Did German Ambitions for World Power Make War Inevitable in 1914?

World War I, also known as the first World War, or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe the began on the 28th of July 1914 and lasted until the 11th of November 1918. World War I was a war that was fought between two sides with a few of the World’s greatest Nations of that time. The two sides were Triple Entente which included Britain, France, and Russia, and the Triple Alliance which was consisted of the countries Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. World War I left a mark on history as we know it, what could have possibly led to that war?, What were the underlying causes of World War I?. The major causes of “The Great War” or WWI consist of four long-term causes and one short-term cause. The common acronym that’s used for the four long-term causes to help students remember the causes of WWI is M.A.I.N; the acronym stands for Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism,and the short-term cause The Assassination of the ArchDuke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo on the 28th of June 1914. To put all of this in a simpler way the five major causes of WWI was Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism, and the assassination of the ArchDuke Franz Ferdinand. Each of topics played a significant role in the reasons why WWI would begin.

This leads to the conclusion that the European powers were ready for war in 1914. It is important to realize that since the European powers made alliances with each other, small arguments concerning one power might lead to a war involving all the powers. In the case of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, this situation created a serious misunderstanding between Austria-Hungary and Serbia and as a result, the other nations in Europe involved in alliances with either 2 countries were obligated to support them. Alliances were originally created strictly for defensive purposes but by 1910, many of the alliances had changed their character like the Austro-German alliance. Germany promised to give military aid to Austria-Hungary to invade Serbia and on the other hand, Russia provided Serbia with military assistance. As alliances had become instruments of national aggression, the chances of war doubled. The probability of Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia due to the death of their heir increased because Austria-Hungary could rely on the support of Germany to help achieve its goal. In addition, this fragile interlock of alliances relied on the leaders of the European countries to act reasonably however, this was not the case in the situation of World War 1. The Kaiser of Germany felt his country was being denied the chance to unleash its full potential by Britain so the power hungry ruler was determined to

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.

World War I was known as the “war to end all wars,” and led to mass devastation throughout Europe. The four years of war all started with tension forming between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. After taking over Bosnia and Herzegovina, two regions Serbia wanted, Serbia vowed to take them away while Austria-Hungary vowed to destroy any effort made. Soon after, the nationalistic Black Hand who wanted to rid Bosnia of the Austrian control, shot Austria’s heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Afterwards, Austria wanted to punish Serbia and declared war on them. The assassination seemed to be what sparked the war, but rather there were much greater causes hidden beneath the surface. Instead, the underlying causes of World War I was

Though most historians consider the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary the most immediate cause of WWI, or the rise of Germany to be the main cause since they signed the Versailles Treaty (Doc 4), many agree that the war was not caused by just one thing. Instead, it was caused by a concept instead of specific people or countries. It seemed that everyone, during this time period, had started to increase their military power and defense systems. Therefore, World War I was caused by two things: the fear these countries had of losing their power, and the big toll that European Imperialism took international relations.

World War I was one of the most brutal battles in the world. World War I fought in Europe between Great Britain, France, Russia, Germany, the U.S, and others. However, the four primary and long term causes that set off this war are militarism, alliance building, imperialism and nationalism. Although these four causes were all significant during the war, the two I believe are the most important are militarism and alliance building.

WWI was the cause of problems in countries all throughout the World. There is a wide variety of opinions on who started the war. But one country should not be blamed for the outbreak of war. Instead, all the European countries are at fault for causing WWI because of Nationalism, Imperialism, and Militarism.

There were many causes that contributed to World War I like: Imperialism, Militarism, and Alliances. Europeans thought they could make the world their oyster and take over any areas they pleased. Most countries did not appreciate their land being taken from them. For example, Serbia wanted independence from their mother country Austria-Hungary, so a nationalist group called the Black Hand, decided to assassinate the Archduke. If Serbia didn’t assassinate the Archduke of Austria-Hungary the war probably wouldn't have happened at all. Europe’s imperialism is what caused the Great War that went for four long years from 1914 to 1918 and had over 30,000,000 million casualties. The main cause of World War I was Imperialism which caused Alliances and

It is widely believed that there are four long-term causes of World War I. Relatively standard across the board, nations attempted to improve militarily, promote nationalism, colonize areas across the globe, and form allegiances. This in turn set the stage for short-term consequences to invoke alliances. Short-term consequences range from the First Moroccan War to the decision of Germany to carry out the Schlieffen Plan and the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. After analyzing both the long-term and short-term goals, it can be determined that the “Great War” was inevitable.

