Exploring the Causes of World War One

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Exploring the Causes of World War One The long-term origins to World War One start back in 1870 with the Franco-Prussian War. In the Franco-Prussian war France lost to Germany which lead to the two countries never being in an alliance with one another. Once the war was over it lead to the forming of the triple Alliance which was one of the main alliances during the first world war. The Triple alliance was made up of the countries - Germany, Austo-Hungery and Italy, and it was first formed because Germany needed help to guard Alsace-Lorrain from France as France wanted to get back its stolen land. Another of the long-term origins to World War One was Weltpolitic. Weltpolitic was a policy Kaiser Wilhelm the second, who believed that Germany had a right to become a global imperial power and should develop an army and navy to support its colonial objectives. Kaiser Wilhelm's personality and his policy of Weltpolitic were seen as contributing to international tensions. The policy lead Germany to construct a huge navy which lead to domestic problems as the navy cost heaps, It also lead into the start of the Boer wars and the Morrocan Crisis. Many Historians have said, 'Weltpolitic was only a half-hearted policy' (Paul Schroeder), and that it was only inviting the other countries to go to war. Fritz Fischer argued that - 'Germany provoked war and ensured that compromise was impossible in order to achieve Weltpolitic, to economically dominate central Europe, to create an colonial empire and to solve its own internal political and economic problems'. Fischer was an Historian that believed that the majority of the responsibility for the S... ... middle of paper ... ... they would fight Britain with every means possible'. Fischer shows here that Germany was intent on a war so as to try to better their country. Berghahn believed that - 'war was a necessity for German survival', Which is like the thoughts of Fischer. The other Historians believed along the same lines as Fischer - That Germany was to Blame with the Thoughts of Weltpolitic, Militarism, The Schliffen Plan and Germany's imperial aims in creating the tension in Europe. Other Historians believe that Germany should not take the full responsibility for there were other countries that contributed. For example - 'the first World War was the third Balkan war got out of control', which tells us that Germany didn't have much to do with the start of World War One as the Balkan wars were only to do with the countries in the Balkan's.

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