Cause Of Ww1

Germany believed that they would be able to cope with any fighting at all on the Russo-German border while main forces concentrated on defeating France. The six-week predicted time period that would consist of defeating France came from the idea that Russia would need the six weeks to be ready to fight Germany. Once France was defeated, the Germans would then again use the railways to go and fight Russia. They would defeat Russia and avoid a two-front war by using their fast pace plan. By the time the plan was put into use, Alfred von Schlieffen was no longer in office.

“Germany worried about one day having to fight a war on two fronts or two different bodies” (European Alliances, 1914). In this map, it was stating how the country, Germany, was worried about being surrounded by countries they were not allied with, but those countries were allied together. This is one of the causes of World War I due to the countries being allied

In 1914 a war that brought the world together, sparked by the assassination of Austria-Hungary’s heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, by an assassin from Serbia. Austria-Hungary coming to a point where they blamed Serbia for being behind the assassination requests that Germans back them up when they declare war on Serbia. But there was more to the cause of the World War 1 than what meets the eye.

The cause of WW1 wasn’t just one event, but multiple things that added up: classes, nationalism, and alliances between countries. As the war was about to start, the countries prepared for battle, although they didn’t know the outcome but they were ready to fight to the death. By 1914, the power key that was imperial alliances had been given a crucial spark; the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand triggered series of war declarations that would eventually grow into the most devastating war the world had ever experienced. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was nephew Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Serbian nationalism was the most significant contributing factor in the Balkans to the outbreak of the First World War. Nationalist Serbs wanted the unity of Serbdom and to create a Greater Serbia that included the provinces Bosnia and Herzegovina. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand triggered the First World War and was prompted by the nationalism of the Serbs against Hapsburg control. If this trigger did not take place it would have been another event. But it is not surprising that it occurred in the Balkans; a volatile region, as Bismarck had predicted decades before; “ If there is ever another war in Europe, it will come out of some damned silly thin in the Balkans”.

The Russian army had however planned a quick invasion of Austria-Hungary, and were prepared to attack in case of a war. The only nation that was outside of these alliances was Britain. However, the naval rivalry of Germany, which was threatening Russia, France and Britain urged the British government to come out of its isolation. The Entente Cordiale, signed between France and Britain in 1904 allowed the two countries to settle colonial disputes in Africa and Asia.

As combinations of militarism and nationalism creates a deadly tinder pile ready for a spark. The assassination of Archduke Frans Ferdinand became not only a spark but a fire between nations. Soon as the war broke out in Europe between Hungary and Serbia it was not long after until more nations were pulled into conflict. A system designed to encourage peace, The Alliance System became a driving cause for war for as more and more countries entering the war pulled

Bismarck made it seem that William I had insulted the french and its ambassadors and this made Napoleon III furious and he declared war on Prussia. Nationalism seen in the German Unification was a positive force in unifying Germany. “He wanted to complete the unification of Germany and calculated that a war against France would arouse a nationalistic fervor in the

In June 1914, a Serbian-nationalist terrorist group called the Black Hand sent groups to assassinate the Archduke. Their first attempt failed when a driver avoided a grenade thrown at their car. However, later that day a Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip assassinated him and his wife while they were in Sarajevo, Bosnia which was part of Austria-Hungary. This was in protest to Austria-Hungary having control of this region. Serbia wanted to take over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

If a nation does not fight for a side in a war and stays neutral then it is not smart to stand there and provoke them, especially if the nation is one of the superpowers of the world. Germany pushed America to step into World War 1 because they made bad decisions on other nations that also took a toll on America. Germany antagonized president Woodrow Wilson 's neutrality in WW1 by destroying ships such as the Lusitania and going back on promises that they made. But the Germans were not the only ones to drag America into this war. America felt that trades between them and allied nations were being taken advantage of, and they felt that they just needed to end the war.

Why did the US get involved in World War I? The U.S. declared war on April 6th, 1917, while President Wilson had been attempting to create peace between Germany and Britain; the country had desperately tried to stay neutral with the problems accruing with these two. After the continuous attacks against American ships, and propaganda by German U-boats, Germany kept attempting to get Mexico to declare war on the U.S. and stop American supplies from getting to Britain. For this reason the U.S saw itself being pushed to get involved.

Although the people during that time period thought that the war was going to end quickly, simply because it was between Austria and Serbia, the war surprisingly included many other strong countries because of nationalism especially regarding the Balkan colonies wanting to be self-governed. But meanwhile, after Austria-Hungary proclaimed war with Serbia, countries from the Triple Entente later joined into war in a matter of time. As shown in Document A: the European Alliances and nations are shown on a map. The nations then started to pick sides. Austria-Hungary and Germany formed the Central Powers

Imperialism was a big impact on the late 1800’s leading into the early 1900’s with counties like the British, Spanish, Russia, and Germany pushing to gain more land in different counties. This would lead to an arms race and the buildup which would lead into World War 1. Many different alliance were made if another country would attack another other countries would help with the fight. This would keep peace till the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.

Why? Because in each country [of Europe] political and military leaders did certain things that led to the mobilization [of troops].” Leaders wanted the best military in Europe, even the world, which meant they tried to beat friends and enemies alike. This made for the means for Europe to break into a world-scale

2. Britain had promised to defend the neutrality of Belgium. When German forces invaded Belgium to attack France, Britain declared war. B. Canada supported Britain in her action. Prime Minister Robert Borden passed the War Measures Act in 1914.