The Main Causes Of War Essay

“The Cause of War” is a book written by Australian author Geoffrey Blainey. The book is a collection of studies from wars since 1700’s and it analysis the relation of rivaling nations. The book is divided in four parts it starts discussing the weakness behind the current theories of peace, it then moves to talk the “ingredients” which are key for a nation to determine whether they will go to war or not. Third part of the group is about some misleading theories of war, and the last part just deals with the variety of war.

World War I was caused by several issues between European powers, the first being militarism, or the huge emphasis placed on having large and strong armies and navies. Germany is an example of militarism in WWI because Germany began competing with the British for having the largest navy in the world, as well as developing new weapons like poison gas and submarines, the latter being a great tool in surprise attacks. Militarism was also associated with the Romanticism of war; Europeans wished to fight so that they could become heros. The constant military build ups in several European countries left countries looking for alliances with other strong countries, in the event that war was to break out. Germany, Italy, and Austria created the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente was comprised of Great Britain, France, and

Militarism is believed to also be one of the causes. Militarism is a policy in which military preparedness is of primary importance to a state. After the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era vast citizen armies were thought of as being standard. The Prussian system of draft and reserved armies impressed a lot of the

Bismarck’s alliance system brought peace between the European countries. (Stewart, Fitzgerald, Pickard 12) His alliance system starts with a treaty with Austria-Hungary who was one of the 5 powers in Europe. In 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary signed the Dual Alliance, which was planned as a merely defensive arrangement or military alliance. Both governments promised that they should help or remain neutral when other powerful countries such as Russia or France attack. (Stewart, Fitzgerald, Pickard 13) The second allied country was with Italy. In 1882, Bismarck turns Dual Alliance into Triple Alliance by making Italy to join in his alliance system. Since Italy had close friendship with Great Britain, although Italy was not a strong military nation, it was an influential part of the Alliance. And at the same time, Great Britain and Germany had conflict in North Africa on colonial aspiration. Therefore, it was the perfect time to be an ally with her to isolate France. (Stewart, Fitzgerald, Pickard 14) Making Great Britain as a close friend was a benefit for Germany. Bismarck’s next target to isolate France was Russia. In 1881, the Dreikaiserbund was made a treaty, which was the agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia promising not to help the fourth power, France. However in 1884, this treaty had renewed and Russia refused to renew her membership in Dreikaiserbund. Then Bismarck discussed the Reinsurance Treaty with

This attack caused Russia to come to Serbia’s aid and Germany announced its entry into the war. The next cause of the war was the agreement between nations. Many countries had agreed to help each other, and this spread the war beyond Serbia. These alliances were called the mutual defense alliances. Due to these alliances, they were obligated to protect each other in case of war. So, started something bigger. Germany supported Austria-Hungary and attacked France. This forced France into the war while Britain joined the war to protect France. Japan and Italy followed to join the war and finally, America. The two sides were called the Allies or the Triple Ententes and the Central Powers. The Triple Ententes consisted of France, Britain, and Russia and the Central Powers were Austria-Hungary and Germany. Italy and the US joined the Triple Ententes. Another strong cause of the war was Imperialism. Before the war many European countries clashed in Africa and Asia. This rivalry between the big powers accelerated the process of thrusting the world into World War

Alliances were formed with the European countries formed partnerships to protect each other. There were two different alliances, one was the Triple Alliance was between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. Then there was the Triple Entente was and alliance between France, United Kingdom, Russia. In the midst of all the war the nations that remained Neutral were Spain, Portugal, Greece, Serbia, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Romania, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire, and Montenegro (Doc. D). In document E it states that France and Russia have both equal desires to preserve peace, and only want to make sure that they meet the needs for a defensive war. Then in Document G shows a comic of how the different Allies had “ganged up” on Germany and Austria, then there was Italy that had been

