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cause of World war 1
cause of World war 1
causes of the world war 1
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"Wars are caused by miscalculations of the aggressors, and the failure of politicians and diplomats to exercise crisis management" a statement that with respect to World War I is generally true for many of the European empires including those of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia and other nations throughout Europe. World War I or the Great War as was called by it's contemporaries, had been long in the stockpiling; the spark was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, the series of actions that fueled the war was almost a half of a centuries worth of secret treaties and alliance systems along with power struggles of some empires, such as that of Germany for " a place in the sun."
The roots of the First World War can be traced back to the unification of Germany, concluding in 1871, and was carried out by Prussia, under the oversight of Prussia's first Prime Minister, Otto von Bismarck. During this time Bismarck, for having achieved his life's aim at unifying the German empire, put his expansionary plans to an end, and made his chief desire to maintain German stability and the absence of Germany from any major military campaigns. He therefore set about building European alliances aimed at protecting Germany from potentially threatening nations.
1888 was the year of three emperors in Germany, in March the elderly Wilhelm I died, his successor Fredrick III died shortly there after, reigning only 99 days on the throne, and on June 15, Fredrick's son Wilhelm II took the throne as Kaiser. Unlike his grandfather, who relied heavily on the influence of Bismarck to manage Germany and German affairs, and who rarely intervened, the new Kaiser was determined to rule his empire the way he believed it s...
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...n it's ally Serbia and Austria-Hungary as it's justification, infuriated Germany enough to invade neutral Belgium in the attempt to subdue Russia's ally and Germany's long time adversary, France.
These essentially misjudged and miscalculated events that were comprised in the years preceding the war could have only been realized in hindsight. If the politicians and diplomats had realized that the ensuing problems would escalate to such a major war, they may have been able to avoid war all together. But the failure of these politician and diplomats to recognize the problems that were brewing throughout Europe, and implement "crisis management" left them in a situation were war was the only release valve for the tension. Many politicians did not realize the byproducts of having a war, much less a world war, and this, I believe was a miscalculation on their part.
Destructive nationalism, or devoted loyalty that can lead people of a similar heritage to form their own nation, caused tension to rise tremendously within and among several lands. Nationalism in Germany was especially prominent. With powerful military forces and an industrial outlook, Germany was thriving. A sense of national unity was dispersed throughout the empire and gave Germany the assurance it needed to expand. Due to German development, several wars broke out with neighboring regions such as France. By gaining the territory of Alsace-Lorraine, German and French border tensions reached new heights. Due to this conflict along with several others, Germany claimed responsibility for the Great War, as exhibited in Document 4. By forcefully signing the Treaty of Versailles, Germany accepted defeat and accountability for World War I. On the contrary, in Document 5, a German nationalist opposed the idea that Germany alone was liable for outbreak of the war. He felt that several forces of opposing countries took part in fighting each battle and ultimately believed that global opposition caused the Great War. Similarly, in the Balkan Region, several ethnic minorities desired independence from Austria-Hungary. As shown in Document 3, The Austro-Hungarian government demanded that action was to be made regarding propaganda against Austria-Hungary. This ultimatum was a result of the assassination of
“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.
Prior to the devastation of the first World War, a spirit of optimism and enthusiasm engulfed the minds of citizens across Europe. Relating the potential outcome of another war to the short, decisive, progressive wars in the nineteenth century, Europeans greeted the opportunity for war as a tool to cleanse the current ailments of Europe. The people, blinded by an overwhelming belief in progress and a developing sense of nationalism, failed to foresee that they were heading for disaster. World War I emanated from European leaders' aggression toward other countries, which was supported by the rising nationalism. Economic and imperial competition and fear of war prompted military alliances and an arms race, which further escalated the tension contributing to the outbreak of a war greatly exceeding the lethality of European expectation.
World War 1 is often referred to as “The Great War”. It started in 1914 and lasted 4 years until 1918. Europeans wanted a balanced power but then alliances had started to form. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand occurred and this was the spark that led Europe into war. There were many underlying causes to WWI. The key causes were the alliance systems, militarism, and imperialism.
World War One or ‘The First World War’ as it became known, occurred due to many causes including the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and ideologies such as nationalism and militarism. The most obvious trigger for the war was the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on June 28, 1914. The assassination took place during the Archduke’s visit to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Archduke was targeted due to an ill feeling amongst Serbians that, once appointed to the throne, Ferdinand would continue the persecution of Serbs living within the borders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Just moments after the couple had been shot; authorities arrested the triggerman, Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian student, who was believed to have been linked to the Serbian terrorist organization, The Black Hand.
