Essay about Three Causes of World War I

Alliances were a major part of why World War 1 had begun, because leading up to the World War, there were two Important and powerful Alliances, the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. When Austria Hungary's heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was murdered in Sarajevo, Bosnia Austria Hungary's government blamed Serbia and declared war on Serbia and then country after country declaring war on each other because they were attacking each other's allies and that's how World War turned from an internal affair in to a war between Alliances. Germany was DEFINITELY not to blame for WWI. That's a common misconception in Western Europe and the US partially because of Hitler's tyrannous rule during WWII. Germany did not want to go to war with the whole world! They were hoping that the Serbian conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia would remain "localized". Instead, Russia decided to help out Serbia's plan of expanding in order to bring a potentially powerful Serbian state closer to them. The Serbians were, quite frankly, psycho nationalist in the build up to WWI. For example, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the final event that really pissed off Austria-Hungary. The Germans and Austro-Hungarians both agreed to protect each other because they felt threatened by Russia's policy of expanding Serbia in the Balkans.

There were many factors that led to the initial outbreak of World War I in Europe. A constant struggle to gain the upper hand in the “balance of power” existed, and it resulted in the formation of many alliances between European nations. For the most part, these agreements stipulated that the nations would aid one another if one of them were to be attacked by an enemy. Eventually two distinct

World War 1 also known as the Great War was a bloody war happening across Europe which was between The Triple Alliance(Central Powers) and Triple Entente(Allies) which were the 2 alliances during the war. There was a great number of causes which was debated by historians relating to the beginning of the Great War ranging from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and his wife all the way to the alliances which were created between the nations. My thesis for the three main causes of WW1 are the alliances formed between the nations, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife, and militarism. So in the following paragraphs I will be presenting evidence showing how these causes could have likely been the causes for war.

The first successful blood transfusion, a Jupitor moon discovery, air conditioners arriving in homes near you, space rocket patent, Henry Ford’s first ever model T assembly line, the opening of the Panama Canal, and even the first ever traffic cone. These things may not seem to go together, however they all have on thing in common, the year 1914. Amidst all these clever, ingenious and amazing discoveries and inventions came World War I. There are four M.A.I.N causes to World War I; militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. However in this essay I'm going to tell you about the three I think most important; militarism, imperialism, and nationalism.

Many historians believe that due to the Wilhelmine Era and the expansion of the German nation, as a whole, led to the outbreak of World War One. During the Bismarck era, Bismarck 's main goal was to keep France isolated and stay in good relations with Austria and Russia so that it would prevent a two-front war. Although Bismarck 's foreign policy was creating cooperation, it did not last very long. The spark of World War one came from the Wilhelmine era, which turned away from everything Bismarck’s foreign policy represented. The expansion of the military scared Europe, the industrialization of the railroad was a suspicion to other countries, and

One primary cause of World War I was the opposing Alliances, The Central Powers and The Allies. Animosity between the nations of France and Germany began because Germany had seized land that was previously owned by France. Germany recognized that France was ready to seek revenge. Therefore, on October of 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary united to form a Dual Alliance declaring, “Should one of the High Contracting Parties be attacked by another Power, the other High Contracting Party binds itself hereby, not only not to support the aggressor against its high Ally, but to observe at least a benevolent neutral attitude towards its fellow Contracting Party.” (www.firstworldwar.com) Bismarck, the

The nation of Germany has had a significant impact on the history of the world. In the early twentieth century the country presented itself as one of the strongest military powers of Europe and a major participant of the First World War. In the mid-twentieth century, under the command of Adolf Hitler, Germany initiated the Second World War. Today, Germany is an economically developed nation, even with the many troubles it faced after the end of the Second World War. This major power, which caused a stir in the twentieth century, was in most part created by the Junker Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck used the system of realpolitik to unite the divided German states under Prussia. Had Bismarck not been involved in the German unification, it is extremely likely that the powerful German empire which made its mark in history would not exist and the impacts it made on the world would be nullified.

