How Did Germany Contribute To War In 1914

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

There is a seemingly endless list of reasons why WWI started but their were 3 main ones that caused the war to escalate into such an international one. The first reason is Alliances this is an important one because most of the countries that became large parts of this war weren’t directly involved in the original conflict. But, were involved through alliance and backing up their “little brother.” The next reason was the Arms Race because Germany especially had began creating new, bigger, and better weapons that could kill more people faster than older guns and other weapons. After that those weapons were created countries began creating all the new weapons in bulk. This made them kinda want to “show off” their new arsenal of fancy, new, better, guns (causing them to be a bit more “antsy” for war). The next and final reason was The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Although the actual assassination of the Archduke wouldn't have been very important to the war at any other time. But, his assassination at this time caused the war to actually begin because all the countries have been at each other's necks just waiting for any reason to start a war.

The First World War was not caused singularly by Germany and Austria-Hungary as the treaty of Versailles has set out. Germany is greatly responsible for much of the tension of the world situation in 1914, resulting from its aggressive policy of Weltpolitik, its attempts to have a superior navy, the Kaiser's personal poorly said remarks, and its attempts to break up the Triple Entente. However Germany was not solely responsible for the tension, many other events had occurred outside Germany's control, which had the same effect. Germany was also largely responsible for allowing the conflict in the Balkans to escalate into a major European conflict, by giving Austria-Hungary free reign, though it was not their intent. However Germany should

To a great extent imperialism and militarism were big factors as to why Germany started World War One. Since the Ottoman Empire lost rule around that time, the Balkan regions were open, and many countries tried to gain control over them including Germany. Also Germany wanted the Balkan regions more than others, since they has weak colonies in Africa, and the Balkan regions were located at a very good spot for trading and other things, since they were located near the ocean. Also Germany wanted to surpass Britain’s Royal Navy, and take control of the seas. Overall Germany wanted to have the most power, and they thought they could do so by conducting a war. Since they had plans to take out their competitions, such as the Schlieffen Plan and

Many countries were involved in WWI, Germany being one of them. It is arguable whether Germany is responsible for the outbreak of war or rather the responsibility of individual countries such as Britain, Russia, France, Austria-Hungary and the Balkans collectively. However, Germany should be blamed to the full extent of starting WW1 due to the reasons that Germany had unconditional support for Austria, Germany 's war plans were planned to cause more conflict and Germany 's mobilization schedule.

By the early 1800s the Germany we know today was constructed of 39 independent states the largest of which was Prussia. These states shared similar culture and industry which in turn brought them closer together. Though this caused a problem in Europe since they thought unified Germany would be too powerful. At the time there was one main leader for German unification, Otto von Bismarck. He followed a philosophy known as realpolitik, a system of politics principles based on practical rather than more moral or ideological considerations. Bismarck United the various kingdoms of German into one unified state. He started three wars to accomplish his goal but after unification he successfully maintained peace in europe. This unified Germany one of the most militarily dominant nation in Europe.

The Wilhelmine period fostered views of world power status for Germany and drastically changed existing foreign practices (Fullbrook 149). Bismarck’s carefully erected diplomatic policies were replaced with aggressive imperialistic methods. The rapid industrialization of Germany necessitated a source of low

One of the main factors causing the outbreak of The Great War was the aggressive sentiment of a recently unified Germany. With a pervasive feeling of nationalism, and a sense of entitlement as a world power, Germany had the need to satisfy its growing development, and therefore the need to secure its importation of natural resources. Industrialized and militarized, and feeling confident after the relatively easy victory of the Franco-Prussian War, Germany was prepared for a multi-front offensive with the secretive Schlieffen Plan. Several factors strained Germany’s relations with its neighbors. Confrontational rhetoric from Kaiser Wilhelm II, who represented the sentiment of a modern generation in Germany, acrimonious feelings from missed opportunities

was inferior to the other European powers, and neighboring states desired to conquer them in fear of the country’s inclining growth and hostility. Aware of this, Kaiser Wilhelm

Prior to the First World War, Wilhelmine Germany placed itself at the forefront of European industrialization due to its active population growth along with increased migration of citizens from rural areas to urban towns and cities. As cities such as Berlin rapidly expanded to accommodate for the recent migration of factory workers, population heightened as the country’s population grew from 41 million in 1871 to 67.7 million in 1914 (Fulbrook 137). The continued growth in population led to sizeable increases in Germany’s manufacturing ability due to an

To begin, Germany was pulled into this war because of alliances and the tension that had already been building in Europe. The war was started by a country that would not be seen as important as those which would join afterwards. WWI started “after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand” of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (“Outbreak of”). Although this country was not a major player in the end, this assassination ignited the entirety of the war. The assassination relit a feud between Austria-Hungary and Serbia (“Outbreak of”). One event lead to the turmoil and carnage that occurred in Europe. This event is seen as the beginning, but there is still debate whether this is the correct reason that a deadly and lasting war would take place (Mombauer). Even to today, this is an disputed topic with many on either side. The doubt of the start of the war can be seen in the result, the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles laid most blame and punishment on Germany, which shows that many saw Germany as the origin of the war (Mombauer).

Germany is considered by some as a model of efficiency and state security. Few countries are able to balance both the factors let alone be successful in both the factors. However this journey was long. Germany was an industrialized country since the beginning of the 20th century, The aftermath of World war 1 made Germany more and more in realization that to be strong it will need to establish itself as a mega industrialized nation of the world.

German militarization prior to WWI had motives from both the domestic side and the foreign side. The German public was growing restless and felt that Germany was turning into a second-rate power, as it had hardly any colonies and no empire. Wilhelm II also saw this as an opportunity to induce extreme patriotism throughout the nation, particularly in the growing middle class and boost morale. He tried to put down the rising Social Democrats and gain more power in parliament. There were also factors of foreign policy that contributed to this growing militarization, most notably the desire to keep harmonious relations with Britain or cause them to be cautious when dealing with Germany.

What later came to be known as the “Great War” began as a friendly competition among European nations. In the days before World War I, most of the royal houses of Europe were related to each other by blood or inter-marriage. Queen Victoria of Great Britain had successfully married her children into the leading royal families of Europe, such that the kings of several European nations were also first-cousin relations. However, this intermarriage of blood alliances and diplomatic pacts did not seem to be able to stop the most deadly war the world had ever seen. Lead by emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II, Germany had rapidly modernized and militarized on the way to global prominence. Many other European nations had also followed in their footsteps by upgrading their respective armies and navies. However, Germany

Many historians such as Fritz Fischer have argued that Germany had a strong desire for power which led to the outbreak of world war one. Fischer believed that Germany had plans before ww1 for European domination in which then led to violent foreign policy, eventually led to war. after Bismarck resigned, Germany changed as Kaiser Wilhelm II followed Weltpolitik which means world policy. This was about how Germany is becoming a world power. Before time, Bismarck bitterly predicted that Germany would be ruined under the leadership of Wilhelm II. It is argued that one of the main reasons why peace was kept before Wilhelm was because of Bismarck. The foreign policy became more aggressive, for example, the naval race between Germany and Great Britain. It created a great friction between Germany and great Britain. Wilhelm ordered to build many large and powerful boats. Britain did not listen and responded by increasing the size of its navy, launching a new ship, the