In my opinion, the main cause of World War One was alliances between countries throughout Europe. In case that one country went to war they were provided with aid and support. After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, they declared war against Serbia, and other countries were involved due to alliance agreements.
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Austrian Archduke, is often cited as the direct cause of WWI. While it was a significant catalyst to the war, the circumstances surrounding WWI were actually more complicated. The first great world war was caused by a variety of factors including: tensions between countries due to a threatening system of alliances, stockpiling of weaponry, and nationalism.
World War One was a war of bloodshed and suffering that left Europe devastated after the war (History Learning Site, 2000). Woodrow Wilson, stated that The Great War was the war to end all wars (Sturgeon A., 2009). At the end of World War One, Woodrow Wilson came up with the Fourteen Points which was a peace plan to prevent all future wars (Sturgeon A., 2009). Unfortunately, not all of its recommendations were part of the final agreement known as the Treaty of Versailles (Bolotta A., Hawkes C., Jarman F., Keistad M., Watt J., 2000). The Allies wanted to take revenge on Germany by humiliating them for the cause of World War One (Sturgeon A., 2009). Without having any say, Germany was forced to sign the treaty and unwillingly signed it on June 28, 1919. This treaty led to the outbreak of World War Two because some land was taken away from Germany, they were forced to pay huge reparations for the damages and more importantly, had to take all the blame for World War One that angered many Germans (Pollata A., September).
The nation responsible for the onset of World War I is Austria-Hungary because of the territorial and political stances with Serbia that provoked the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. After Ferdinand's death, Austria-Hungary initiated a call for support to the Germans about the problems in the Balkans, resulting in Germany confirming their assistance by issuing a “Blank Check.” Austria later gave Serbia a list of ultimatums that consisted of extreme demands in hopes of Serbia rejecting it. Since Serbia is a country where Slavic nationalism was idealized, it refused the idea of Austria gaining the right to control the investigation of Franz Ferdinand's assassination and have authority over the state of Serbia and this did in fact compel Serbia to reject the ultimatums. Austria knew that Serbia would not accept this list of ultimatums and therefore sent it as a rational motive to declare a war. Not long after, Austria declared war on Serbia, and Germany, Austria's ally, declared war on Russia, an ally of Serbia.
Alliances between European nations can also be considered an underlying cause of World War I. As a result of the Triple Alliance consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, the Triple Entente (understanding) was formed between France, Britain, and Russia. Although France and Britain were natural enemies, their fear of Germany united them together with Russia. These alliances set the final stage for the beginning of World War I. Each country in each alliance would help each other during warfare. For example, if Germany attacked France, Britain and Russia would help France, and Italy and Austria would help Germany, dragging Europe into a state of chaos and violence.
... revenge. Therefore, Germany was not the sole cause of World War 1 because other European powers have also supported guilt countries, signed secret treaties, and participated in arms rise.
Austria-Hungary wanted to assure that they had General Kaiser Waldheim’s word that they would have protection from Germany. Germany knew that if they agreed to come into the alliance with Austria-Hungary then Russia would bring along France and possibly Great Britain. The Ottoman Empire agreed to join the Triple Alliance which consists of Germany, Bulgaria, and Austria-Hungary. As Germany predicted Russia brought along France and Great Britain which formed the Triple
Following the assassination, Austria- Hungary was ready to declare war on Serbia, whom they believed was responsible for the death of Ferdinand. Without the support of Germany, Austria- Hungary probably would not have attacked ...
I think that the First World War was the product of long-standing rivalries rather than a badly mismanaged Balkan Crisis because it was these rivalries that led to the Balkan Crisis. The Balkan Crisis may appear mismanaged because previous crises such as those in Morocco in 1905 and 1911 did not result in war.
But, Russia joined in the war anyway, and in turn this made their alliance to France official. Then Germany demanded that France stay out of the war, but when France refused, Germany declared war on them too, explained in the book (“World History”). In Germany’s attempt to avoid fighting on two different fronts, they came up with the Schlieffen Plan. “Germany’s location presented the possibility of a two front war against France in the west and Russia to the east…” explained by Ellis Esler. Germany would need to have a quick victory in France in order for their plan to work, described in the book (“World History”). Since Belgium was to remain neutral, Germany’s invasion of Belgium angered Britain and they in turn declared war on