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WW 1 sentence with imperialism, Nationalism, System of alliances, and militarism
WW 1 sentence with imperialism, Nationalism, System of alliances, and militarism
Causes, course and consequences of the first world war
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As complex as the onset of the Great War was, factors that influenced its beginnings included militarism, alliances, nationalism, imperialism and assassination. This is acronymically known as MANIA.
Militarily, from 1870 until 1914, most of Europe was arming itself at the rate never seen before in history. Desiring security and power, along with the conflict and tension during this time period forced all of the major powers involved in World War One to increase its military expenditures by at least 200%. Although Germany led this trend by a large margin, the desired effect – security and power – was difficult to attain, as the proportional rate that each country grew by was essentially the same as what it had begun with. Coinciding with this growth was the drastic change from a ‘defensive’ military mindset to one with a more aggressive tone. The French, taking a defensive stance during the 1870 Franco-Prussian War and Russia’s similar strategy against the Japanese in 1904-05, allowed for more of an aggressive military approach to take root. This is exemplified through the finalization of the German military strategy to quickly defeat France in case of war. Known as the Schlieffen Plan, it was developed in 1905.
A long history of European political alliances and ententes existed prior to 1914. This history of agreements evolved into a loose alliance between France, Russia and Great Britain (the Triple Entente) and the formal alliance between Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy (the Triple Alliance). The events in Morocco in 1905 and 1911 illustrate the influence that these alliances had. Both Germany and France displayed imperialistic motives towards Morocco in the early 20th century. In both incidents, the alliance syst...
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...urope was a powder keg ripe for conflict. And on June 28th, 1914, the power keg’s name was Gavrilo Princip and the conflict came dressed in the military attire of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. While World War One was only an assassin’s bullet away from beginning, mania had had a head start.
Works Cited
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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.
"Queen's University Archives - World War I." Queen's University Archives - Home. Web. 23 July 2010.
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
Yancey, C. Arthur, and 2001. "World War One - The War To End All Wars." Tripod. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. .
Bard, Mitchell G. The Complete Idiot's Guide to world War II, Macmillan Publishing, New York, New York, 1999
It may seem like wars start abruptly, with little cause, but usually there is a bigger story. New policies, lack of equality, military influence, and too much government involvement usually stir up the peace initially. These turn the country or area into a ‘powder keg’, ready to explode into war at the smallest spark. Although the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand was the spark of World War I, policies at the time like nationalism and militarism were the underlying causes of the war.
Thoumin, Richard, General. The First World War: A major New History of the Wreat of
O'Neill, William L. World War II: A Student Companion. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.
However, when confronted with a strict policy of appeasement, by both the French and the English, the stage was set for a second World War. Taylor constructs a powerful and effective argument by expelling certain dogmas that painted Hitler as a madman, and by evaluating historical events as a body of actions and reactions, disagreeing with the common idea that the Axis had a specific program from the start. The book begins with the conclusion of the First World War, by exploring the idea that critical mistakes made then made a second war likely, yet not inevitable. Taylor points out that although Germany was defeated on the Western front, “Russia fell out of Europe and ceased to exist, for the time being, as a Great Power. The constellation of Europe was profoundly changed—and to Germany’s advantage.”
In 1914, Gavrilo Princip had assassinated Franz Ferdinand, The duke of Austria. The assassins had been put up by the Serbian government, soon the Austrian government found out and had decided to retaliate. This had been the tipping point that had caused World War 1. But this is not the only cause to World War 1. The other causes of World War 1 were MIlitarism which was strongest in Germany. Germany was allied with Austria-Hungary at the time which is also a cause, the alliances in 1914. A few main alliances were the Triple Entente, which makes Russia France and Britain watch and protect against the ever growing threat from Germany. There were alliances made all throughout Europe that bounded almost everyone to protect someone. Another cause was Nationalism, germany mostly. Germany because they were a fairly new country who wanted to prove themselves as a nation. The final cause was imperialism. which was happening all over the place and it made countries scared their land might be attacked. World War One was not only caused by an assassination but was caused by alliances made throughout Europe along with insane nationalism, extreme militarism and frantic imperialism.
Long and Short Term Causes of WWI 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.
Stroebel, Jeffrey T. World War II. Part I: Between the Wars. The Sycamore School, 1995. Revised 1998.
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.
After years of hostility and aggression between the European superpowers and large states, the balance of power began to be challenged. The Serbians in 1914 assassinated the Arch-duke, Franz Ferdinand, of Austria-Hungary. The country counteracted and “issued an ultimatum to Serbia, which would bring the assassins to justice. And with that action Serbia’s sovereignty was nullified” (Duffy Michael, 2009). Since Serbia did not succumb to the harsh demands of Austria-Hungary, “preventative” war was declared on Serbia on July 28,...
World War 1 was called “The Great War”, “The war to end all wars”, and “The first modern war”. It had many causes and a few repercussions and I will describe them in detail.