The causes of the war were for power. “Europe was the peak of all human accomplishment” (2013, Reilly, p.921). Europe, being the best at industrialization, globalization, and a great change in technology, was known as a country that dominated the rest of the world. Asia had more people but, Europe was still considered to be the superior, despite being small compared to Asia. However, each country in the war had their strengths. The British Empire had a navy that would put other country’s ocean defense to shame. The Germans had a strong army, on land. Russia, being the largest of these countries didn’t have these resources. They helped French financially during the war, after being defeated by Japan. As for Austria-Hungary and Italy, they were not huge contributors to the war at this time (2013, Reilly, p. 922). …show more content…
921). Germany’s main focus was being the strongest, so they built up an army that would soon be dominating the world. They used this to their advantage and would later begin invading other countries. “It is clear the problem was that Germany’s post-1890 hunger for empire could no longer be satisfied except by taking overseas territories away from the other European countries. This was not something likely to accomplish by peaceful means” (2013, Reilly, p. 923). Germany would strive to achieve the goals of conquering overseas territories. The entire war was caused by wanting to control land that has already been claimed. Despite the problems in their own country that remained uncompromised, Germany still wanted more land (2013, Reilly, p. 923). Not being able to take anymore blows that Germany was throwing, the British entered the war and allied with the French (2013, Reilly, p.
Ultimately, the larger battles that came along with alliances worked in hand to help rapidly increase the spread of militarism. Countries became influenced by each other, soon seeking out greater weapons such as machine guns and tanks. Nations that didn’t already have a great amount of weapons wanted to grow their stock, and nations that did have a great amount wanted to put them to use. In 1890, Germany annexed a total expenditure of twenty million euros. In 1914, this number grew by a wide margin, totaling out to nearly 120 million euros (DBQ, 317).
Strangely Germany began building up their army and navy prior to the start of war, leaving the other countries left with limited time to build up and prepare their army and navy for the unexpected. All in all Germany was involved in all of the underlying causes of World War
To be able to use your force you had to have the best. In document C we know from the chart that France started with the best army, but Germany at the end of the war had the best. Germany's reasoning to build up their military was what they needed to do to protect themselves against the world. To build up the military they spent a lot of money, but it hadn’t payed of in the end. Germany thought they that being lesser than other countries they would get walked upon.
Because of Militarism many countries grew their armies which led to tension between countries about having strenght and power due to their army sizes. 3. Imperialism was most likely the third cause of the war because Germany and Italy wanted to have a colonial empire which led to conflict and disputes about land ownership because having more land equals having more power and wealth. 4. The last cause of the war was probably Nationalism because it only created pride in their country about which was the best, it was the reason that
As a result, Germany increased a war to themselves because they could use their neighbor 's war as an opportunity to spread across. Therefore, Germany caused World War 1 because they used the opportunity to increase the war in order to gain more land. In the end, all countries had some participation and thus, were a “cause” of World War 1. Germany transformed the small war into a widespread and massive war.
Had Germany not been a direct competitor with Britain as another empire, perhaps they might have been less willing to aid France. To the Great powers of Europe, Imperialism and overseas colonies were extremely important to the power of their nation. In fact, one German historian, Heinrich von Treitschke, said that “… all great nations in the fullness of their strength have desired to set their mark upon barbarian lands and those who fail to participate in this great rivalry will play a pitiable
Germany, with its allies -Italy and Japan, rapidly started a threatening expansionistic campaign. The war was inevitable in order to avoid Hitler regime expansion over all Europe and, potentially, over the all world. The balance of power was initially (until 1942) in favor of the Axis, but the massive mobilization of the Allies succeed in turning the tide in the war. The surprising resistance of the Soviets and their ability in denying the German conquest of Russia (most important Hitler objective), was the main factor that allowed the
Between 1914 and 1918, a massive war known as World War Ⅰ took place. Here, European countries split up into the Allies and the Central Powers to fight one another. Throughout the war, they brought many of their alliances into the war to help them fight. However, these countries were not impacted the way that the European countries war since they did not fight on their soil, and many were not recognized for their actions. Therefore World War Ⅰ was mainly eurocentric due to the fact that it consisted of mainly European countries who dragged their allies and relations into the war to help them fight.
This mass amount of power not only caused the war to become more heated with countries like Britain using their colonies to fight on their side, but it also spread jealousy to less powerful nations. According to document E, a German propaganda poster, illustrates Britain as an octopus that is reaching over the world to its conquered colonies. The title reads “Freedom of the Seas,” (Document E) with a caption reading “England, the bloodsucker of the world,” (Document E). In document F, Germany had less colonial rule than Britain and therefore are angry that Britain has so much power. This brings on more bitterness that caused the war.
As mentioned earlier, Germany was in great debt due to the reparations from world war 1 and the huge amount of money spent on the war. Germany wanted more natural resources to increase their economy. Hitler conquested areas that he felt was taken away from Germany in world war 1 such as Czechoslovakia and Poland. Which were rich in natural resources. According to “The outbreak of World War II in Europe”, it explains that “it brought in new wealth in the form of gold, natural resources, and industrial capacity to pay for the military campaigns.”
Militarization was the most significant cause of World War I because countries were enhancing their militaries in order to increase their power, and it led to new military technologies. Germany and Great Britain were improving their military strength by expanding their army during 1914. “By 1914, Germany had the greatest increase in military buildup. Great Britain and Germany both greatly increased their navies in this time period… the military establishment began to have a greater influence on public policy.” (CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I)
Document A ‘‘European Alliances, 1914’’ shows us the different types of alliances that nations had with each other. Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy were known as the Triple Alliance. There was also the Triple Entente, an alliance between France, Great Britain and Russia. Alliances helped cause the war because nations would be against each other and they would also want to be dominant. Although there were many reasons that caused World War I, Militarism, Imperialism, and Allies were the main factors.
The growth in the armies and navies of all the large empires gave them the resources to go to war. According to alphahistory.com “ Militarism is a philoshophy or system that places great importance on military power”. From 1908-1930 Germany led military spending with $1.994 billion. Great Britain was second with $1.9925 billion. Russia spent $1.7255 billion and France $1.6499 billion.
There was a need for expansion of naval forces. Britain was known to be the superior of the water border. Britain needed a large Navy to protect their colonies and trade routes. Germany did not like the fact that Britain was stable and expanding. Since Germany wanted a large empire, they would have needed a large Navy.
I: Germany waged World War I in 1914 due to their increasing fear of the rise of Russia. Russia had a much greater potential power than Germany due to their sizeable land mass and increasingly industrialized economy. While Germany was widely regarded as the predominant military state in Europe, by 1917, Russia would overtake them. Russia’s future intentions were unclear, and Germany preferred major war instead of a dominant state of immense size and power.