Events Leading up to World War I

For Germany, 1914 would witness the enthronement of Kultur in Europe and the fulfillment of Germany’s historic mission. As Thomas Mann saw it, “Germans . . . deserved to be the most powerful, to dominate, to establish a ‘German peace’” (311). The French, for their part, in the face of growing German militarism given voice by the Kaiser himself, “possessor of the least inhibited tongue in Europe,” stoked up their furor Gallicae and awaited the moment that had seemed inevitable ever since the Treaty of Versailles had amputated her eastern flank. Aside from nationalistic scores to settle, many other nations were simply “sore-headed and fed up” with “Germany’s clattering of the sword” and saw in the coming conflict hopes for the “moral regeneration of Europe” (312-313). Tuchman sees the parts as well as the whole, and her discussion of cause as it relates to individual battles and the generals involved is psychologically astute without being limiting. She offers plausible explanations for General John French’s lack of will in the defense of Belgium (218) and shows how the breakdown of Plan 17 in the first weeks of the war paved the way for a long and brutal struggle (262), as did the final failure of the Germans’ Schlieffen Plan for a double envelopment of the enemy. The ensuing deadlock

The First World War fought from 1914 to 1918 was one of the largest and most brutal catastrophes fought in the 20th century. With nearly the entire European continent fighting a barbaric and everlasting war, the U.S. had eventually to get involved in order to reinitiate stability to Europe. Ultimately, the U.S. taking involvement in World War I had a profound political, economic, and social impact on the country. It increased government powers and solidified the nation’s leadership role in foreign politics. The U.S. emerged as the world 's greatest industrial power with increasing financial opportunities for minorities. At the same time anti-immigrant and anti- communist sentiments arose among many American citizens. And finally the war contributed to the massive migration of African Americans from the Southern to Northern states looking for employment and freedom and, first time allowed women to participate in jobs that were traditionally reserved for men.

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.

Many historians argue that the reason for Germany going to war was due to the aggressive behaviour of Germany in the build up to the war. Throughout this essay I will be addressing this issue looking at whether Germany was responsible for the outbreak of a general European war in August 1914. There are many factors which contribute to the outbreak of the war from a short-term trigger such as the assassination of Franz Ferdinand to the long-term annexation aims Germany implemented in the years building up to the war, the most important reason was Germany’s aggressive foreign policy, they had provided

It is heavily debated that the display of German aggression inevitably contributed to the outbreak of general European tensions, and war in 1914. The use of strategies such as the Anglo-German Naval Race, as stated in Joll’s source, highlighted the aggression by Germany prior to war. Moreover, this type of tactic also demonstrated the desire and hunger Germany obtained for continental power, another factor towards European tensions. The sources in question both support and contest the set statement, to an extent. Sources 1 and 3 by Corrigan and Joll, respectively, argue how Germany’s use of tactics agitated European powers, thus causing war. However, Source 2 by Turner disagrees with the statement, arguing how other European powers were to

There was a lot of reasons World War 1 commenced imperialism, assassination, nationalism, alliances, and militarism are a few of WW1’s causes. On June 28th, 1914 archduke of Austria-Hungary and his wife were on their way home from an event when their driver took a wrong turn and Blackhand member Gavrilo Princip just happened to be in the alleyway where they stopped to turn around. Gavrilo Princip quickly pulled out his gun and shot both Archduke and his wife. This Assassination caused Serbia and Austria-Hungary to declare war which lead to WW1. Militarism is the belief or desire of a government of people that I country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests. Militarism denoted a rise in military expenditure, an increase in military and naval forces, more influence of the military men upon the policies of the civilian government, and a preference for force as a solution to problems. This caused the war because it built up nations armies and when you have a huge army that's good you use it. Imperialism is a policy of extending another country‘s power and influence through colonization, and use of military force to create empires they exploited weaker countries. This policy of one nation dominating other countries or regions caused the war because countries wanted to be huge empires like Great Britain. There were many causes of World War 1 but the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand,

