What Caused The War In 1914 Essay

people would argue that the war in 1914 started because there were conflicts about the balance of power in Europe. (Kitchen, 2012) Others would say that policies and military reasons caused the war. The truth is both of these ideas contributed to the start of the war. Prior to the war in 1914, Germany was having issues with Britain, Austria-Hungary, France, and Russia. In 1871, Bismark decided that Germany was not only going to be neutral but also try to make amends with other countries. Both Russia and Austria-Hungary wanted Germany to align with them because they were afraid that France was going to start a war. Bismark refused the offer. In 1875, France began creating a bigger and stronger army forced people to believe that a war was starting. (Kitchen, 2012)

In 1878, The Congress of Berlin was

held. The purpose of this meeting was to not only put an end to the ongoing territorial disputes but also to address alliances. Russia began resent Germany which only continued their issues. In 1879, Gorchakov, the Russian tsar, sent a letter to Germany that insisted that Bismark express his thoughts and future intentions towards Russia. The letter also included a threat of a war in the future. Bismrak was afraid that Austria-Hungary, France, and Russia would align with each other and then attack Germany. (Kitchen, 2012)
In 1879 the Dual Alliance was created . The Dual Alliance refers to the alliance Germany forms with Austria-Hungary. However he made matters worse when his alliance with Austria-Hungary became The Triple Alliance. Italy asked Bismark to be a part of the alliance because they felt that France was not using its political power for good. Romania became a part of this alliance in 1883 because they were afraid of Russia's power. (Kitchen, 2012) Bismark had no idea that his alliances would eventually fall apart and a new Kaiser would take his place.
Wilhelm II became the German Kaiser in 1888 and got rid of Bismark. Wilhelmine II decided to create a new system of government that was made up of the heads of the civil, military, and navel cabinets. (Kitchen, 2012) Wilhelm II also want to make sure that the German Reichstag or parliament was very powerful and influential. Wilhelm II also strived to make sure that each social class within Germany had a voice in the workplace. Many people did not like the Kasier due to the fact that he was very outspoken and had a bad temper. Due to these characteristics other countries were already did not like him or Germany. (Kitchen, 2012) Wilhelm II had two main goals to strengthen Germany and he did not care who got hurt in the process.
The first goal was navy imperialism. Imperialism refers to the strengthening of a Country's power. The Kaiser thought that imperialism would integrate the work classes, improve the social classes, and lead to modernization. However his efforts cause more harm than good. In 1897, two Chinese missionaries were killed by the Germans. The purpose of the murders was so the Germans could establish a naval base in China. (Kitchen, 2012) Their goal was to expand their naval trade market and get into the beer industry. Wilhelm II sent troops out to China to make sure that the Chinese did not mess up their trade arrangements. The German naval trade expansion caused problems for Britain. At the time Britain controlled 80% of trade in China. (Kitchen, 2012) Therefore they were not happy when German expanded their efforts to China. In 1899, Wilhelm II accepted a proposal for a canal to be built. This canal would connect Rhine to the Elbe. (Kitchen, 2012) Many conservatives were against the proposal and the Kaiser threatened to have them resigned if they did not agree with the proposal. In 1905 Germany received the finances for the canal.
Wilhelm II 's second goal was militarism. He wanted to have the best and strongest military. In 1911, there was a proposal made to increase army wages. The proposal was approved and in 1912 the German army increased by 29,000 men and three new battleships were created. (Kitchen, 2012) The increase in army men forced the surrounding countries to increase their military efforts in case a war broke out. Also in 1912, the Triple Alliance that was originally created by Bismark, went back to a Dual Alliance. The cause of this was the Balkin war. Italy and Austria-Hungary refused to be allies because Austria-Hungary wanted Albania to be independent. Germany, being the mutual ally, wanted nothing to do with the conflict because they feared it would make them weak. Many of the other countries believed that a war could solve these conflicts and create new alliances. Everyone feared that a war was going to break out and started to drastically improve their militaries. Germany again increases its army by 136,000 men which poses a threat to other countries. (Kitchen, 2012)
In 1914, Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife are murdered. Austria-Hungary believed that the Serbians were responsible and as a result Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia. Germany, still being aligned with Austria-Hungary, prepared themselves for war. The war in 1914 was created because of alliances, military efforts, and imperialism. (Kitchen, 2012) Germany was the reason why the war in 1914 began. Both Bismark and Wilhelm II were too concerned with Germany's image and protection that they did not see the damage that they were doing . Being aligned with multiple countries means that at some point more than one or more battles will have to be fought. Also there is an increased likelihood that the alliance will force all countries involved to make various decisions. This happened to Bismark and Wilhelm II multiple times. Also increasing the amount of army men intimidated the other countries and forced them to create their own form of protection. Wilhelm II also did not have to shoot those men in China. He not only made enemies with China and Britain but all the surrounding countries too.