Another main cause of World War I was Militarism. For each country there was a big increase in military and naval forces. For each country there was a big increase in military and navel forces. The policies and government created a big influence on the military men and because of this, force was a alternative as solutions to problems. This is what made militarism one of the main causes of World War I. There was a rise in military influence on policy making after 1907, in countries such as Germany and Russia. During this period of time the German Army was known as a “state within a state”. Everybody in the government such as the parliament and politicians were required to follow the General staff. The war atmosphere was endangered. It was because of the secret alliances and that triggered a armaments race among all the powers. During 1900-1914 the race became very serious and the international situation became much worse then ever before. During these years there was a rise in army and navel estimates. There was so much military rivalry within countries competing for the

Russia also made an alliance with France against Germany and Austria-Hungary. There was another alliance between Russia, France and Britain to counter the threats from

Before the start of WWI, there were two major alliances in Europe. The Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy, and the Triple Entente with France, Russia and Great Britain. These alliance, along with the extreme feelings of nationalism and militarism, were the main causes of the Great War.

To begin with, the pre-war alliance in Europe intensified the long-lasting tensions between countries. In 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary made an alliance against Russia. In 1881, Austria Hungary allied with Serbia against Russia. The Triple Alliance reveals the alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. On the other hand, Russia, France, and Britain agreed to become the Triple Entente. (Doc 1) The alliance clearly divided the countries in Europe into two groups, each of which hated the others very much. (Doc 4) The

After taking action against Serbia, Austria-Hungary gained German support, and from there, the first alliance began. Within a week, major European powers like Russia, France, and Great Britain became involved, and more alliances were formed. Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary were the members of the Triple Alliance, while Great Britain, France, and Russia were the members of the Triple Entente. If a country in one of these alliances declared war, the conflict would quickly escalate due to all of the countries that would essentially need to become

(Fred Fierch)” “Among those alliances were the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente.(Also Fred Fierch)” The Triple Alliance, also known as the Allied Powers, consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, and the Ottoman Empire (Doc 7), and the Triple Entente consisted of France, Russia, and Great Britain (Doc 7). The formation of the Triple Entente, also known as the Central Powers, unified the UK and the French and “marked the end of almost a thousand years of intermittent conflict between two states (Doc 5)”. As a token of pride in my Italian heritage, I am proud to state that Italy later on switches from the Triple Entente to the Triple Alliance, because it was the victorious group of alliances.

One of the first alliances was a secret political alliance named the Dual Alliance in 1879 between Germany and Austria-Hungary, to defend themselves from Russia. This alliance was later updated to the Triple alliance when Italy sought out an alliance after losing their North African ambitions to France. In the alliance, the countries agreed that Italy would assist Germany if France attacked them and would also stay neutral if Russia attacked Austria-Hungary. The alliance was periodically updated, but ended in 1915. Austria-Hungary also made a secret political alliance with Serbia two years later, this alliance is called the Austria-Serbian Alliance. It made Austria-Hungary virtually the sole market for agricultural products from Serbia and thereby dominant. As the Central Powers gain alliances, so did the allies. In 1894 Russian wanted an alliance against Austria-Hungary and France wanted an alliance against Germany. Thus, creating the France-Russian alliance between Russia and France. Three years later Russia also joined forces with Britain in the Anglo-Russian Entente, to end the controversial dispute between the countries. France also joined the Entente in the same year, because of their worsening relationship with Germany. This alliance is called the Triple Entente. Altogether, these six alliances played a major role in starting World War 1, by interconnecting the countries together.

Germany leader Otto von Bismarck started forming alliances and the first alliance was known as the Triple Alliance. The Triple alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. This means when the war would be to break out Germany would still be between the other alliance which was what Germany was trying to prevent. The other alliance was known as the Triple Entente and consisted of France, Russia, and Great Britain and the tensions started rising. (DBQ: What Were the Underlying Causes for World War I)

The Triple Alliance was a military alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed on March 20th 1882. Each country promised support in the event of attack.