Walter S. Zapotoczny, an author and historian, once said, “Each of the great powers believed they had something to gain from war, fostering the national pride and the national positioning that made World War I inevitable.” This is true, as imperialism and militarism were a large part of national pride. Austria-Hungary, for example, wanted Serbia. The German military was expanding rapidly. With each argument countries got into, hatred became stronger. Eventually, the European tensions snapped and everything toppled into terrible war. World War I was inevitable due to each of the great powers being imperialistic, militaristic, and prepared for war.

It ended up with a conference, in which the German Kaiser humiliated and tensions were built. In 1911, France tries to take over Morocco again, so Morocco requests support. What happens is because the British did not want German ships in the Mediterranean, and was afraid that Germany would going to build a fort on the coast, another conference was called, and France takes over Morocco, but as compensation, Germany was given land in central Africa. This creates animosity in Germany towards the French and the British, because Germany lost against the French, failing to protect Morocco. German imperialism, the Kaiser’s ambition of over sea empire, and nationalism, the thought of Germany being the world power, has caused militarism, expansion of her army and navy. The three elements were the causes of World War 1 but what has made the war inevitable was the alliance system that existed at that time.

In 1850, Prussia stretched from Lithuania to Germany because of it's constant fight for ownership of smaller territories with Austria. Prussia held Germany's lands on the west side the Rhine River. During this time, there were a small string of lands between Denmark and Switzerland that Bismarck needed to occupy for the German Empire to be complete. Therefore he forged an alliance with Austria to battle Denmark over the territories of Holstein and Schleswig. Austria took Holstein while Prussia took control of Schleswig. This did not last long because Austria now occupied one territory that was surrounded by Prussian lands. Prussia defeated the Austrian army after Bismarck antagonized them over an irrelevant border problem. The treaty gave Holstein to Prussia and removed Austria from any of Germany's affairs. The only problem that was left in Bismarck's way was southern provinces that doubted Prussia's ability to unite Germany. Bismarck saw this and used realpolitik in 1870 by forging a note from the French ambassador, insulting the Prussian king. After he showed this fake letter to the people, the entire German people rose to fight. In July 1870, France declared war on Prussia and soon lost the Franco-Prussian War. Another territory, Alsace-Lorraine, was given to Germany in the

Overall, while the foreign policies of Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm were not very similar, they did both maintain the Dual and Triple Alliances, and Germany was at the center of European diplomacy during both era’s, however it was in different ways. Therefore, while both policies did not share many similarities, they did have their key differences. For instance, during the rule of Otto Von Bismarck, Germany had a strong and well-developed foreign policy. This is because through the use of foreign policy, Otto Von Bismarck aimed to weaken France, thus ensuring that no other country would attack Germany. Additionally, Bismarck also prevented threats to Germany through use of defensive alliances and cooperative agreements with various countries,

Unlike World War II, the causes of World War I are not as clear cut.

Otto Von Bismarck formed of designed the European balance of power. The power was known as the Big Five Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. Between 1870 and 1914 the competition within the European states for territory dominance and control caused separation. Bismarck departed from office in 1890 which caused the disintegration of the European balance of power. In 1914 peace was no longer guaranteed when Europe divided into two camps.

Possessing an uncanny political aptitude, Otto von Bismarck sought to transform the European geopolitical landscape through his meticulous strategies. Although Bismarck’s theories were plausible, it became apparent that the industrial capacity of Prussia would be instrumental in the state’s quest to achieve continental supremacy. Employing the services of famed Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke, the production capabilities of Prussia coalesced to form its industry of war. Prussia’s newfound industrial domination attached itself to its patriotic and driven population, forming a sense of industrial nationalism unrivalled throughout the continent. Using industry to empower Germans, Bismarck and Moltke would alter the landscape of

With the start of World War I, Germany’s present leadership gained hope of a limited and mundane war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. With the Russian backing for economic superiority; these powers had a large advantage over the German powers and their allies. With Germany’s