Why Did Germany Contribute To Ww1

During the Versailles Peace Conference of 1919, the Allied Powers charged Germany with the primary responsibility of starting WW1. Germany, at the time of WW1, contributed to many events that propelled the war. The country was allied with Austria-Hungary which caused them to support Austria-Hungary when they waged war on Serbia. Tensions were growing between Germany and France because of Germany’s victory at the Franco-Prussian war. These tensions caused Germany’s war against France and Russia. They also brought the U.S into war by sinking Lusitania, which contained many Americans, and sending the Zimmerman note to Mexico. Finally, Germany contributed to the Russian Revolution by bringing back an exiled revolutionary and launched an offensive

The most direct cause of war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Archduke of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by Serbian nationalists who did not want to be under the rule of Austria-Hungary. After this incident, Austria-Hungary proposed a ultimatum to which Serbians did not agree. This began war between Serbia and Austria-Hungary. Although Germany supported Austria-Hungary when they went to war, Germany didn’t directly start the war. The Balkans was a group of countries, including Serbia, in Europe that were under the rule of Austria-Hungary. They wanted to be separated and known as independent countries which was the cause of their strong nationalism. This strong nationalism has been there for a long time but it intensified when Archduke Franz Ferdinand visited Bosnia. The increased nationalism in the Balkans was the cause of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Germany didn’t directly contribute to the assassination of the Archduke nor did it contribute to nationalism in the Balkans. The alliances between countries also was a long term cause of WW1. Many different countries signed treaties saying that they would defend each other. This was to ensure peace between countries. Before WW1 there were two powerful alliances, the Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy and the Triple Entente: France, Russia, Britain. Since all the these countries were so powerful together, when WW1 started large amounts of power from both sides were put into war. This caused all the destruction that was a result of WW1. Germany wasn’t the only country that caused destruction, the other countries are also equally responsible which is why Germany shouldn’t be wholly responsible.