The First World War As The Result of Anglo-German Rivalry When Bismarck resigned in 1890, and Kaiser Wilhelm II took over, rivalry was increased between Britain and Germany. This was largely due to Wilhelm II's more aggressive foreign policy, and desire to build up the German Navy, which threatened Britain. This provided the basis for long-term problems, which led to World War 1, however there were many other causes. For example the alliances, the Schleiffen plan, The Eastern Question, German Aggression, the two Moroccan Crises and Sarajevo, which were all, factors in World War 1's outbreak in 1914. The origin of Anglo-German rivalry lies in the substantial differences in the foreign policies of Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm II. Between 1879 and 1890, Bismark wanted Germany to have a large empire, however he tried not to annoy Britain, as he knew that this was the only country he had to be afraid of. However when Bismarck argued with Wilhem II and resigned in 1890, this left decisions in the hands of the Kaiser, who had a far more aggressive foreign policy. Despite being the grandson of Queen Victoria and Edward VII's nephew, he was jealous of the British Empire. Britain therefore began to fear Germany's search for colonies as she was then seen as more of a threat than Russia and France. The other threat to Britain was Kaiser Wilhelm's ambition to build up the German navy. This therefore led to rivalry between the two countries, especially when the dreadnought was built in 1908 in Britain. This was a new type of battleship, which was faster and stronger than any other. Britain and Germany both began to build these battleship... ... middle of paper ... ...any would allow France to do as she pleased with Morocco. Because of this crisis, the British and French increased their naval co-operation, knowing that they now had a virtual alliance against Germany. This shows that there were many other causes of World War 1 and in fact Anglo-German rivalry alone probably would not have had such a large impact. It took a combination of the alliance system, the Schlieffen plan, German Aggression and Differences over the Eastern Question, as well as the short term causes, the two Moroccan Crises and Sarajevo to finally bring about world war. It was a combination of these causes, and no single cause which was responsible for this, therefore the original statement is partially true, as Anglo-German rivalry was responsible, but vastly underestimates the many other reasons for war.
The underlying cause of World War 1 were the alliances within Europe. An alliance meant that if one country goes to war than the country associated will also fight. All the countries were picking sides before the war started. Otto von Bismarck, the Chancellor that led the unification of the German states, did not like the fact that Germany was between Russia and France. “Bismarck formed the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in the year preceding
Sister Claire Evelyn Trestrail was the eldest of five being born on the 10th of December, 1877 in Clare, South Australia. Trestrail served in the First World War as a nurse following in her mother’s footsteps who was a trained nurse, Acting Matron of King Edward Hospital in Perth and also had involvement within the Red Cross and the Saint John’s Ambulance Services. Trestrail’s younger siblings also had involvement within the First World War with her two younger brothers; John Henry and Amarald Glen, serving in the royal Flying Corps and respectively, 1 Machine Battalion. Amarald was also presented with a Military Medal for Gallantry at Villaret. Sister Ella also served as a nurse, got married, but tragically returned as an amputee. It was only her youngest sister Amy who did not serve during the war.
So when asking the question what the causes of World War One are its important to remember that the rivalries between European states were intensified by the imperialism of the 19th century. Which lead to tension which became fear of invasion that in turn resulted in an intricate system of alliances “ensured what might have been an isolated crisis in the Balkans became a general war”. Whilst the effects of imperialism may not be the single cause of the war, it was undoubtedly a contributing
The origins of World War One The Fritz Fisher thesis Fritz Fisher focuses on the Kaiser, Gottlieb von Jagow, Bethmann Hollweg and Helmut von Moltke. These four were the German leading figures at that time; Fischer is convinced that these people were responsible for the outbreak of World War One. Fischer’s three main claims were: 1. Germany was prepared to launch the First World War in order to become a great power. 2. Germany encouraged Austria-Hungary to start a war with Serbia, and continued to do so, even when it seemed clear that such a war could not be localized.
Causes of World War I in Relation to Current Conflicts As the war of the worlds collided between the more democratic Allies and the orthodox Central powers, there were numerous causes to the war in which they can be summed up into the –isms of modern analysis. In the 19th, 20th, and even the 21st century, almost all of the conflicts can be categorized into either one or a combination of those –isms. Nationalism and Extreme Nationalism One of the causes of World War I can be linked to the use of extreme nationalism. An easily abused method, nationalism proved worthy of a war during the Napoleonic Era.
