11 - Great War, 1905–1923

Summary

Britain and Germany settled into an arms competition, while Germany was also in a similar competition with France over their land armies; the strain on all three was very great. This pushed Britain and France steadily closer together. They did not conclude a formal alliance, but they openly cooperated to combat the German threat. France deliberately increased the conscription period of her soldiers from two years to three, so increasing the number of soldiers immediately available if a war began; Britain drove ahead with its determination to outbuild Germany in warships. France's alliance with Russia was supplemented by an Anglo-Russian Convention which attempted, not very successfully, to solve their disputes along the lines of the Entente Cordiale. This alignment was fragile; had German diplomacy been more skilful, it could have brought about its disintegration. But Germany was arrogant and clumsy, and put its faith in power, not in finesse or conciliation.

If a war between Germany and Austria-Hungary on one side and France and Russia and Britain on the other did break out, the Mediterranean was likely to be only a minor theatre of warfare; the only hostile coast, as far as Britain and France were concerned, would be the Austrian Dalmatian province. Austria-Hungary was developing its navy, based at Trieste and Fiume, though this was mainly in competition with its theoretical ally Italy; Italy was also building, with one eye on Austria and the other on France; the exact diplomatic stance of Italy was uncertain. If Italy stayed neutral, the Austrian ships became a threat; and if Italy joined in the war against Britain and France, the two together could pose a serious threat, though cooperation seemed unlikely. Between them in 1914 they had six Dreadnoughts, along with the usual array of smaller vessels. But Britain faced its greatest threat from Germany, and in concert with France adjusted its forces accordingly. Yet it could not permit the route through the Mediterranean to be severed.

Meanwhile the problems of the Eastern Basin continued as before, and contributed to the eventual decisions of all those who participated in the war to come. The international force remained in Crete until 1908, at which time it was agreed by the European consuls and the High Commissioner that a local police force had been properly trained and a reasonable distribution of posts between Muslims and Christians had been achieved.