FREE ESSAY ON CAUSES OF WW1

CAUSES OF WW1

The Causes of World War I What exactly were the causes of World War I? Sure, it sounds
like a pretty simple question, but it's most definitely not a simple answer! There was
whole lot more to the start of the war than an Austrian prince being murdered in Serbia,
as is what most people think was the whole cause of World War I. Besides, the effects of
the war weren't just concentrated to a "post-war era" lasting for a whole generation of
Westerners. Nope! The effects of the war were widespread throughout the world and can be
traced for generations after the war! Its not very rare that when a person is asked what
caused World War I, that they'd answer saying: an Austrian Prince being shot in Serbia.
However... the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie , in
Sarajevo was not the main cause of the Great War. It was really the breaking point for
Austria in dealing with Serbia. The truth of the whole matter is that several factors
played a role in the "outbreak" of the catastrophic war that took over the nations of
Europe for over four years. World War I was truly the result of building hostility
throughout the countries of Europe, which was backed by the rise of nationalism. To add
to the disastrous "soup of war", if you will, there was also huge, almost threatening
competition plus the fear of military alliances and an arms race. More and more
ingredients were being added to this "soup" and tension was growing by leaps and bounds,
something was going to snap. The 1st world war now seemed inevitable! (Encarta
Encyclopedia, 2000) Military alliances were definitely a big issue. Two of the major
opposing alliances developed by the Bismarckian diplomacy after the Franco- Prussian War
was one of the major causes of the war. In order to inconspicuously cut off France,
Bismarck came up with the Three Emperor's League in 1872, which was basically an alliance
between Germany, Russia, and Austria/Hungary. Then in 1882, Bismarck took advantage of
Italy's hatred for France and formed the Triple Alliance between Germany, Italy and
Austria-Hungry. In 1890 Bismarck was kicked out of office and France took the opportunity
to gain an ally, so, in 1891 the Franco- Russian Entente was created and then in 1904
Britain and France put their conflicts aside, and formed the Entente Cordiale alliance.
The effect of all of this was the Triple Entente, a coalition between Great Britain,
France, and Russia, was a close counter for the Triple Alliance. Now Europe was divided
up into two armed camps. (World Book Encyclopedia, WXYZ, pg. 367) Nationalism did nothing
but tighten the tension in Europe even more; it had been causing trouble ever since the
Congress of Vienna in 1815! In that settlement the preferment of peace was chosen over
nationalism, which basically left Germany and Italy as divided states, though they did
combine in the future. The Franco- Prussian War in 1871 caused France to lose the
province of Alasce- Lorraine to Germany, and the French looked forward to getting their
lands back. Then there was also Austria- Hungary, they controlled many lands including
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy wanted the Trentino and Trieste regions, and the Czechs and
Slovaks just wanted their independence from Austria- Hungary. There was also Russia,
which had their own problems within its borders; Russia had many different nationalities
that were also seeking independence in the name of nationalism. (World Book Encyclopedia,
WXYZ, pg. 366) Another major conflict that caused the outbreak of the Great War is what
was called the arms race. With the totally unreceptive divisions of the nations of
Europe, came expansions of armies and navies. Then, the great powers came right in and
copied Germany's military style and techniques, which called for worldwide registration
for military duty, large reserves, and detailed planning. A lot of effort was made toward
universal disarmament, but the  international rivalry caused the arms race to continue to
feed on itself.  (Karpilovsky, World Wide Web) Imperial competition was also a big part
in the act of Increasing the ever-growing tensions among the divided countries of Europe.
It started with two crises in Morocco, Africa. The first time, in 1905, Germany
completely supported Morocco's call for independence from France, and with the British
defending, the French war was only avoided at this point because of an international
conference, which made Morocco a French territory. The second crisis started in 1911, and
its cause was to protest the French dominance in Morocco. The Germans finally gave the
French a free and much needed helping hand in Morocco, but price for their help was a
pretty big chunk! In exchange they demanded a hefty portion of the French Congo. Now
while all of this is happening, at the same time there was also a Bosnian crisis going
on, which began with Austria- Hungary's takeover of the province of Bosnia in 1908. The
result was Serbia threatening a war on Austria- Hungary with the pledged backing of
Russia. As they began to gather together, Austria- Hungary, with the alliance of Germany,
threatened war on Russia. When Russia backed down, the soon to be war was postponed, and
greatly strained relationship between Serbia and Austria Hungary were left behind.
(Karpilovsky, World Wide Web)(Encarta Encyclopedia web article) On June 28, 1914 battle
lines for the inevitable war were drawn but the assassinations in Sarajevo set it all
off. It was believed that a Serbian nationalist committed the crime, and immediately
following it Germany, with its full support pledged, crunched Austria- Hungary into the
middle of all of it, declaring war on Serbia. At the same time, France was strengthening
its backing of Russia. War might have been avoided if Serbia had accepted Austria-
Hungary's harsh ultimatum, however they faithfully refused. Almost instantly the war fell
into place. Austria declared war on July 28, 1914. The next day Russia mobilized against
Austria- Hungary, on August 1st Germany declared war on Russia, and two days later on
France. When Germany ignored Belgium's neutrality, Britain declared war on Germany.
Finally war had begun, and unlike the predictions that had been made the resulting war
was long, indecisive, and reeked havoc on the nations of Europe. (Karpilovsky, World Wide
Web) (Encarta Encyclopedia web article) 
Bibliography
encarta encyclopedia, 2000
world book encyclopedia wxyz, pg 367
karpilovsky, world wide web