World War I: Failure Of The Alliance System

Alliances were a major cause of the conflicts between countries in WW1 The original disagreement was between Serbia and Austria-Hungry over the

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.

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

From an economic standpoint, the desire to create and maintain lucrative markets abroad can be seen as one of the major causes of WW1, since an industrial capitalist society and economy require a flow of cheap goods.

The unconditional support from alliances can be blamed to cause World War I. The nature of the alliances is laid out in the alliance document. The alliances stipulated assistance and contribution of the signing parties in the event of conflict. It can extend from money or logistic sponsorship, similar to the supply of materials or weapons, to military activation and a statement about war. Partnerships might likewise contain currency components, for example, trade agreements, investment or loans. It is best known to cause World War I. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, European nations formed, abolished, or restructured their own alliances. By 1914, the Great Powers of Europe split into two opposing alliance blocs. For quite a long time Europe had been a mixture of ethnic and regional competitions, political interests, contending desires, military dangers, suspicions and disorder. France and England were antiquated foes whose competition ejected into open fighting a few times between the fourteenth and mid nineteenth hundreds of years.

One of the three underlying events that lead to World War I becoming such a big war was alliances. “There were at least 100 countries” according to http://www.history.com fighting a war, and countries had to choose their side. Countries used alliances for extra support. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were part of Triple Alliance until 1915 when Italy switched sides hurting Austria-Hungar. On the Triple Entente United Kingdom, and France fought together.

Many, on the other hand, blame the flaws in the world's alliance systems for the war. Development of political and military alliances caused tension and hostility among nations leading up to World War I. Two major alliance systems developed due to conflicting national interests, which had been evident during the past two decades throughout Europe. These were the 'Triple Alliance' of Germany, Austro-Hungary and Italy and the 'Triple Entente' of Britain, France and Russia. Also several smaller countries became indirectly involved in the alliances, which effectively divided Europe into two 'Armed Camps'. Russia pledged to support Serbia in order to prevent further Austrian-Hungarian expansion into the Balkans. Germany stated its support for Austria-Hungary and Britain had given its support for Belgium's independence in 1839. However, historians such as A. J. P. Taylor argue that 'Pre 1914 alliances were so precarious and fragile that they cannot be seen as the major cause of war'. This points to the fact that it should also be stressed that even a formal alliance in 1914 did not guarantee support for war, therefore not being a significant factor.

The alliance system is significant because if Germany and Austria-Hungary never teamed up, there might have been no war at all. The two main alliances were The Triple Alliance which consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy and the other alliance was The Triple Entente which consisted of France, Russia and Great Britain. When the war started, Great Britain declared war on Germany therefore since they were in an alliance, Austria-Hungary and Italy had to fight with Germany and since Great Britain declared war, Russia and France had to fight with Great Britain and from there on other countries had to join in the war with other alliances they were in. If there was no alliance system, there wouldn’t have been such a world catastrophe where almost even country and nation had to fight

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

The alliance system that took place between the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and Triple Entente (United Kingdom, Russia, and France) divided the European empires beginning the war. According to document B both alliances blamed each other from the start. By doing this both alliances were split against each other creating a diversion. The background essay states, “The great players were picking sides” this created a greater diversion between the empires. Geographically in Document A the Triple Alliance were closer together and the Triple Entente surrounded them although the Triple Entente weren’t themselves close to each other. This caused

Peace in Europe was destroyed in the 20th century due to the tensions and mistrust that the most powerful nations in the world felt toward one another. World War I had lasted from 1914 to 1918, with over 10 million soldiers dead. This tragedy started due to three prominent causes: alliances, imperialism, and militarism; out of these, militarism had the most influential impact. To begin, alliances were a major contribution to the development of World War I. The Triple Entente consisted of Russia, France, and Britain, whereas on the opposing side of the war, the Triple Alliance was made up of Italy (who switched sides later), Germany, and Austria-Hungary (Doc. A). These alliances would mean that if one of their allies were at war, then each country had a duty to support one another.

There are many reasons why World War One occurred in 1914, many are complex and remain controversial which is why the matter has been disputed to this day by historians all over the world. My theory is that a lot of those reasons and the trigger factor all links to one thing; the alliance system. The alliance system is what made countries oppose each other and become rivals making it the most significant factor. It had an impact on who supported who when Duke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. This was only the spark that started war in Europe; there were long term causes that contributed to the war and were the origins. This answer will explain the causes focusing on how they contributed to World War One and what the important links are

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