During the summer of 1914 British politicians believed that Germany would not start war because, despite his angry outbursts, the Kaiser had peaceful intentions. The bureaucrats in Britain believed that Germany did not have the capability to go to war, and if it did go to war, France and Russia would quickly squash Germany. Perceptions of German intention did matter in British decision-making in the summer on 1914. Britain’s position on the war remained ambiguous long after they should have publically made a statement because they believe the tension would die down on it own when Germany eventually decided it would not go to war. This information, and the way politicians and bureaucrats reasoned through Germany’s intentions, follows the guidelines

Nationalism was a big part during the war. The Germans had such faith in their military force, industrial base, and their growing amount of weaponry and their expansion of battleships and submarines. Therefore, they thought the war wouldn’t be long and that it would be over by Christmas of 1914. Yet, they were wrong. As the

World War 1, one of the biggest wars in history, did not begin because of one problem; it was a mixture of many different factors that eventually caused the final outcome. This war was so great because it basically included all of Europe. As we look back to the events that led up to the war, we see that one country looks like they are the cause of most of the problems; this country was Germany. Because of their great obsession with gaining power, they will make many enemies and finally fall into their own demise.

On August 14, 1914, the German Reichstag commenced to make known that the German civilians should unite and defend their own country. They announced a “civil peace” which meant that all previous conflicts or issues would be set aside for the duration of war. They also began the mobilization for World War I. When the emperor first declared the policy in 1914, the people were joyful and in awe. By 1915 and 1916, the people’s views shifted from being optimistic to opposing war because war caused them to overwork and was the source for the food shortages; the government lost many of their supporters as a result. To end, in 1918, civilians from both sides who was either opposing war or supporting it affected the German population because of their different opinions which led to the defeat of Germany in World War I.

As a result of their aggressive foreign policy and expansionism plans, by 1912 Germany found herself surrounded by hostile countries. The Kaiser and leading military leaders held a war cabinet meeting to discuss “how to get out of this mess”. It was decided that as they were surrounded by hostile countries that they would need an ally to help fight their way out. The decision to ally with Austria rather than Russia is what led to the signing of the “Blank Cheque” of support for Austria[6]. It was also decided that if a war happened that it would most likely be in the Balkans, and that the sooner it happened the better because if Russia had more time they could become too strong to defeat, and as their

This essay is an excerpt from a larger PBS series on World War I. It deals with the war as a whole, and includes shorter essays on specific facets of concern, such as why Germany

Leading up to the First World War (WWI) was a series of crises -- Serbian unification efforts, the Ten-Point Ultimatum from Austria to Serbia, the Kruger Telegram, the Dreadnought Race, the Moroccan Crises of 1905 and of 1911, the Balkan Wars, and the Bosnian Crisis -- that generated significant conflict and division among the countries of Europe, all of which seemed to lay the foundation for the start of WWI. With concern for its own power and security in a rapidly changing Europe, Germany set out to undermine the power of as well as the alliances between other European countries. In his book The Sleepwalkers: How Europe went to War in 1914, Christopher Clark points out that, while ‘not one of the great powers has escaped the

November 1918 saw the result of WW1 though Germany's eyes. A crumbled economy, revolution and counter-revolution, the flailing of a government, and an angered mass population- searching for scapegoat in which to blame their

After the First World War (1914-1919), the world was faced with the questions - who was responsible and what was reason for the outbreak of the war. Ultimately it was agreed on the 28 June 1919 that “the Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage” from the First World War. However, there have been many other interpretations on whom and what was responsible for the war. On the one hand, some historians would agree with David Lloyd George’s notion of all “the nations slithered over the brink into the boiling cauldron of war”, however, on the contrary, others would agree with Fischer in arguing that Germany’s aggressive foreign policy was responsible for the First World War. Whether you agree with Lloyd George or Fischer, it is important to understand some of the other possible reasons for the outbreak of the First World War – including the growth of nationalism and imperialism, the alliances within Europe and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Although this essay will argue that Germany’s aggressive foreign policy was responsible for the outbreak of the First World War, it will also illustrate why other historians have argued against that notion.