The Causes And Consequences Of World War I

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.

The First World War, also known as the War to End All Wars, was an international armed conflict that started in July 1914 and ended after the defeat of the Central Powers in November 1918. In the record, World War One had set off political destabilisation in the European society, as well as political revolutions and social reforms globally, which paved the groundwork for World War Two. The Second World War, which lasted from September 1939 to September 1945, involved more than 30 countries across the globe, from Asia to South America. It is the deadliest and most widespread-armed conflict in human history with an estimated number of fifty million to eighty-five million casualties (Sommerville 2008, p. 5). During the culmination of the War, in a state of ‘total war’, leaders of participating nations neglected own state’s economic and industrial growth. These nations focused solely on military planning and the mobilisation of military force while ignoring the boundary that distinguished civilians, militants and legitimate military targets (Förster & Nagler 2002, p. 296).

Everyone wants peace but it is not often that it is accomplished, especially between nations. Even though World War 1 was over, disputes between nations did not come to an end, but continued. The Treaty of Versailles was one of many attempts. It was a document that ended World War 1; however, it solely blamed Germany for the war and forced Germany to pay reparations. Furthermore, the treaty was also unfair because Germany did not even attend the meeting, Germany was blamed and humiliated, and they also had to pay everything.

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,

Though men around the world were eager to march off to war, none of them knew the dangers that were ahead. During World War I, 10 million people across Europe died fighting for what they believed in. WWI lasted for four years between 1914 and 1918. Millions of soldiers around the world fought for what they believed in hopes of bettering their homelands and protecting their allies. People were happy to support their country in hopes of new opportunities and better resources. Soldiers predicted the war would be over in six months, but they soon realized World War I would last almost half a decade in the trenches. Though the main cause of World War I was imperialism, other causes include militarism and alliances.

thesis:The underlying causes of World War I, were alliances, these created rivalries between European countries, militarism that caused countries to spend large amounts on armaments, nationalism in citizens and leaders that compelled them to fight, and propaganda cartoons.

The causes of the first World War had been piling up for years. Imperialism started in 1870, this meaning countries had been fighting to gain land for years before World War I. Every nation was trying to dominate other nations to gain more economic and government power.

The Treaty of Versailles was first and foremost the end to World War 1, the Great War. The Great War was a war of slaughter on a new scale as all countries involved had suffered massive loss of life; 1.8 million Germans, 1.7 million Russian, 1.4 million French, 1.3 million Austro-Hungarians and 750 thousand British soldiers. As a result, the victors were bitter and were uninterested in Woodrow Wilson’s promise of a gentle peace agreement. They wanted to receive money and territory as compensation. “Even before the guns fell silent in 1918, the voices – plaintive, demanding, angry, had started. ‘China belongs to the Chinese.’ ‘Kurdistan must be free.’ ‘Poland must live again’... They complained: the Slovaks about the Czechs the Croats about the Serbs; the Arabs about the Jews; and the Chinese about the Japanese.” --- Margaret Macmillan (2001) (Paris 1919: Six Months That Change the World)

World War I left an acrimonious taste across the world. One would say it was the biggest gaffe to have ever been made. World War I brings with it the loss of millions of precious lives and much devastation that follow; to this day it is believe that everything bad that happen in the world is a consequence of World War I.

With the end of the first world war coinciding with both the end of the Austro-Hungarian empire and the Revolution in Russia, Germany found itself practically alone on the side of the defeated. By this time Germany had in fact saw the abdication of the Kaiser that lead them through the war, leaving a new democratic group to barter during the peace settlements. After a much longer and costly war than anyone thought would happen, the allies were looking for reparations from the central powers to which Germany was the main power left standing. In the Treaty of Versailles, the Germans were obligated to do two things that would have lasting effects on their country. The first was the rapid disarmament of their military, and the other was the monetary reparations they were asked to

Europe between the years 1914 and 1918 was a hostile place do to the World War. The populace of Europe faced international turmoil for the first time. Countries were distraught, governments crippled and militarized diminished as a result of World War 1. Nations aligned together to fight the greater evil, which in their eyes was the opposing side. The war was sparked by a small fight for independence in the Ottoman Empire. While revolts for freedom were not in common, this uprising in particular, unexpectedly developed into something bigger. Thus, World War 1 can essentially be blamed on the psychological thought process of nationalism, the militaristic beliefs that were turned into actions, and the immoral conviction of imperialism. These ideologies when combined created the perfect environment for a global campaign.

During the peace-making after World War 1 (1914-1918), in the composition of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was targeted and punished with harsh conditions to a great extent. The Treaty of Versailles was one of the many treaties that was constructed after the war and it’s purpose was to end the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. The brutal terms of the Treaty that were devised to lead to peace, later effected Germany immensely and negatively impacted its society, economy and military. The reasoning behind these harsh terms, was mainly contributed to by the major powers that had the most control over the settlement. In light of these harsh punishments, the Treaty cannot truly be considered as a treaty. Ultimately, in the

happened in 1882. Later on in the war, Italy switched sides and allied with Britain, France and Russia. Britain had secretly made a treaty with Italy. The treaty was called the Treaty of London. It state that Italy had to come over and switch sides to be with Britain. In the treaty, Italy was promised to get territory in the Adriatic Sea region, which were territories from Austria. Italy, however felt that they weren't given what was promised to them. Alliances caused tensions all through the world. It was a union formed for mutual benefit.

The Treaty of Versailles led to many outcomes. A number of these outcomes affected Germany solely to punish and “blame” them for causing World War I. For example, the Big Four decided to take large chunks of Germany’s

This question has formed part of the historiography of the causes of the First World War, a historical debate that has endured ever since the conflict ended. It periodically resurfaces with new theories being advanced such as the Fischer thesis, usually on account of the release of previously unseen documents or because of a shift in the political climate. It has emerged to the fore once again because this year is the centennial of the war’s outbreak and there are plans to commemorate it nationally across the UK.