Causes Of The Franco-Prussian War

As the 20th century began, all the countries were looking to upgrade their arms. The more the countries divided the more the need to increase armed forces became important. Between 1870 and 1914, the armies for France and Germany doubled, and sea master was constantly changing between Britain and Germany. It seemed that each country was coming up with different plans to attack their enemies. (World War One- Causes, 2014)

With fighting and war, it made the expenditures raise at an extremely rapid pace for all consumers in these countries. Great Britain, Germany, and France all have the most intense growth in prices. If these three countries want to have a superior navy and army, then they are going to have to have much expenditure towards this accomplishment. Great Britain has had a $4.69 increase (from year 1870 $3.74 to year 1914 - $8.23) for military and weapon purposes. For using this towards militarism, that is a cause of the World War. These increases of money prices have raised the chance of war because if people pay around you, you can advance in building your better army. (Document 1) All European Countries are responsible for the outbreak of World War 1 because all of these countries did things to lead up to war, but “failed to do certain thinks which might have prevented [the war]”. They think that every military group is the cause of the whole beginning of the war (Document 6).

World War I was caused by several issues between European powers, the first being militarism, or the huge emphasis placed on having large and strong armies and navies. Germany is an example of militarism in WWI because Germany began competing with the British for having the largest navy in the world, as well as developing new weapons like poison gas and submarines, the latter being a great tool in surprise attacks. Militarism was also associated with the Romanticism of war; Europeans wished to fight so that they could become heros. The constant military build ups in several European countries left countries looking for alliances with other strong countries, in the event that war was to break out. Germany, Italy, and Austria created the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente was comprised of Great Britain, France, and

A major build up of armies in main countries resulted in the Naval Arms Race which was another main contribution to the war as it increased tension and more rivalry. The armies of Germany and France had more than doubled but it was Germany and England who were about to compete for the most powerful navy in the world the tension between the two nations had risen. Wilhelm’s dream of being an imperial ruler was about to come true, he had put his plans into practice and had built several powerful ships. The British saw this as a threat. In

Another main cause of World War I was Militarism. For each country there was a big increase in military and naval forces. For each country there was a big increase in military and navel forces. The policies and government created a big influence on the military men and because of this, force was a alternative as solutions to problems. This is what made militarism one of the main causes of World War I. There was a rise in military influence on policy making after 1907, in countries such as Germany and Russia. During this period of time the German Army was known as a “state within a state”. Everybody in the government such as the parliament and politicians were required to follow the General staff. The war atmosphere was endangered. It was because of the secret alliances and that triggered a armaments race among all the powers. During 1900-1914 the race became very serious and the international situation became much worse then ever before. During these years there was a rise in army and navel estimates. There was so much military rivalry within countries competing for the

Although the world seemed at peace in the early 1900’s but world’s powerful forces were pushing Europe towards war. These forces included militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism.

Militarism was felt very strongly in 20th century Europe. Between 1890 and 1914, the countries involved in WW1’s armament growth was tremendous. Germany’s army and navy rose

During the period of 1864 to 1871, Bismarck led Prussia into three significant wars. As said by G.A Craig in The Germans, 1991, the unified Germany was “created in 1871 by Bismarck’s diplomacy and Prussian military power.” The first of these wars was the war with Denmark over the provinces of Schleswig-Holstein in 1864. Prussia and Austria combined their military forces and won against the much weaker Denmark with considerable ease. This was a contributing factor in the second of the three wars, which was fought against Austria, as the two states

It was an “arms race.” Because Britain had a large navy, Germany wanted a large navy too. Germany and France competed to build larger armies. Many of the competing nations introduced “universal conscription” (the draft), even in times of peace. For reasons of prestige and self-defense, the more one nation had decided to built up its army and navy, the more other nations felt they had to do the same (Document 8). The expense of the “arms race” fell on civilian populations in the form of high taxes. (Document 9) Between 1870 and 1914, all of the major powers except Great Britain and the United States, doubled the size of their armies (Document 7). Prior to the WWI, Great Britain was the most dominant colonial possession which included Australia, India, part of Africa, and etc. which would help them fight in the war.One of Germany’s greatest goals was to surpass Britain in bot their Army and Navy, which caused tension between the countries. (Document

First, countries spent millions of pounds on weapons years before World War One. This showed they were getting prepared for a war they knew was coming. (Document C) Secondly, Great Britain built up their navy to be able to participate in the war. Great Britain is surrounded by water and in order to be active in the war, and to be a threat, they needed a powerful navy. (Document C) Also, German Secretary for Foreign Affairs gave a speech entitled, "The Hammer or the Anvil." It talked about how other countries were strengthening their power by increasing their armories and how Germany needed to start too. Germany knew something was going to happen due to the increase of arms, and wanted to build themselves up that way they could fight back. (Document D) The increase in militarism made nations worry about an attack, leading to the upgrade of armories, causing World War

“Under Prussian leadership, all the German states north of the Main River now formed the North German Confederation” (698). Bismarck had finally achieved his goal by unifying Germany, but he had the southern German states to get. In the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck created another war by creating friction between Prussia and France through a telegram. During the war, North German Confederation supported France, while the southern German states helped Prussia. The war eventually led to the defeat of France and at the Battle of Sedan, they were able to capture Napoleon III.

As the world entered the 20th century, an arms race had begun. By 1914, Germany had the greatest increase in military buildup. Great Britain and Germany both greatly increased their navies in this time period. Further, in Germany and Russia particularly, the military establishment began to have a greater influence on public policy. This increase in militarism helped push the countries involved to war.

German historian Fritz Fischer argues that Germany 's desire for world power was the reason that for the outbreak of WWI. Germany had plans for a war before the crisis that occurred during 1914 and used the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as an excuse to put the plans into effect. Germany also encouraged Austria and its war plans to provoke a crisis in which it can solve the problem that Germany would face if they went to war. This problem is called "encirclement" and Germany would face this problem if it went to war with France and Russia. By having Austria doing so it would allow Germany to dominate and expand its territories. France and Russia signed a full military defensive alliance in 1892-1895 which allowed the possibility of a two-front war. With Germany 's geographical position being between these two great powers, it would cause Germany to lose the war at an instant. In addition to this, France felt bitterness towards the defeat of 1870-1871 and the taking

The first war lead by Otto von Bismarck was the Danish-Prussian war in 1864. It started with Denmark wanting to invade North German States, Schleswig and Holstein. Prussian power wasn’t going to let this happen because they wanted control of those North German States. They Proceeded to have a war with Denmark over these states and Prussia had the help of Austria. In the end, Prussia and Austria did end up winning the war and they gained control of the German States, Schleswig and Holstein. With “The Treaty of Gastein”, Austria got

Allies bound by treaty, as well as compelled by defensive nature, began to acquire mass weaponry. Once these countries entered the war, they had to keep gaining power; i.e. spending money, and building on to military, thus putting financial burden on their countries for the benefit of their alliance. Britain and Germany especially, began an arms race, acquiring submarines as well as conventional weaponry. Powers were participating in naval warfare. This force of action solidified alliances. Countries chose sides and entered into alliances for personal benefit and gain. They pledged their allegiance to stronger countries in a “gang like” mentality which stressed an ideology of work with me, or be destroyed by me. This describes an effort to create a balance of power. However, the security dilemma was in full effect as everyone accumulated weaponry. It was hard for any nation, especially Germany, to keep tabs on the power that everyone had gained.