Accurately titled The Long Fuse, this memoir, by Laurence Lafore, describes the lengthy chain of events that led to the First World War. He begins his work by thrusting the reader in the midst of 1870 Europe and her hopeful situation. Nations were developing nationalism at every turn and were vying for a better world. The Second Industrial Revolution was in full swing and was changing how the world, and war, operated. Education and literacy were taking root in average lives and, in turn, the idea of Liberty took off. Thus the foundation for greatness was set. If Europe was destined for greatness, then how did it end up in total war? Lafore makes his detailed explanation in seven lengthy chapters. He goes on to describe the European obsession with nation states and the problems it caused such as: territorial disputes, namely with Alsace-Lorraine; ethnic nationalism, especially with the Serbs (known as pan-Serbism), and twisted alliances to maintain the balance of power between said nation states. Such alliances are the very things that laid the foundation for the conflict of World War I because every country had multiple reasons for joining their respective alliance, mainly for revenge, distrust, or …show more content…
This essentially left Britain as the only power that had not picked a side and therefore the deciding point for the balance of conflict. If they choose the Franco-Russian alliance, then the delicate balance of power that had so long existed would remain. Lafore explains the reasons in which Britain may have wanted to join either alliance and finally gives the reason for joining the Franco-Russian alliance by saying that the effects of the Boer war and other events had led Britain into an uncertain alliance with the two countries (140). Thus Britain, France, and Russia formed the Triple
All causes of the Great War calling and bickering to be the main cause yet it was the combination of the main causes that made the war even possible; the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand with it’s nationalistic origins, then the alliances that created a larger web of support, and lastly imperialism that had created the passion of revenge, militarism, and nationalism. Though looking back many may not believe that the four years of trench warfare was not the most brilliant war in history, but they do have to agree that the causes are the most important aspects of the war in its entirety. For if people see why terrible events happen then they can prevent the future from new world wars that could’ve been solved without the need of war.
details the causes of the first World war and describes the first month of the war. The book clearly illustrates how a local war became an entire European struggle by a call to war against Russia. Soon after the war became a world issue.
The first and possibly most important cause of World War I may have been the allying of the countries involved in the war and the posturing for action which they participated in. Although many treaties were signed and many alliances made previously, the start of the time line of WWI may be traced to the Dual Alliance signed by Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1879, to which Italy joined in 1882 forming the Triple Alliance. It was an agreement that was one of military protection, stating that if a...
Another way that these alliance systems made themselves known was in the war plans of the different countries. Though the alliances were not initially meant for war, they fostered military cooperation between the signatories. This was evident in the Dual Alliance, as the two militaries “exchanged letters and visits which served to build up an expectation that they would consult and act together to support each other in moments of crisis.” The two even had “shared planning and strategies.” Opposing this bloc, the Triple Entente was also cooperating. Even though it was primarily aimed at defense, “within two years of signing the agreement of April 1904, plans were being made for common military action against Germany.” As a result of this cooperation and strengthening of ties, the two alliances were beginning to be viewed by the other as a cohesive group. Therefore, expectations began to grow about how the system would work: it was believed that confrontations would bring in alliance partners. Due to this sentiment, the Dual Alliance began to make promises about the course ...
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.
Professor Geoff Hayes, “4 August 1914: Slithering Over the Brink, The Origins of the Great War,” Lecture delivered 31 October, 2011, HIST 191, University of Waterloo
The stronger country would attack weaker countries and in the end the weaker would usually lose. This caused a lot of tension just like militarism. The last of the ideas, was the idea of jingoes. These were people who lived for war. All they wanted was to go to war. Jingoes where very aggresive talkers and they caused a lot of friction between many countries. These ideas where some of the main reasons Europe was pushed to the brink of war.
The rise of European nationalism in the 19th Century brought with it an overabundance amount of change that would definitively modify the course of history. The rise of nationalism in one country would rouse greater nationalism in another, which would in turn, motivate even greater nationalism in the first, progressively intensifying the cycle that eventually concluded in a World War. Nationalism as an ideology produced international competition which inspired absolute allegiance to an individual’s nation state. The ideology was fueled by industrial commerce and imperialistic developments which led to nation-states pursuits of outcompeting rival nations.
