Causes of WWI
World War One, also known as the first world war, was an international conflict in the early 20th century that involved all of the great European powers of the time. Having many longterm and shortterm causes, the war was bloody and psychologically terrorizing, but ultimately ended with defeat of Germany and its allies. This was solidified by Treaty of Versailles in 1919 which essentially collapsed the German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman empires. Although the conflict seemed to have happened out of pure spite and tension, there were many different factors that contributed to it and its levels of intensity. World War I, a war in which carnage and destruction were seen in completely unprecedented levels, was caused by a multitude of things. Some include general tension caused by militarism, territorial tension, and entangling alliances, and this finally being set into motion by nationalism and the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.
The first world war began in the summer of 1914 and ended November of 1918. The two opposing forces of the war were the Central Powers and the Allied Powers. These groups were derived from alliances that had been made in the years leading up to the conflict, but as the war aged, many more countries got involved. The Central Powers originally came from the “Triple Alliance” which involved Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, and the other from the “Triple Entente” which consisted of Russia, Great Britain, and France; The Triple Entente grew to be called the “Triple Alliance” as it acquired additional countries such as Serbia, the United States, Italy and Belgium throughout the duration of the war. Although the Triple Alliance ultimately claimed victory, the war was long and bloody and took a large toll on Europe’s population (History.com Staff). Because of this, the victorious powers were very angry with the losing side and blamed them for the war. Via the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forced to take full blame for the damage and was imposed upon punitive territorial, military, and economic provisions. They were forced to pay billions of dollars in reparations which economically destroyed the country (History.com Staff). However, contrary to the allied beliefs, Germany was in fact not completely and independently responsible.
One enormous leading factor contributing to the start of the First World War was a very widespread feeling of nationalism across Europe. To begin with, for a big part of the 19th century, imperialism was manifesting in the continent. Many of the great world powers which would soon be involved in World War One had been trying to expand their jurisdiction all over the globe. Many countries were arguably obsessed with conquering land and implementing their culture where ever they could (Bloy). This era of imperialism allowed Europe to universally dominate, but with the wealth and popularity, it brought various negatives including war and prejudice. Extending all the way into the 20th century, this aura of imperialism lead to a strong nationalistic wave in Europe causing a good deal of diplomatic tension. The French desire for revenge over the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine was very strong, and the Victorian Era in Great Britain had inspired economic progression that the British wanted to preserve and continue (Kelly). In addition to that, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman empire were intimidated by the threat of being undermined by nationalistic Slavic peoples. The Serbians had recently gained independence from the Ottoman empire and they were now more confident than ever to try to seize Bosnia and Herzegovina to create a unified Serbian state; this ultimately just created an atmosphere of paranoia and uncertainty all across Europe.
Likewise, Austria, which had a large Slavic population was at risk of an inspired uprising or an attack from the Serbs. Russia supported the Serbians and saw itself as “Serbia’s protector.” Consequently, this arose tension between Russia and the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires. In addition to that, Germany also felt a strong surge of nationalism. Weltpolitik, or the desire to be the most dominant nation was very popular in Germany. Inspired by this feeling of such nationalism, war plans were readily developed and the threat of mobilization into war was stronger than ever. Europe was completely ready to commence the fighting; the eventual outbreak of war was greeted by cheering crowds in Berlin, Vienna and Paris. As APJ Taylor wrote “the people of Europe leapt willingly into war” (Bloy).
In addition to the tension caused by a xenophobic surge, there was also a feeling of intensity due to territorial tensions and militarism. Firstly, arms races were seen to their extremities during this time. Great Britain and Germany were in the midst of a great naval arms race, in addition to an economic rivalry. Most every European power had immensely increased the size of the military and the amount of money going towards national security (Bloy). The British-German dispute led to greater naval cooperation between Britain and France, and as this distrust and paranoia accumulated, militarism just became stronger and stronger… over 85% of men of military age in France and 50% in Germany had served in the army or navy. Germany, Austria-Hungary and Britain all increased by over 100% in their military spending between the years 1890 and 1913, whilst the armies of both France and Germany had at least doubled. Mixed with this belligerent attitude were multiple crises causing territorialism. The Balkans were a territory that several countries wanted to claim. Throughout the 19th and early 20th century, the Ottoman Empire had lost land in the Balkans to the peoples who lived there. Numerous other European powers were also interested in extending their influence in the region; Austria and Russia’s relationship was very poor due to this. As a result of this, the Balkan Wars occured in 1912 and 1913 allowing Serbia to double in size and increasing demands for the union of south Slavs (Yugoslavism) under the leadership of Serbia; this alarmed Austria, as they had a large slavic population in the provinces of Slovenia, Croatia, the Banat and Bosnia. Finally, strained relations caused by the two Moroccan Crises and The Annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austria only strengthened alliances and caused further distrust (Cleary).
Moreover, entangling alliances were a large cause of wariness before and during World War One. No one specific nation was completely and continentally dominant in the few decades prior; Austria-Hungary, Britain, Germany, Russia, and France all vied for the upperhand. In 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary formed an alliance… three years later, Italy makes an alliance with the two, formally solidifying the Triple Alliance (Bloy). On the other side, in 1894, Russia and France make an alliance. In 1907, Britain joins them completing the Triple Entente. By 1914, Italy was only a nominal member of the Triple Alliance. It had formed a secretive treaty with France by which Italy promised to stay neutral if Germany attacked France. This made it so Germany only had one sturdy ally, Austria-Hungary. Due to the nature of these alliances, war plans were implemented and the countries were very prepared to mobilize. For example, the famous German war plan, the Schlieffen Plan, relied on the quick movement of troops and the assumption that once Germany found itself at war with Russia, it would move into war with France as well (Bloy). France, Germany, and Austria-Hungary also had their own plans which greatly involved the drawing of opponent allies into war.
Although all of the mentioned factors were surely tension-causing, the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was what directly set the first world war into motion. On June 28th, 1914, in Sarajevo, the Archduke and his wife were shot by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian S
erb sent by a Serbian nationalist terrorist group called Black Hand (Kelly). The Austrains saw this as the perfect pretext to crush the Serbs… following the assassination, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia. As it was rejected, the Austro-Hungarians were so humiliated that they declared war. Russia mobilized in Serbia’s defense, and although Great Britain attempted to mediate the conflict, the many active alliances circulating managed to involve all of Europe’s great powers by early August… World War One had officially commenced.
The First World War, lasting from 1914 to 1917, was encouraged by many things, including nationalism, territorialism and militarism. All of these tensing factors served as long term leading factors to World War One but it was ultimately triggered by the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. Although Germany was forced by the victors to accept the full blame, nearly all of the great European powers contributed to the hostile wartorn environment. Tensions in the Balkans involved middle-eastern empires, as well as Russia and its allies. Germany and Great Britain both increased their militaries by over 115% percent during the midst of a naval arms race, and all of the nations that would soon be involved in the war were intertwined in alliances. Taking that into consideration, it’s clear that wars can arise for many different reasons. World War One is a perfect example of this; feelings of nationalism and territorial pride led to billions of dollars being spent on militaristic arms races and ultimately almost just as many casualties. Although the war often seems bleak and irrelevant, it’s important to take into consideration the severity and loss of human life caused by such simple concepts and notions of such anger, distrust, and paranoia.