ww1 causes

Causes of World War One
Isaiah Puryear
Mr. Noble 4th
3-25-13

World War One had many key players, countries and empires being Great Britain, France, German, Austria-Hungary and Russia. Some of the key battles of WW1 were the battle of Marne 1914-1918, battle of Ypres 1914,1915 and 1917,the battle of Somme 1916, battle of Cambria and the famous battle of Verdun 1916. The two sides of the war were the triple Alliance consisting of the central European empires being Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (which does not enter war). And the other half of the war the Triple Entente made up of Great Britain, France and Russia.WW1 was started by the race to power, when one country upgraded their military other countries went and upgraded their militaries so they can stay on the top. The idea of Nationalism mixed with Militarism, triple Alliance and Triple Entente would all come together to cause truly a world war.

How did Militarism affect World War One? Well even though the Schlieffen Plan would channel the anger of Great Britain and slide that into war it was accepted by German Civilian Government (GCG) as the war plan. In 1914 the Russian Generals were also able to force Czar Nicolaas to accept and use full mobilization. They threatened him with the danger of defeat if he acted contrarily. In the start of the Great War (1914) Germany was a very young empire and extremely eager to conquer and take over nations to grow more powerful. Germany had little to no idea that what she was doing was going to become one of the greatest wars in history. August 1st Germany mobilizes her military and declares war on Russia, two days later the two empires were locked at war. Militarism worked off the idea of an armed force taking over a government at any cost for example “What do countries care about the cost of war, if by spending a few millions on steel and gun powder they can gain thousand millions on diamond and cocoa.” Militarism worked off that idea.

How did the Triple Alliance affect World War One? Well the Triple alliance affected the war because 1914 Austria-Hungary found themselves locked in the middle of war with the Triple Entente. That was when the German empire entered the war to assist their ally Austria-Hungary. The triple alliance is made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. Although later in the war Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia fight together the empires of Germany and Austria-Hungary signed a treaty stating that if either country was to be attacked by Russian they would step in and fight the Russian army. France and Russia later signed a treaty stating if either country was to be attacked by any member of the Triple Alliance they would mobilize their troops against the Alliance. There is really no surprise as to why other countries wanted to defeat Kaiser Wilhelm because he has no respect for other nations for example one of his insults to Czar of Russia. “Czar Nicolaas is only fit to live in a country house growing tulips” that is how the Alliance could have helped cause WW1.

Was the Triple Entente a possible cause of World War One? Yes, because all were united into their suspicions of the German empires plan to dominate Europe.1904 the United Kingdom and France settled their past disagreements over the centuries and signed the Entente Cordial (friendly agreement) also although the agreement contained no pledges of military support the two countries sat down and discussed war plans. Germany was the center of foreign policy from 1870 to the end of WW1. Germany was focused on becoming the largest empire not only in Europe but the whole World. Unlike the Alliance the Entente does not obligate its members to go to war. The Alliance did and left Europe divided into two camps.

Could Nationalism be a cause to World War One? Absolutely because countries that tried to become on nation all fell apart causing battles across Europe. Therefore I believe that a possible cause of WW1 is the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This is because after the assassination Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia July, 28, 1914. Which would be the world’s first global conflict? Bismarck completes his efforts to unify Prussia and German Kingdoms into a single nation and has King Wilhelm I proclaimed Kaiser. On the other hand Nationalism weakened the eastern European countries being Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia and the Ottomans. All of those empires suffered from the failing idea of Nationalism, instead of unifying countries and bringing them together they destroyed the countries causing chaos and most importantly caused WW1.

What could have been done to avoid World War One? Well there are many things that could have been done to avoid way. For example if countries didn’t try to bring people together and one big nation many of the smaller battles wouldn’t have happened. Also militarism led to war because every country was in the race to power meaning that if a single country upgrades their land then another country is to do the same. I am sure that the world has learned many things from the Great War. They learned that in the early 1900s all the world leaders wanted was to expand and become powerful. Many things have grabbed my attention while researching WW1 but the most important thing is that all the Countries that went to war ended up with almost nothing in fact some countries lost more than they gained so in the end was it all worth going to war? There are current world affairs being in Iraq and other countries but worst of all we still have socialists that believe nationalism is a good idea, but could anything be further from the truth? Absolutely not because what is a man or woman with no rights, what is a man or woman that would be beat or killed for not speaking the right language or not having the right religious views? What do people se in this Nationalistic idea because if I’m not mistaken Nationalism caused a war…one of the biggest wars in history. Is it the goal of a socialist to cause another war? Because if so they are getting there. I believe that is how World War One was caused.