A short term cause of world war one (WW1) was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. It is argued by some historians that the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand provided Austria-Hungary with an admissible reason to invade Serbia, and Austria-Hungary had Germany’s full military support with their cause (HISTORY.com, 2015). The Schlieffen Plan, which is another short-term cause of WW1, got put into effect after Austria-Hungary’s attack on Serbia. The purpose of the Schlieffen Plan was to ensure Germany fought the European nations, Russia and France effectively. The Schlieffen plan did not prepare for a battle with the European nation Britain, however, Britain got involved and declared war on Germany in the year 1914, marking the start …show more content…
Kaiser Wilhelm (Germany’s ruler), wanted to build up the German Empire, resulting in two crises in Morocco, the first one: Kaiser Wilhelm visited Morocco and promised to support Morocco’s independence. France got upset by this as they wanted control over Morocco, Russia and Britain backed up France and agreed Germany had no say in Morocco. A 1906 conference was held in Algecirasm which resulted in the Kaiser feeling humiliated and ganged up on. The Bosnian crisis was Austria-Hungary becoming worried about Serbia’s aim to unite other Balkan states less than one rule thus creating a Greater Serbia. Serbians who live in Austria-Hungary may up rise in order to join greater Serbia (Google.co.uk, 2015). Then the second Morocco crisis, France occupied Fez in Morocco and being the Kaiser wanted a particular part in the north of Africa, he tried to deter France with ‘Panther.’ However, Britain and France had stuck together resulting in the Kaiser yet again, being humiliated. (Quick Smart Revision, …show more content…
The German army would first sweep through Belgium and defeat France, this would allow Germany to move to the Eastern front and defeat Russia. Germany invaded Belgium on the 4th August which provided an ideal reason for Britain to discontinue its policy of splendid-isolation to get involved with European affairs (Pembahistoryclub.blogspot.co.uk, 2015) as a result declaring war on Germany. Britain claimed to be honouring the treaty of London (Firstworldwar.com, 2009), it may however have been an excuse to get involved before Germany had easy access to Britain across the
...onger. But a generation later, the game was on once again; the war aims were much the same. Germany felt it must defend its way of life and stand up for progress. Britain wanted to defend the status quo but it used the excuse of the invasion of another country as the immediate pretext for entry: first Belgium, later Poland. In both world wars, Germany was the innovator, morally and technologically. Britain and France were fighting previous wars while Germany led the way in technology, techniques and tactics.
While the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the initial flame, there were four underlying causes that worked to trigger the commencement of the First World War. Militarism, Alliances, Nationalism and Imperialism played colossal roles in Europe at the time, thus being aspects that could certainly have blame placed upon. Militarism is the nation’s build up of a strong army due to the belief that a country should maintain a strong military capability and use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests. Alliances are bonds created between countries for mutual benefit. Nationalism is the spirit of a nation, often referred to as an extreme form of patriotism. Imperialism is the policy of extending the rule and influence
Bosnia had been part of Austria-Hungary since 1908 but it was claimed by neighboring Serbia. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination and on July 28th declared war. What began as the third Balkan war turned into a European war in two years? On August 4th Germany invaded neutral Belgium on its way to France it intended to knock France out of the war before turning its attention to Russia. Britain had guanteed to defend Belgium’s neutral zone and it declared war on Germany. The Great War had begun” (WWI Book
The Entente Cordial was a group of agreements signed by France and the United Kingdom which began the alliance against Germany. The signing of the Entente Cordiale turned the economy of Germany into one designed for war.
and Serbia in 1914. It was transformed into a general European struggle by declaration of
The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary led to the July Crisis. A crisis in which, Austria sent an Ultimatum to Serbia, with requirement to be followed. Serbia accepted most but not all of Austria’s demands. Serbia’s decline of the Ultimatum led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on the Serbs. Another key event in the July Crisis was Austria-Hungary sending a “blank cheque” to Germany. This cheque meant to ask if Germany would help Austria-Hungary if they went to war. Germany agreed to the “blank cheque”. As Austria-Hungary went to war against Serbia; Serbia had alliances with France, Russia, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire to join the war on their side. Germany knowing that Russia was mobilizing its army, Kaiser Wilhelm II, sent a letter to Russia’s leader. Tsar Nicholas II ignored the letter and kept on mobilizing its army. Therefore, Germany put forth the Schlieffen plan, written in 1904 by Alfred von Schlieffen. This plan’s principle was getting German troops through Belgium and then the troops into France....
Balkan nationalism was a major factor in the outbreak of the WWI .It is one of the long-term causes which caused European powers to declare war to each other. Even if the war between Austria and Serbia was expected to be a short one it culminated into a worldwide conflict that lasted four years. The idea of Pan-Slavism was the result of Serbian’s nationalism and Serbia refused to be oppressed by Austria-Hungary. Serbs demanded for rights of self-governance and unified state. However their neighbor Austria-Hungary wanted to become imperial power and she implied territorial expansion. Historians have different opinions about this subject and because of its complexity it is not possible to say that none of them is completely right. Balkan countries were a big threat for her foreign policy and this led to the culmination of their conflict and the outbreak of the war. Although nationalism is important in understanding the outbreak of WWI, there are many underlying causes that together culminated into a worldwide conflict. It is hard to reach the final answer on the question which relates to the extent of the importance of Balkan nationalism in the outbreak of the war because there are many different perspectives in understanding this question. For example Ruth Henig’s opinion is that Balkan nationalism was extremely important for the war and sees the guilt of Austria-Hungary for its outbreak. On the other hand John Leslie says that the responsible is Germany :“Austria-Hungary can be held responsible for planning a local Austro-Serb conflict, which was linked to its fears about Balkan nationalism, but Germany, which was not interested in this quarrel, quite deliberately used it as an opportunity to launch the European war which Austria-...