There are four factors which could be held accountable for World War I; militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism. Militarism is the expansion of armies and navies, alliances refer to the webs of pacts and agreements that countries made with each other, imperialism is the taking over of other countries, and nationalism is the promoting of one’s own country and propaganda against either other countries or countries which were opposition of your allies. All of these four factors were partially responsible for causing the war. Militarism could be blamed for causing the war, because the growing competition between the European powers meant that countries were desperate to show their dominance, and this was best done through military investing. Furthermore, increasing military spending meant that countries wanted to use their armies, and this idea is backed up by the ”use it or lose it” mindset. Alliances were formed to protect one another against possible future attacks, but ended up further increasing the tensions between the European powers as alliances were formed against other alliances. Imperialism meant that countries were already fighting over territory, and though it was far away from where these countries actually were, it severely increased the risk of war as the tensions between countries increased. Nationalism increased hostility as the propaganda war began and continued. Each country was frantically trying to prove that they were superior to all other countries, and in this process they often ended up making negative propaganda slandering other countries and their leaders. Nonetheless, it was the Triple Alliance of 1882 that started the string of events that would inevitably lead to war. Even though none of the f...
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-...
The causes of World War I were mutual alliances created in many small groups. These countries agreed to hold mutual alliances, typically three or four nations tied for alliance. As you have mentioned, the World War I began with assassination of Ferdinand and which set off many mutual alliances to come support their respective mutual allies. This is why now in modern society, roles of diplomatic officials, remote embassies, and such ambassador’s roles play very critical parts in political sides. Lesson learned from the past created organizations such as United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to promote peace.
The underlying cause of World War I was the build up of Nationalism, Imperialism, and Militarism in the 1800s. The “three isms” caused this great war due to the outcry in which they caused within the countries and their citizens including military build up, severe nationalism, patriotism, and extending a country 's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.
Assess how far the outbreak of the First World War was the responsibility of Germany and Austria
The first underlying cause of WWI was greed. People always want more than what they have. The countries from the Triple Alliance wanted more land, power, or wealth than what they owned. Germany despised Great Britain at the time, because of the number of colonies they had. In Document --, a German cartoonist drew a propaganda poster, claiming "England is the bloodsucker of the world". This appears that Germany is very fearful of England taking control of the world. It also shows that Germany aspires to be as large of a country of Great Britain. Also, in document 16, in the spring of 1914, before the war started,
Militarism was also an underlying cause of World War I. As the alliance system divided Europe into opposing groups, each nation began to increase spending on its military. This set a belligerent mood in Europe as each nation was prepared to fight a war. A German officer once said "in time of peace, prepare for war," and that is exactly what European nations did, eventually leading to the Great War.
As many people are aware that World War 1 initiated after the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and that it was also known as The War to End All Wars, they may not be unaware of the causes that led to it. The Treaty of Versailles was an accordance document signed by Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States and by Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles helped cause World War 1 by destroying Germany’s pride, reducing their territory, and putting a limit to Germany’s military. As all three of these causes are acceptable, the damage of Germany’s pride is most likely the main reason for WW1.
There are many reasons why World War One occurred in 1914, many are complex and remain controversial which is why the matter has been disputed to this day by historians all over the world. My theory is that a lot of those reasons and the trigger factor all links to one thing; the alliance system. The alliance system is what made countries oppose each other and become rivals making it the most significant factor. It had an impact on who supported who when Duke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. This was only the spark that started war in Europe; there were long term causes that contributed to the war and were the origins. This answer will explain the causes focusing on how they contributed to World War One and what the important links are between them.
World War 1 World War 1 was called “The Great War”, “The war to end all wars”, and “The first modern war”. It has many causes and a few repercussions and I will describe them in detail. The most widely known reason for the start of World War 1 was the assassination of the Arch Duke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in the Serbian capital of Sarajevo. The ArchDuke was there to talk to the Serbian leaders about peace on the Balkan Peninsula. After a Serbian was arrested for the assassination, Austria-Hungary pulled out of the peace talks and declared war on Serbia.