The most important cause of World War I was militarism due how countries wanted to flourish with power on their own. Militarism is defined as a policy of military preparation; having more armed forces and more weapons. In the time leading up to WWI, countries had been competing over who would have more military power, this lead to there being a lot of tension building up as rivalries got more and more serious taking drastic measures to increase their military. For example, as Germany built a big army, France would also want a military of grand size, and kept building up. The fact that countries had been building up their militaries but still having to compete for power led to feelings of stress of those in charge due to not having the outcome turn …show more content…
Zola believes war can be thought of as sacrifice, courage, and discipline. He believes everything in nature only exists, only is the way it is today, is born, and multiplies because of combat. This lead to his other belief stating that a nation dies off once it disarms. All of these small countries who had just gotten their independence from being labeled as colonies wanted to seem powerful and show it by developing their militaries and going to war. Document 4, a chart demonstrating the size of European countries’ militaries edited by Richard Overy shows a comparison of countries and their armaments over the years leading up to World War I. The chart shows how countries were increasing the size of their militaries, some more than others. Armies and Navies seemed to be the branches of military that were used the most since countries seemed to have more than doubled their sizes from the year 1890-1914. This chart gives the audience a visual of tension that had been building up between countries and the size of their militares. Austria Hungary, the country with the smallest military in the chart, started out with a little more than 10 million euros in expenditure, by 1914, that amount had risen to about 39
Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many European nations began to increase their military spending. Between 1910 and 1914, “France increased her defence expenditure by 10%, Britain by 13%, Russia by 39%, and Germany was the most militaristic as she increased by 73%” (World). Europe industrialized throughout the eighteenth century, which allowed them to develop and produce large volumes of new and deadly weaponry. Many Europeans also increasingly began to use military strength as a way to prove nationalism, which is why there was such a large increase in military spending during this period. In Germany and the Next Great War, which was written in 1911, Friedrich von Bernhardi stated that the Germany “must secure to German nationality and German spirit throughout the globe that high esteem which is due them” (Bernhardi). Bernhardi was a strong supporter of the German military, as he saw it as a way to assert German nationalism and prove that Germany was a dominant force. He, along with other Germans, thought that increasing the German military would enable Germany to become a powerful nation. Brandon Brown, the author of the textbook Causes of World War I (The Great War), stated that these European nations quickly found a “reason to use their militaries against each other in an attempt to prove who is superior” (Brown). European nations used military power as a way to assert global power throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This resulted in growing tensions throughout Europe, which contributed to World War
All this Conflict eventually resulted in the begining of Worls War I. The causes of World War I were the intense nationalism that dominated Europe throughout the 19th and into the 20th century, and the establishment of large armies in Europe after 1871. Imperialism created a rivaly between nations and empires. The build up of armies and navies created fear between nations. France feared Germany, Germany feared Russia, Austria-Hungary and Russia rivaled around Bulkans, Britain feared German's expanding navy, Slovakia wanted to free Slavian land from Astria-Hungary's apressi on.
Sister Claire Evelyn Trestrail was the eldest of five being born on the 10th of December, 1877 in Clare, South Australia. Trestrail served in the First World War as a nurse following in her mother’s footsteps who was a trained nurse, Acting Matron of King Edward Hospital in Perth and also had involvement within the Red Cross and the Saint John’s Ambulance Services. Trestrail’s younger siblings also had involvement within the First World War with her two younger brothers; John Henry and Amarald Glen, serving in the royal Flying Corps and respectively, 1 Machine Battalion. Amarald was also presented with a Military Medal for Gallantry at Villaret. Sister Ella also served as a nurse, got married, but tragically returned as an amputee. It was only her youngest sister Amy who did not serve during the war.
There were many causes of World War 1 and one of the causes was Militarism.Militarism was a leading cause to WWI because the military had control over everything.In document 7 it shows how much money each country invested into their Army and Navy.These lead to the WW1 because with
During the 1910’s decade, a famous and well known war began to take place. This war is World War I, also known as the Great War. Although the war had been going on since 1914, the United States didn’t officially enter the war until April 6, 1917. But before all of that, there were some details that led up to all this commotion. During this decade there were two presidents, William Howard Taft (1909-1913), and Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921). 1910’s was a decade of tension throughout the world. In America, the decade began with an intense election between Democrat Woodrow Wilson, Republican Taft, Progressive Roosevelt, and the Socialist Eugene Debs. Since the Republican voters split between Taft and Roosevelt, Wilson won 42 percent of the
After 1871, the war atmosphere engendered by the secret alliances led to an armaments race among the powers. The race was particularly serious between 1900 and 1914, as the international situation became much worse than before. There was a significant rise in the army and naval estimates of the European powers in these years. All the Continental European powers had adopted the conscription system since 1870. Austria-Hungary had conscription since 1868 and Germany since 1870. Only Britain did not have conscription. After 1890, the deteriorating diplomatic relations among the powers accelerated their military expansion programme. Britain did not introduce conscription but had prepared her armed forces for both European expedition and for home defense. In general, all the powers increased their stocks of arms, produced more modern weapons of war and built more strategic railways. Britain and Germany were the chief rivals at sea. In the meantime, Britain produced her first Dreadnought. Dreadnoughts were large, fast and heavily armed battleships. They set a new standard in naval armaments and rendered all previous battleships obsolete. The naval race became intense. For centuries the powers of Europe had clashed over their competing interests around the globe. Du...
