt and its Consequence 4. The Bulgarian Crisis and the Disintergration of the Three Emperors' Alliance 5. The Key Debate Chapter 3 The Origins of the First World War 1. The 'New Course' in German Foreign Policy and its Consequences 2. Nationalism and Worldwide Imperial Rivalries 3. The Making of the Triple Entente 4. The Second Moroccan Crisis 1911, and its Consequences 5. The Balkans and the Great Powers 1906-14 6. The Outbreak of the First World War 1914 7. The Key Debate Chapter 4 The First World War 1914-18 1. The Military and Strategic Background of the War 1914-15 2. 1916: The Deadlock Still Unbroken 3. 1917: 'No Peace without Victory' 4. 1918: The Final Year of the War 5. The Armistices of October and November 1918 6. The Key Debate Chapter 5 The Peace Settlements 1919-23 1. Problems Faced by the Peacemakers 2. Aims and Principles of the Victorious Great Powers 3. The Organisation of the Paris Peace Conference 4. The Settlement with Germany 5. The Settlements with Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria 6. The Settlement with Turkey 1919-23 7. Enforcing the Treaty of Versailles 1920-3 8. They Key Debate Chapter 6 Reconciliation and Disarmament 1924-30: The Locarno Era 1. The Impact of the Dawes Plan 2. The Locarno Treaties 3. The 'Locarno Spirit' and Germany's Re-emergence as a Great Power 4. Russia and Eastern Europe During the Locarno Era 5. The Development of the League of Nations 6. Progress Made Towards Disarmament 7. The Key Debate Chapter 7 The Democracies on the Defensive 1930-6 1. The Great Depression 1929-33 2. The Rise to Power of Hitler 3. The Reaction of the Great Powers to Nazi Germany 1933-5 4. The Abyssinian Crisis 5. The Remilitarisation of the Rhineland 6. The Spanish Civil War 7. The Rome-Berlin Axis and the Anti-Comintern Pact 8. The Key Debate Chapter 8 The Countdown to War in Europe 1937-41 1. Hitler Considers his Options 2. The Arms Race: Britain, France and Germany 1936-9 3. Britain, France and Appeasement 4. The Anschluss and the Destruction of Czechoslovakia 5. The Anglo-French Guarantees and Attempts to construct a peace Front 6. The race to Gain the Support of the USSR 7. The Outbreak of War 8. The Spreading Conflict, October 1940-June 1941 9. The Key Debate Chapter 9 The Countdown to War in Asia 1931-41 1. The Manchurian Crisis 2. The Outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War 3. Japan and the Anti-Comintern Pacts 1936-9 4. The Road to Pearl Harbour 1940-1 5. The Key Debate Chapter 10 Interpresting International Relations 1878-1941 1. The Causes of the First World War 2. The Peace Treaties 3. The New Global Balance of Power 4. The Fragile Stabiliation 1924-9 5. The Road to War in Europe and Asia 1931-41