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

By 1914 the general staffs in Germany, France, Russia and Austria favoured war. Germany and Britain were involved in a naval race, which caused antagonism between the two powers due to Britain’s pride in her naval fleet and the necessity of it to maintain her Empire. She saw Germany’s continued expansion as a threat. Sir John Fisher of the British navy suggested that the navy should “Copenhagen the German Fleet” before it was too late (Europe Since 1870 105). Admiral Tirpitz of Germany opposed any plans for naval disarmament. Von Hotzendorf, the Austrian Chief of Staff, had been pushing for a preventative war against Serbia since 1906.

It ended up with a conference, in which the German Kaiser humiliated and tensions were built. In 1911, France tries to take over Morocco again, so Morocco requests support. What happens is because the British did not want German ships in the Mediterranean, and was afraid that Germany would going to build a fort on the coast, another conference was called, and France takes over Morocco, but as compensation, Germany was given land in central Africa. This creates animosity in Germany towards the French and the British, because Germany lost against the French, failing to protect Morocco. German imperialism, the Kaiser’s ambition of over sea empire, and nationalism, the thought of Germany being the world power, has caused militarism, expansion of her army and navy. The three elements were the causes of World War 1 but what has made the war inevitable was the alliance system that existed at that time.

23 July 1905, Tsar Nicholas of Russia had come close to forming an alliance with Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, but a prior agreement with France and Russian desire to avoid upsetting their ally led to denial of the treaty by officials in St. Petersburg. Convinced that Germany could drive a wedge between the Entente powers, Berlin demanded an international conference in Algeciras, as promised by the treaty of 1881. Initially, the Germans were sure that Britain would not intervene in a dispute regarding Morocco, but France gave compensation deals to Britain, Italy, and Spain, and promised more money to Russia for support in the Algeciras conference held January 1906. Not only was the Entente proven stronger than Germany had initially thought, historian Christopher Clark also argues that ‘the uselessness of the Triple Alliance [between Austria, Italy, and Germany] was revealed for all to see.’ Not only did actions taken by Kaiser Wilhelm II in the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905 not have the desired effect of pushing apart the Entente powers, they led to a stronger connection between France and Britain, Italy, Spain, and Russia, impacted the European view of Germany negatively, and isolated Germany and Austria

There are many causes for the World War I, but there are also a lot of consequences that were result for the 4 years of fighting on the war, because of this big disagreement between two different groups of countries’ allies. The war between the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance resulted in a large number of deaths and wounded people. Because of the war large areas of land in Europe got ruin, the economy was collapsing and a lot of people from the young generation in France and Germany got to the point of almost be wiped out. Most of the people that belonged to the Great powers had lost someone in the war. There were people that were really affected by the war and had even killed themselves.

Many, on the other hand, blame the flaws in the world's alliance systems for the war. Development of political and military alliances caused tension and hostility among nations leading up to World War I. Two major alliance systems developed due to conflicting national interests, which had been evident during the past two decades throughout Europe. These were the 'Triple Alliance' of Germany, Austro-Hungary and Italy and the 'Triple Entente' of Britain, France and Russia. Also several smaller countries became indirectly involved in the alliances, which effectively divided Europe into two 'Armed Camps'. Russia pledged to support Serbia in order to prevent further Austrian-Hungarian expansion into the Balkans. Germany stated its support for Austria-Hungary and Britain had given its support for Belgium's independence in 1839. However, historians such as A. J. P. Taylor argue that 'Pre 1914 alliances were so precarious and fragile that they cannot be seen as the major cause of war'. This points to the fact that it should also be stressed that even a formal alliance in 1914 did not guarantee support for war, therefore not being a significant factor.