Unraveling the Causes of World War One

Who Was to Blame for the Outbreak of World War One in 1914?
World War one started in June 1914 and ended in November 1918. There were two sides to the war, the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. The Triple Alliance was made up of three countries, Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. The other side was fought by Britain, France and Russia. Austria-Hungary and Serbia started it off with the shooting of Archduke Franz Ferdinand but this was just the metaphorical final straw in a history of tensions. The Archduke was shot by Gavrilo Princip, one of four conspirators. When Serbia refused to give up these criminals to Austria-Hungary to be punished, they declared war. Russia, not wanting fellow Slavic people be killed, joined to help defend Serbia. That is how the war began to escalate. Germany saw that Russia was mobilising its troops and became nervous, not wanting to be attacked unprepared, and went to help Austria-Hungary.

They began to mobilise and consequently, France became agitated and they too started to mobilise. Germany, now an ally of Austria-Hungary, went to invade France through Belgium activating the Schlieffen Plan. Britain, tied by treaty, had to aid Belgium and defend against the invading Germans. This is how the argument between two countries developed into a World War. Not everyone believes that the shooting of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was to blame, that a war was inevitable with all the existing tension between the European countries. This is what I’ll be exploring in this essay.
I believe Germany was most to blame. They caused many tensions between the countries, Britain most of all. Britain had a lot of naval power, needed for an island, and this made Germany jealous. The new naval ships the English build, Dreadnoughts, were copied by the envious Germans. They copied Britain’s designs but didn’t actually use them for war as proved here ‘No one forced the Germans to try and match the British in naval power, and in two world wars their battleships spent most of their time doing nothing’. This shows that the ships weren’t intended for war but just to aggravate Britain. The ongoing arms race built up the tension before the Dreadnoughts were built, they were just the last step toward a seemingly inevitable war. They also gave Austria-Hungary the blank cheque which was a cheque that had no limit for the amount of money offered. This meant that Germany was willing to give any amount of money, they could fill it in to any amount, if they went to war. It was unlikely that Austria-Hungary would have been so daring if they didn’t have support. Germany pushed these countries into war so they could join in. It would have likely stayed a Balkans war until Germany intervened, making it a European matter. Germany started the alliance system, pitting the countries against each other and giving encouragement. The mobilization of its soldiers and the declaration of war on France escalated the feud between the two countries. Germany was acting very aggressive, riling itself up ready for conflict, this made other countries anxious and want to neutralize the threat that Germany brought with its army. This is why I think Germany is the most to blame considering its constant push for war and tireless efforts for more land and power.

I think Austria-Hungary was the second most to blame for the outbreak of World War One and the root of the problems.

It harassed Serbia with its constant demands of unreachable justice. They demanded the criminals responsible for Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s death to be brought to A-H and be sentenced by them. Serbia, understandably, wanted them charged by their own laws as the Black Hand members were Serbians. The criminals were in hiding too, there was no way Serbia could send them even if they wanted to. Austria-Hungary wouldn’t take this as an answer. They had already treated Serbia badly throughout previous years, it being what provoked the assassination to begin with, but Serbia was willing to settle down until A-H mobilized its forces and sent out messages that radiated attack. A-H was behaving violently and was just spoiling for a fight. If such harsh expectancies weren’t put to Serbia, they wouldn’t have asked for help from Russia. Austria-Hungary initiated the fight without hesitation and was only strengthened by Germany’s

assistance.

France was not to blame. They did encourage Russia to attack but only because they knew Serbia stood little chance without help. Their land was stolen by Germany in a previous dispute which made the relationship between the two countries less than civil. When Germany started to act as if they were preparing attack, it was reasonable that France readied its allies. They couldn’t stand to lose any land and had to aid Russia who was now a part of the war. They were only honouring their agreement with Russia, how could that lay blame to them? Gathering their soldiers was only them defending themselves, they didn’t send any over and into Germany. They were not the ones to declare war, that was, again, Germany. France was rightfully worried and did not initiate the war. They simply accepted it when they were dragged in by their allies and Germany’s hostility.

Britain is innocent, unless, of course, defending your friends and allies is worthy of guilt. Belgium, the country Britain promised to protect, was invaded. The Germans were interfering again. Their plan to invade France from the back, cutting through Belgium, forced Britain’s hand. The German army slaughtered their way through Belgium in the name of war. Britain had no choice but to defend their ally. They also joined the Alliance System last and only did so because of the aggression Germany was showing. Unlike most other countries, Britain didn’t have a plan of attack. ‘Grey proposed to Germany that Britain would stay neutral if Germany did not attack France’ Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, made it clear that Great Britain did not want to, nor intend to attack unless made to. Germany ignored the warning and ploughed on to attack France and invade Belgium. There was no doubt, Britain had to join and not by its own choice. It was forced by obligations and promises.

Russia was not the cause of war either. They were just a drop in the ocean of tensions and conflict. They had their fair share of disagreements but mostly kept to themselves when possible. They were, like Britain, brought into the war by allies that required help. Serbia was under attack and Russia could not let fellow Slavic people die without intervening. They mobilized troops as it takes so long for them to get ready. No country would want to get caught without defense and Russia, knowing they had to help defend Serbia and therefore aggravate the other countries, certainly did not. It was not their fault that Serbia was being attacked and it was not their fault that they were asked for help. They could not deny the people their protection. It was only right that they protected them from the wrath of Austria-Hungary of which so evidently hated Serbia and obviously wasn’t afraid to begin a war. All Russia did was defend a friend and offer help to the suffering people.

In conclusion, I believe that Germany was most to blame for the outbreak of World War One. They meddled with other countries and caused a lot of problems. They were given fair warning and chose to ignore it. She pushed for war and manipulated the countries into conflict by dragging the reluctant ones in and supporting the unsure. Germany was not innocent at all and was in fact the igniter in the Great War.