Although many believe that WWI started because of Germany, there were many other contributors- Germany alone could not have started a world war. The two major alliances along with militarism, nationalism, and imperialism helped cause the outbreak of the first world war. The people residing in Serbia did not want to be controlled by Austria which led to the assassination of Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Document 5 states, “...the disaster began only at that disastrous moment when the successor of Austria-Hungary fell a victim to murderous hands.” The war was ignited because of nationalism and due to this assassination, an ultimatum was delivered to Serbia from Austria. Document 3 is the ultimatum that was given to Serbia. It reads, “The Royal Government see themselves compelled to demand from the Royal Serbian Government a formal assurance that they condemn this dangerous propaganda against the Monarchy… To accept the collaboration in Serbia of representatives of the Austrian-Hungarian Government.” Serbia agreed to only some of the terms which gave Austria the push it needed to declare war. The instant war was declared, the allies of both Austria and …show more content…
Serbia started to mobilize. There were two major alliances made right before and lasting through WWI, those alliances are known as the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente.
The Triple Alliance was made up of Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary while the Triple Entente included France, Great Britain, and Russia which is shown in Document 2. To have an alliance does not simply mean that you’re associated without discontent, it also implies that when one of the nations within your alliance needs some type of aid, rather it be resources or soldiers, you supply it. When the Archduke of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a nationalist of Serbia, Germany rushed to Austria’s aid and Russia to Serbia’s. Rather than allowing the dispute between Austria and Serbia to be simply a “summer war,” the alliances caused further tensions and
discontent. Militarism is defined as the glorification of the military or the desire of a government to maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it to exert force at a moment’s notice. Once the nations started to mobilize their armies, they were showing that war was inevitable and that they, as a nation, would be prepared if needed. When Russia started to mobilize its army after war was declared on Serbia, Germany used that as an excuse to declare war on Russia. Great Britain also built up its army and entered into the war only after Germany invaded Belgium, a neutral country. Document 6 reads, “...in each country of Europe political and military leaders did certain things which lead to the mobilization of their armies for war and finally to the declarations of war,” they did not mobilize their armies in preparation for peace rather they were inviting on what they felt was inevitable, war, which is pointed out in Document 1. Document 1 “provides information on the increasing amounts of money spent on armaments from 1870 through 1914.” Imperialism contributes to every war that the world has ever experienced, every nation strives to be better than the next and to look out for their own interests as history proves. Therefore, it is no surprise that it is one of the leading causes of WWI. Document 5 says, “ ...the imperialism of all European states has chronically poisoned international relations. Policies of retaliation, policies of expansion, and disregard for the right of people to determine their own destiny, have contributed to the European malady which came to crisis in the World War,” the author of this document strongly felt that imperialism was the cause of the war. WWI ended with the Treaty of Versailles. Document 4 states, “...Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage.” Germany was forced to take full credit for the world war despite the fact that she did not initiate it.
The first underlying cause of WWI was greed. People always want more than what they have. The countries from the Triple Alliance wanted more land, power, or wealth than what they owned. Germany despised Great Britain at the time, because of the number of colonies they had. In Document --, a German cartoonist drew a propaganda poster, claiming "England is the bloodsucker of the world". This appears that Germany is very fearful of England taking control of the world. It also shows that Germany aspires to be as large of a country of Great Britain. Also, in document 16, in the spring of 1914, before the war started,
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 be taken regarding propaganda against Austria-Hungary. This ultimatum was a result of the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, who was killed by a Serbian nationalist. Russia, a large Slavic nation, has close ties with Serbia.
The underlying cause of World War 1 were the alliances within Europe. An alliance meant that if one country goes to war than the country associated will also fight. All the countries were picking sides before the war started. Otto von Bismarck, the Chancellor that led the unification of the German states, did not like the fact that Germany was between Russia and France. “Bismarck formed the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in the year preceding
There were many causes of World War 1 and one of the causes was Militarism.Militarism was a leading cause to WWI because the military had control over everything.In document 7 it shows how much money each country invested into their Army and Navy.These lead to the WW1 because with
World War II was not only started by Adolf Hitler and Germany, but had a lot to do with the humiliation that Germany felt when the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were laid down. The harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles may be indirectly related to the cause of World War II, but nonetheless was a huge factor in starting the war.
Another example of alliances is the Triple Alliance. The Triple Alliance consisted of Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. This is what historyonthenet.com had to say "Germany and Austria-Hungary made an alliance with Italy to stop them from taking sides with Russia." This tells the reader that some alliances weren't made because they wanted to, they where made for their own protection from other countries. This was a big part of WWI.
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.
In August of 1914, a war today known as World War I began. The World War 1 began as a war locally between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. It eventually grew into a war involving thirty-two different countries. The allies involved in World War 1 included Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the United States. These countries fought against Germany, Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria. A question frequently asked by many people is, what really caused World War 1 to happen. There are several different causes people believe that started World War I. Three causes mostly believed to be what started World War I are imperialism, nationalism, and militarism.
The factors that led to the outbreak of the First World War have been argued over for many years and it is still something that does not have a definitive answer. Many historians argue over who is responsible through long and short term factors. It is true to say that Germany and Austria were responsible but there were other factors such as the alliance system.
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.
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.
In the July Crisis Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) despite not having conclusive proof. Austria-Hungary asked for German support to "eliminate Serbia as a power factor in the Balkans". Germany agreed, offering her full support for Austria- Hungary to start a war with Serbia, and this became known as the "blank cheque". Austria-Hungary and Germany could not have failed to realise the possibility of Russian intervention and a European war, suggesting to me that war was their objective. Austria-Hungary issued an impossible ultimatum to Serbia, which was likely to provoke a war. Serbia was given only 48 hours to reply, so was forced to think quickly, or other countries would be mobilized and ready to attack. Serbia accepted all but one point of the ultimatum. Consequently war was announced. If given more time Serbia could have discussed the issue further in a conference. The British foreign minister, Grey suggested a conference, but this was rejected by Germany and Austria-Hungary, suggesting that they had deliberate aims for war during the Balkan Crisis, rather than the Balkan Crisis being mismanaged.
... On 28 June, 1914, the assassination was successful and this was the action that triggered war. Austria-Hungary wanted revenge because their next ruler was killed so they declared war against Serbia. This is what caused the war. The Alliances ties in with these events as Austria-Hungary formed an alliance with Germany who also went to war with Serbia.
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,...
Besides the assassination of the archduke there were four other reasons for the start of WW1. 1. Militarism- the building of large armies. All the nations in Europe at that time were engaged in what today could only be called an arms race. As soon as one nation built a new weapon, all the others followed suit. 2. Alliance System- The building of alliances to strengthen the borders of a country. In theses alliances if one country went to war all the other countries in the alliance were forced to go to war also. 3. Imperialism- The practice of colonizing other lands by large European nations. 4.Nationalism- The feeling of Patriotism in a country that makes it compete with all other counties in the area in all areas.