Many people believed that Germany was going to win the war. Wilhelm II had created larger troops and naval recourses that would help them win the war. However those efforts did not help the Germans at all. The Schlieffen plan was originally created in 1905 but was later revised in 1914 when the war got worse. (Trueman, 2015)The Germans created this plan to give instructions on how to attack France a Russia. There were five main components of this plan.
The first one was that the Germans were to invade Belgium and attack France when they announced their mobilization. The second component was a seizure operation was to be held near the Russian and German border if needed. The third one was France was to be defeated in six weeks. The fourth component was Germans trains were to be used to move troops. The last component was to attack and defeat Russia. (Trueman, 2015) While this plan seem like a good strategically move it caused some problems. One major problem was that the French troops were able to escape from the seizure trap the German set up. This led to one of many attacks on the Germans. (Trueman, 2015)
Another problem that decreased Germany's chances of winning the war was the blockades. In 1914, Britain used its sea power to create a naval blockade against Germany. Britain's goal was to limit all supplies leaving and entering Germany. They created the blockade near the North sea and with the help of the allies created one near the Adriatic Sea. (Cornish) In 1915, the British caused many Germans to starve and become emaciated. Many Germans died as a result of this blockade. In 1917, Germany decided to create its own blockade that specifically targeted Britain. Germany used its u-boats or submarines to destroy British naval areas. However this blockade was not successful because they sank one of the American ships. As a result, the Americans joined the war and joined forces with France. (Cornish)
The next reason why the Germans lost the war was due to Wilhelm II. Wilhelm II was in charge of the armies He told them what to do, who to attack, and how to execute the attack. When the Germans invaded Belgium to attack France, they did not realize that they had created more problems for themselves. (Tempest, 2014) Belgium during the war was completely neutral but had an agreement with Europe to not be involved in the war. Another issue Wilhelm II caused was with the Americans. The Americans could have been able to help the Germans when the war ended because they were neutral. However, due to the fact that the Germans sank one of their ships, the Americans were forced to fight against them. Wilhelm II also failed to maintain communication among his allies. (Tempest, 2014)Because he was in charge of all the decision making Wilhelm II only was interested in Germany's victory. France and its allies were allowed to make their own military decisions which help strengthen their tactics. (Tempest, 2014)
Germany also lost the war because they often times lacked the ability to fight.

While Germany had a large military, they underestimated how hard going to war would be. Going to war not only costs money but also puts a strain on the troops. Being attacked on a daily basis and moving from place to places causes lack of energy, which can affect a person's performance. An example of this is the Spring Offensive. In 1918, Germany knew that it had lost the war and wanted to do something to stop it. An attack on the Western front was declared and the Germans prepared themselves to fight. The French and its allies knew that the Germans had planned some type of attack but did not know when it was going to happen. The Germans were successful for the first couple days of the attack. (Trueman, 2015) Because they were doing well, the Germans suffered from limited supplies and extreme fatigue. On the very last attack the French used Germany's fatigue and lack of resources to their advantage. They purposely waited for Germany to attack so that they could counter attack and destroy their military. (Trueman, 2015) The French were successful and left the Germany with many

casualties.
While the war was going on, problems within Germany began to increase. One problem that surfaced was the casualties. The men who died fighting in the war increased the number of orphaned children and widows. (Kitchen, 2012) These orphans and widows had to deal with the death of a loved one on a daily basis. Another problem was starvation. The British had cut off all German food supplies As a result people became sick and died. The next problem was political efforts. The Social Democratic Party created problems within Germany during the war. They forced people to work more hours, get paid less, and work in terrible conditions. The Social Democratic Party tried to convince people that it was temporary situation that would be over once the war ended. In 1917, workers went on strike forcing the Social Democratic Party to divide. (Kitchen, 2012)