The underlying cause of World War I was the build up of Nationalism, Imperialism, and Militarism in the 1800s. The “three isms” caused this great war due to the outcry in which they caused within the countries and their citizens including military build up, severe nationalism, patriotism, and extending a country 's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.
The world created after the Great War, and especially during the Great Depression, was one of economic depression and political instability. People were looking for radical solutions to these radical problems, and many began to believe that the answer could be found in ideology. During the interwar years, nationalism was still extremely prevalent throughout the world as colonies sought independence, successor states struggled to establish legitimate governments, mandates were created, and Zionism moved into the Middle East. North America’s goal was the spread of democracy, but many people held the capitalist economy associated with democracy responsible for the Great Depression. In the relatively strong countries, governments eventually stepped in to provide relief for their citizens, shifting many democratic governments decidedly toward socialism. In the weaker countries, however, the military took
With nationalistic ideals, countries involved in the war went full force with weapons and men. According to document 6, “In the coming century, the German nation will either be the hammer or the anvil.” The Germans need to have a strong military with warfare to prevent them from loosing to keep their nation alive. Document 12 is a graph that shows the amount of money spent during the war. Germany had the highest increase in expenses from 1890 – 1914, as they were going full force in the war. “I believe that a war is unavoidable, and the sooner the better.” (doc. 15) Germany was a very patriotic country; as the war was not avoidable for them. Militarism helped cause World War I because each country with nationalism in its core was heavily devoted to the
World War I, also referred to as the Great War, was global conflict among the greatest Western powers and beyond. From 1914-1918, this turf war swept across rivaling nations, intensifying oppositions and battling until victory was declared. World War I was immediately triggered by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, however several long-term causes also contributed. The growing development of militarism, the eruption of powerful alliances, as well as the spread of imperialism, and a deepening sense of nationalism, significantly promoted to the outbreak of the Great War.
“War is unorganized murder, and nothing else” (Harry Patch). In World War 1, which was first called the Great War, there were many causes of the war breaking out. The Great War started August 1st 1914 days later after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia, when they visited Bosnia. Many soldiers went to war for no reason but to fight for their country. The Great War was not only affected by the soldiers, but also by the civilians as well. Women replaced men in factories, offices, and shops while the men were at war so that everything would be working smoothly. The main underlying causes of World War 1 were the alliances and imperialism in Europe.
Militarism was also an underlying cause of World War I. As the alliance system divided Europe into opposing groups, each nation began to increase spending on its military. This set a belligerent mood in Europe as each nation was prepared to fight a war. A German officer once said "in time of peace, prepare for war," and that is exactly what European nations did, eventually leading to the Great War.
Nationalism influenced people’s thoughts about war, twisting their minds to believe that their government and military was supreme and would win a war quickly. Because “most European countries, with the exception of France and Prussia, had not had any major wars within the 19th century, they stepped into the 20th century thinking that they were immune to defeat. This idea of immunity developed as countries forgot of their past wars and sufferings. The British were confident in their naval forces, the Germans in their arms and ships, and the Russians thought their land was protected by God. Citizens strongly believed that their country was the best and would do just about anything to help their country. It became a school boy’s duty to enlist in the army upon his graduation. As Erich Maria Remarque states in his book, All Quiet on the Western Front, the “young men of twenty... whom Kantorek calls the ‘Iron Youth,’” are the ones sent off to war in Germany. Their teachers drilled this message into their minds from a young age. The boys were told that it was their duty to their country to fight. Zara Steiner, British Historian, related that British teachers were told “to teach boys that success in w...
In the summer of 1914, Europe went to war, many expected the war to be short but it lasted four long and terrible years. World War 1 began in August 1914 and ended by the end of 1918. In result of the World War 1, ten million soldiers died and 20 million had been wounded. World War 1 was mainly caused by militarism, imperialism, alliances, and nationalism, but it was triggered by the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. The assassination took place on June 28, 1914, by Gavrilo. Nevertheless, What Was the Underlying Cause of World War 1? Militarism, Imperialism, and Nationalism are the most important causes of World War 1.
In conclusion, the causes of World War One included many factors both long term and short term. Some factors go deeper and contributed to the tension and rivalry developing in the nineteenth century among the Great Powers stage. Such as things involving politics, cultures, economics and what I believe to be the most important, the alliance system; lots of other factors tie in with the complex web of alliances. There are many factors that lead on and link in with one another; this just explains a few of the well known factors. Most involve contributing to tension and rivalry. The Great War is considered to be one of the most significant events of the twentieth century.