Struggle for Power: The Great War

World War I was a tragic episode in European history. As with most wars, there were some causes that led to this event. A few of these causes were militarism, alliances, and imperialism. The first spark of the war was on June 28, 1914 when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian nationalist group called the Black Hand. The Austrian leaders demanded an apology from Serbia, they got upset and Russia said they would help Serbia. With no apology and the threat of Russia, on June 28 Austria-Hungary declared war on them; Russia in return declared war on Austria-Hungary. Germany declared war on Russia, France on both Germany and Austria-Hungary. Finally Britain had joined France and Russia, then all of Europe was at war.

The German empire was growing and the separate states had joined together to make Germany very powerful. However it was Britain that was the richest nation in the world. Past wars had an effect on who was against whom and increased the tension and competition between countries which might have been unresolved. For example, in 1870 the Germans beat the French in the Franco-Prussian war which was why both countries hated each other. The results and consequences of this war was an early starting point for WWI to happen. There was economic rivalry; the rulers of other countries were jealous of Britain for being rich and powerful which led to the Germany and England having a Naval Arms race. The Great powers had left tensions high and almost to breaking point in Europe with intense competitions and power struggles.

The Great War , or as it is known now, World War One was a global conflict fought between the Allied Powers ; Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States along will other smaller nations and the Central Powers ; Germany, Austria – Hungary, Turkey/Ottoman Empire and other small nations from 1914 to 1918. World War One began from a series of tumultuous events, that in turn affected the balance of alliances that had been made between countries at that time in the world.

By the 1st of August 1914, Germany had declared war on Russia, as well as threatening Belgium. At this point everyone was trying to protect their country and the countries of their alliances’. So we can see that another trigger to the war was threat, threat that their land would be taken, and that their military was not large enough. So again there was this thirst for land and a need to beat others, this formation of alliances is none other than another trigger to the First World War.

Germany had stockpiled quite an arsenal and increased their navy for advanced combat. Great Britain also strengthened her navy. Militarism was another cause of the war. Countries like Germany and Russia had policies in place to build a strong military in readiness for war. Between 1910 and 1914, Germany had a 73% increase in military spending while Russia had 39%, Britain had 13%, and France had 10%. This increase in defense spending led to countries building stronger militaries which thrust the world deeper into the war. Lastly, nationalistic movements were going on all over the world. People were getting more aware of their ethnicities and the oppression that they had endured from people who were not like them. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria came from the nationalistic views of the Bosnians who did not want to be under the rule of Austria-Hungary and wanted their own state. Strong nationalistic movements were going on everywhere and the unification of Italy and Germany was a product of it. France had to give up some land to Germany and wanted it back. Nationalism played a big role in the start of the war as it fueled existing fires and was probably one of the direct causes of the war. Not only did nationalism start the war it extended it longer than it should have gone. This, as each nation tried to prove its power and dominance over the

France and England created an alliance because they both feared Germany’s naval strength and supremacy. Despite claiming it was defensive in nature, it spread east and eventually, other countries were involved. Since Austria-Hungary and Germany were in dispute over the assassination, they became involved too. Therefore, alliance systems played a significant role in the outbreak of the war. Since these countries. became involved in

Tensions in Europe increased when Germany experienced military and industrial growth, which posed a threat to Britain as it challenged them at sea and France in Morocco (The Earth and its People’s, page 766). There were a lot of different alliances forming in the beginning that were forming in result of the different tensions. Klemens von Metternich organized the Congress of Vienna in 1814, where it was determined that peace would be maintained through a balance of power in Europe. They also wanted to suppress any aggressive expansion and nationalism tendencies that posed a threat to the stability of Europe (The Great War Lecture). Which ironically, territorial expansion and nationalism were two of the very strong factors that led to the Great War.

Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism played a huge part in the led up to World War 1. With the threat of war hanging over the heads of many countries, the Arms Race began. Germany, France, and Russia started to recruit a large portion of their male population. This gave the men a taste of war and the military experience. The Arms Race caused every European state have access to a huge army, but these armies ere ruining their economics. The citizens knew that they needed to rid of themselves of these armies before they went into economic ruin, but before this could happen they were propelled into war. Germany created a large, modern navy that threatened Britain. At the time of this threat, Germany was trying to secure Britain

Prior to the First World War, the USA was a flourishing power in terms of having one of the largest economies and military strength, however America had few foreign policy ambitions during this period. Despite purchasing Alaska from Russia in 1867, there was no real interest in expanding America. Before The Great War, it seemed unlikely that America would become involved in war over the conflicts of other western powers. They considered themselves a ‘City on the Hill’, an example to the rest of the world of stability and democracy. The large Navy ensured security of the North American continent and the small professional army, points to the overwhelmingly defensive front they put on. Washington adopted an isolationist policy with regards

At the turn of the twentieth century Europe seemed to enjoy a period of peace and progress. Yet below the surface, several forces were at work that would lead Europe into the “Great War”. Some of the causes of WW1 were Nationalism, Militarism, Imperial Rivalries, Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and Alliance.

There were a couple of main forces that lead to the outbreak of the war. The first force was called nationalism, which is having a devotion to your nation. Nationalism can be a positive force or a negative force. It can unify nations or cause them to compete against each other. During the 20th century nationalism was a negative force. It caused a rivalry between the Great Powers of Europe. The powers were France, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Great Britain. The rivalry was caused by many things. Competition for materials, competition for markets, and fights over the territories were the problems. Some examples of them arguing over territories is when France never got over losing Alsace-Lorraine and Russia and Austria-Hungary both wanted control over the Balkans. These disputes lead to demands for independence among the different ethnic groups. The last force that lead to the war was imperialism, which is where a strong nation tries to dominate other nations. The Great Powers of Europe were searching for colonies to take and this caused them to get closer and closer to war. It made them distrust each other and made their rivalry even worse. The nations of Europe thought that in order to be great they had to have a good military. Every nation except Great Britain had a large and powerful army. Militarism is the policy of keeping an army ready for war. They brought this policy into play because they needed a way to keep track of the army. The policy had just the

For the students and staff of the University of Saskatchewan in the early 20th century, times of conflict generated a necessity for change. During the Great War, the recruitment propaganda was everywhere on campus; mainly consisting of images of masculinity intended to inspire men to enlist or shame them for not doing so. However, due to the lowering number of male students and faculty, the role of women had to adapt. Through administrative archive documents depicting the need for female instructors, such as Jean Bayer, to replace former male professors, we see evidence of this adaptation. While this shift may not have fundamentally changed gendered ideologies on a large, permanent scale, the effect it had within the University of Saskatchewan was nonetheless significant. The Great War acted as a catalyst for an integral change at the University of Saskatchewan; students and

Before World War 1 began there were many conflicts between many countries, these conflicts are what eventually led to the war. Nationalism lead to World War 1 for reasons people believed they needed to fight for their country, many people who weren’t fighting wanted to support their soldiers, and many soldiers felt as if they couldn’t back out of the war. Militarism was a cause because each country was building up their weapons and ammunition, as well as building up their armies. Finally Kaiser Wilhelm II was a cause because he had a very strong hate towards Britain, he was a very aggressive leader and he wanted Germany to be the number one country. Nationalism, militarism and Kaiser Wilhelm II were the three main causes of World War 1.

Alliances is one of the few causes that led to World War I. When Franz Ferdinand was assassinated Austria-Hungary blamed the

The last contributing factor to the Great War is the alliance systems. As more military defense rose in several different powerful countries, governments had the idea of forming alliances. While alliances began as a means to ensure public and political safety, overall, they would only provide more terror and violence. For example, there were two major alliances: the Triple Alliance, consisting