Why did France join WW1?

The French, in 1914, entered the war because they had no alternative. The Germans had attacked them. History can be very simple at times.

Why did France get involved in ww1?

France was bound by treaty to defend Russia. Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia due to the Black Hand's assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, which acted as the immediate cause of the war. France was brought into the war by a German declaration of war on August 3, 1914.

What did the French want in ww1?

The main goal pursued by the government remained establishing a security system to avoid new threats to its borders. To reach these goals, France's war aims wavered between territorial expansion to protect its borders and the inclusion of Germany in an international framework (of alliances or collective security).

Why did France declare war on Germany?

On September 3, 1939, in response to Hitler's invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany.

What did France want from Germany in ww1?

In his view, Germany should be forced to pay large amounts in reparations to Belgium and France. Clemenceau also wanted Germany to be broken up into small states again and banned from re-uniting. Clemenceau's problem was that he did not have the resources to achieve his aims.

WWI Factions: The French Army

Why did Germany and France hate each other?

The rivalry intensified after the unification of the German states and the Franco-German War of 1870, when France was forced to cede the mostly Germanic-speaking Alsace-Lorraine region to Germany.

Why were Russia and France allies ww1?

The alliance was intended to deter Germany from going to war by presenting it with the threat of a two-front war; neither France or Russia could hope to defeat Germany on its own, but their combined power might do so. France had finally escaped its diplomatic isolation.

Why did France fight Germany ww1?

World War I largely arose from a conflict between two alliances: the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and the Triple Entente (France, Russia, and Britain). France had had a military alliance with Russia since 1894, designed primarily to neutralize the German threat to both countries.

Why did France and Britain declare war on Germany ww1?

Belgium's ports were close to the British coast and German control of Belgium would have been seen as a serious threat to Britain. In the end, Britain refused to ignore the events of 4 August 1914, when Germany attacked France through Belgium. Within hours, Britain declared war on Germany.

Has France ever won a war?

The Wars of Religion crippled France in the late 16th century, but a major victory over Spain in the Thirty Years' War made France the most powerful nation on the continent once more.

How did ww1 effect France?

in 1914) and 20,000 industrial compounds were destroyed or damaged; 2.5 million agricultural hectars were devastated; 2,000 kilometers of canals and 2,000 bridges were destroyed, as well as 62,000 kilometers of road and more than 5,000 kilometers of railroads were out of order in all of France.

Why was France unhappy with the Treaty of Versailles?

France got Alsace-Lorraine, German colonies, harsh reparations and a tiny German army but... Many French people wanted an independent, not a demilitarised, Rhineland. Most French people did not think the League of Nations would protect them against Germany.

Why did France go to war?

The French and Indian War began over the specific issue of whether the upper Ohio River valley was a part of the British Empire, and therefore open for trade and settlement by Virginians and Pennsylvanians, or part of the French Empire.

Why is France not responsible for ww1?

France's national interests were protecting itself from another war by being in an alliance with another country. France also wanted to regain the territory of Alsace and Lorraine. The only way would be to regain it through war, but they didn't think they would be able to regain it from the Germans.

Why is France an important part of the world?

Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the Alps and the Pyrenees, France has long provided a geographic, economic, and linguistic bridge joining northern and southern Europe. It is Europe's most important agricultural producer and one of the world's leading industrial powers.

Why did each country join ww1?

Great Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia all had empires. This meant that they ruled many countries all over the world. Each of these countries wanted to keep their empire strong and was afraid of other countries taking over new territories. They saw this as a threat to their own empires.

Why did France and England go to war?

They came into conflict over a series of issues, including disputes over English territorial possessions in France and the legitimate succession to the French throne.

Did the French surrender in the First World War?

The end came with the surrender of France on 22 June. Hitler insisted on signing the document of capitulation in the same railway carriage used when Germany had surrendered in 1918. The humiliation of France was complete.

Was France occupied ww1?

The History Place - World War I Timeline - 1915 - Occupied France. An encounter between French civilians and a German guard in occupied France. Ten percent of eastern France remained in the possession of the German Army for the war's duration.

Who was France's allies in ww1?

The major Allied powers in World War I were Great Britain (and the British Empire), France, and the Russian Empire, formally linked by the Treaty of London of September 5, 1914.

Why did the British join their historical enemy France?

The continental European monarchies went to war against France to protect their monarchies against the Revolutionary threat of republics. The British goals were more complex: not just to defend its national security but even more to uphold the European balance of power so that France would not dominate the continent.

Why did Italy switch sides ww1?

Italy should have joined on the side of the Central Powers when war broke out in August 1914 but instead declared neutrality. The Italian government had become convinced that support of the Central Powers would not gain Italy the territories she wanted as they were Austrian possessions – Italy's old adversary.

When did France ally with Russia?

Dual Alliance, also called Franco-Russian Alliance, a political and military pact that developed between France and Russia from friendly contacts in 1891 to a secret treaty in 1894; it became one of the basic European alignments of the pre-World War I era.