Militarism: The Underlying Cause Of World War One

World War One was one of the most traumatic events that has happened in human history. At the end of the war, over six countries were involved in the overall war. There is lots of speculation about why tensions between countries formed and eventually turned into violence, but instead of the alliances or imperialism, it is clear that militarism (the expansion of a country’s military force) is the true underlying cause of World War One. This is due to the fact of germany’s fear of britain, overwhelming increases in military expenses, and the mentality of the triple entente.

Germany was in fear of the British empire. As far as they were concerned the British forces had plans to take over the world. In Germany’s eyes the British would have to spend most of the money they earned through their colonies to launch such an attack. In retaliation, Germany decided to strengthen their military powers. Due to the fact that Germany was doing this, the triple alliance saw this as a direct threat to their impenetrable hold on Europe. These chain of events and striving to balance the power, directly caused militarism, which would eventually lead to WWI.

The growth of armaments that took place between 1890 and 1914 shows the increase of the money spent on army and naval military forces.

In 1890, the countries Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Great Britain, Russia, and France spent a total of one hundred million dollars. Almost twenty five years later, the same countries spent two hundred and forty million dollars. These numbers, calculated before the war, represent the tensions between the alliances. This increase of money spent going into military forces and the fear of keeping one’s own country alive directly affects the defcon status of European nations, therefore, causing the tragic

WWI.
“The Hammer and The Anvil” written by the german chancellor Bernhard von Bulow is a document that carries lots of information about how the Germans felt during the beginning phase of world war one. The document states that German politicians know there is going to be a war and are questioning whether they want to be the offender or defender, hence the hammer and anvil analogy. The letter does in fact state that Germany wants to be the hammer in the situation that they are in. Due to their offensive purposes the German government increased the amount of money that went into their military. Once again money and militarism caused WWI.
Militarism can sometimes be a blessing but, when it gets out of control like it did before WWI it will end up poorly for all the nations in the end. Even though there was a tragic amount of losses in WWI, those countries didn’t learn their lesson because nearly 30 years later WWII, was declared.