If you were to look back at WWI, you would see that there were direct and indirect causes to the war. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was an immediate cause. Gavrilo Princip, working with a Serbian anti-Austrian secret society called “The Black Hand” shot Archduke Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 in order to make way for a Slavic revolution. The assassination didn’t do as Princip hoped, and it was used as an excuse for Austria to take hostile action against Serbia. That was not the only cause of the war.
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Austrian Archduke, is often cited as the direct cause of WWI. While it was a significant catalyst to the war, the circumstances surrounding WWI were actually more complicated. The first great world war was caused by a variety of factors including: tensions between countries due to a threatening system of alliances, stockpiling of weaponry, and nationalism.
In 1914, Gavrilo Princip had assassinated Franz Ferdinand, The duke of Austria. The assassins had been put up by the Serbian government, soon the Austrian government found out and had decided to retaliate. This had been the tipping point that had caused World War 1. But this is not the only cause to World War 1. The other causes of World War 1 were MIlitarism which was strongest in Germany. Germany was allied with Austria-Hungary at the time which is also a cause, the alliances in 1914. A few main alliances were the Triple Entente, which makes Russia France and Britain watch and protect against the ever growing threat from Germany. There were alliances made all throughout Europe that bounded almost everyone to protect someone. Another cause was Nationalism, germany mostly. Germany because they were a fairly new country who wanted to prove themselves as a nation. The final cause was imperialism. which was happening all over the place and it made countries scared their land might be attacked. World War One was not only caused by an assassination but was caused by alliances made throughout Europe along with insane nationalism, extreme militarism and frantic imperialism.
In the July Crisis Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) despite not having conclusive proof. Austria-Hungary asked for German support to "eliminate Serbia as a power factor in the Balkans". Germany agreed, offering her full support for Austria- Hungary to start a war with Serbia, and this became known as the "blank cheque". Austria-Hungary and Germany could not have failed to realise the possibility of Russian intervention and a European war, suggesting to me that war was their objective. Austria-Hungary issued an impossible ultimatum to Serbia, which was likely to provoke a war. Serbia was given only 48 hours to reply, so was forced to think quickly, or other countries would be mobilized and ready to attack. Serbia accepted all but one point of the ultimatum. Consequently war was announced. If given more time Serbia could have discussed the issue further in a conference. The British foreign minister, Grey suggested a conference, but this was rejected by Germany and Austria-Hungary, suggesting that they had deliberate aims for war during the Balkan Crisis, rather than the Balkan Crisis being mismanaged.
Imperialism destroyed relations with international colonies, and increased tension among each nation. (Document 5.) European countries desired overseas expansion and strived to obtain markets for consumer goods. However, these expansions interfered with the rights of overseas citizens, and caused a series of conflicts to prevail. While colonial inhabitants were politically, economically, and socially unstable, imperialist forces competed for leadership. Competition among European nations divided the regions. War was on the horizon for countries like Germany and France who sought after the same region, Morocco. Similarly, both Britain and France desired the territory of Sudan, while Russia and Austria-Hungary battled for the Balkans, evidently intensifying rivalries, and possibly leading to war. Imperialism was a competitive force that inevitably led to crises among rivaling nations. Due to severe opposition and competition as well as discontent in colonized regions, imperialism can be considered a major factor leading to World War
There were many immediate and underlying or fundamental causes of World War I. The difference between an underlying and immediate cause is that an underlying cause develops over a long period of time and indirectly leads to a specific event, and an immediate cause is a specific short-term event that directly leads to another event or series of events. While the immediate cause of World War I was the assassination of Francis Ferdinand, the archduke of Austria, by a Serbian member of the Black Hand secret society, there were various basic causes of the war. Three of them were nationalism, alliances between European powers, and militarism. Nationalism is a devotion and loyalty to one’s own nation, with a primary emphasis on furthering its interests as opposed to those of other countries.
Besides the assassination of the archduke there were four other reasons for the start of WW1. 1. Militarism- the building of large armies. All the nations in Europe at that time were engaged in what today could only be called an arms race. As soon as one nation built a new weapon, all the others followed suit. 2. Alliance System- The building of alliances to strengthen the borders of a country. In theses alliances if one country went to war all the other countries in the alliance were forced to go to war also. 3. Imperialism- The practice of colonizing other lands by large European nations. 4.Nationalism- The feeling of Patriotism in a country that makes it compete with all other counties in the area in all areas.
What in my opinion was the least important reason, for the war starting was how much richer all the countries were getting. England, Germany, France and Russia along with others, were all expanding their empires and in doing so they became a lot richer. England used their money to create a powerful navy, one that was said to be the “rulers of the waves”. Germany too was building a strong military and navy to compete with Britain’s. Countries also started building a new type of battleship called, the Dreadnought, which were stronger and faster than any other types of warship- these were created in 1906 – 8 years before the assassination of Franz Ferdinand (whom will be explained further on in this essay) and before World War 1 was declared as a state of war. This contributed to the start of the war as, these empires had the devices, ships and armies they would need for a small war, at the very least. This meant that the countries would be less scared to take part in or declare war, as they probably thought they had a high chance of winning.