The alliances were a huge part of World War One. For one reason, there was quite an excessive amount of them and all because of paranoia. I think that making so many alliances with so many different countries only made suspicion worse and tension high, especially because no one knew exactly why they were making them. For example, the Triple Alliance had no real reason to become an alliance. Even in the negotiation documents they said, “In case a Great Power non-signatory to the present Treaty should threaten the security of the states of one of the High Contradicting Parties…” (Article 4, firstworldwar.com). Notice how they say “in case” not “when”, which states the fact that they’re only making this alliance in case of emergency. Little did they know, the alliances that all of the involved countries were making with each other were actually hurting them instead of helping. Which concludes stupid political decision number one.
There were several long-term events that led to the outbreak of World War One. The most prominent factors include: nationalism, militarism, imperialism, the Balkan and Morocco crises, and the alliance system. Ironically, these things were either started in response to, or upheld because of, one of the other factors. The alliance system was one of the last factors to emerge before the war. Consequentially, the contributions of this system to the beginning of the Great War have to be considered. Although the alliance system was a main cause of the First World War, it arose because of several other factors, and did not cause the war single handedly.
During the late 19th century many countries sought an alliance with other countries to guarantee their own safety, preserve peace and sometimes to help their economic position. this is highlighted by alliances and treaties such as the "Dual Alliance" of 1879, the "Dreikaiserbund" of 1881 and the "Reinsurance Treaty" This was also the case for both France and Russia, with them agreeing the "Franco-Russian Military Convention" on August 18th 1892 and later agreeing the "Franco-Russian Alliance" in 1893. France and Russia were animated by a common desire to preserve peace. The only reason it was possible for France and Russia to form this alliance is because Germany allowed the Reinsurance treaty to become invalid. Both countries wanted different things from the alliance but there was one common reason between them, and that was to oppose Germany - although both countries had different incentives for this. France, Russia and Germany all contributed to the alliance being formed, either through their aims or what they did.
When countries formed alliances with each other it gave them protection, if a country was threatened or under attack then the alliance would come to that country’s aid. Countries made an alliance when they both needed protection from a stronger country. When Austria-Hungary had heard about the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, they went to war with Serbia.... ... middle of paper ...
The importance of the alliance system that developed in Europe in the decades before World War I as a cause for it is still an important topic of debate and argument between modern historians. Some argue that the alliance system was a direct cause of the outbreak of war between all major countries in Europe while other historians prefer to state that the alliance configuration we observe before the war started was simply a symptom of the conflicts and disagreements, fears and envies that had been accumulating since the Bismarck system of alliances collapsed, and even before then. This last opinion is becoming more accepted as the one that describes the true importance of the actual alliance system as a cause of the war. In order to determine the importance of the alliance system as a cause for the war we must first explore the origins of these alliances. We will take high-point of the Bismarck system in 1878 as our starting point as the Franco-Prussian war is a key factor for the development of this system.
Europe has seen many wars over its vast and broad history, some of which being quite immense and destructive. One such war would undoubtedly be World War One. A war powered by the brainwashing ways of militarism and the stubborn pride of nationalism. Once engaged in a war a country’s militarism will produce fine soldier ready to drop like dominos on the battlefield, while the nationalism works as fuel providing the naive determination to fight the war. This naïve determination and soldier production is why World War One, like every other war, continued with such persistency. But what started World War One? Was it militarism that trained young men since they were kids to become soldiers, nationalism propelling a nations pride forward or was it neither? While both of those aspects could be potential reasons their still not the main pillars of cause. The true reason’s that made World War One inevitable were the intimidating alliances, avaricious imperialism, and tedious tensions.
One of the most direct causes of World War One was the unstable alliance system that had developed in Europe at the time. In the past, alliances were made to strengthen security and to maintain peace. Otto von Bismarck, the prime minister of Germany, once said, “If you want to fool the world, tell the truth”(Refspace). What this quote meant that there was so