The Outbreak Of World War One and Germany August 4th 1914 marks the date on which Europe fell into what has become known as "the Great War". What started as a minor squabble between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, in the space of six weeks, escalated into total war between Europe's biggest powers. Almost one hundred years later we are no closer to answering the question of who or what was to blame for it's outbreak. It is easy to assume that Germany were solely to blame, however this assumption would be incorrect. Germany did, at times have an overbearing influence, and with many factors, the underlying fault lies with Germany. However, influence of other nations, states and individuals were also significant in pulling Europe into World War One. In 1871, following a series of Prussian wars, a new nation of Germany was created which significantly altered the politics of Europe. The new Kaiser, Wilhelm II, determined the direction that this nation took, and it was his attitude that created so much fear of the new state. At times, understandably, they felt threatened and vulnerable. Already, she had found enemies in neighbours France after their crushing defeat of them in 1870, and this was to prove crucial in the next few years. On other fronts, Germany had large powers Russia and Austria-Hungary as neighbours. It is understandable, therefore, that Germany would want to secure their position. They did this hastily, comprehensively and most importantly, aggressively. The "Weltpolotik" of Germany meant consolidation and increase of power. They wanted an empire, and to achieve this they needed economic stability and subsequently milita... ... middle of paper ... ... united Germany, then there would not have been the desire which plagued them and Europe, and ultimately started war. However, it would be unfair not to recognise the other factors. Nationalism significantly altered the political structure of Europe; the unstable Balkans were both unknown and feared; and probably all the leaders of all the major powers have some blame for the war. There is little doubt, however as to where the greatest share of responsibility falls. Germany willed on Austria-Hungary; misinterpreted Britain's loyalty; projected an aggressive image with their strong modern army that scared many; and some say even deliberately faced the risk of conflict with France and Russia. Germany was by no means the only reason for the outbreak of war in 1914 but are, without a doubt, the biggest single reason.
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.
3. Once the war began, Germany developed a clear set of aims, already discussed before the war, to gain large territorial gains in central and eastern Europe, very similar to Hitler’s later craving for Lebensraum (‘living space’) in eastern Europe. Fischer believes that the First World War was not a preventative war, but that it was planned and launched by Germany aggressively in order to dominate Europe. Furthermore, Fischer sees Bethmann Hollweg in the role of the main constructor of the German policy during the July Crisis in 1914, and also as a central figure in the development of Germany’s expansionist goals once the war started. The Egmont Zechlin thesis Egmont Zechlin thinks that Bethmann Hollweg took a “calculated risk” in July 1914 to gain diplomatic victory, or if it failed, to fight a “defensive preventive war” with nearly no objectives. This explains that Germany did not prepare a huge plan for expansion.
Although Fischer’s thesis was widely accepted, there were people who argued against it. Most Germans had accepted the fact that Germany had caused World War II, but they disagreed with the blame Germany took for World War I. World War I was widely regarded as a war forced upon Germany by its encircling enemies. Critics argue that Fischer’s thesis placed Germany outside the real historical context. It is argued that Germany was not the only aggressive a European nation in the early 20th century, as it was a time when Social Darwinism views of struggle were well-known in Europe's ruling classes. Critics also oppose that in the centuries following Columbus's voyages to America, the Western European countries had already acquired vast overseas colonial
In 1914, there were many things that placed Europe at the brink if war. Nationalism, militarism, imperialism, social darwinism, and Jingoes where five of the main forces that were pushing Europe to the brink of war. Another main force was the development of Alliance systems. These ideas and systems threatened the balance of power which could then cause a major war to break out. In Europe at the time, there were many ideas which were causing friction. Nationalism, which was the desire for a country was causing friction because people in old empires sought to be free. The leaders of these people would not be happy and a war would definitely break out. If they became free they would also need to take land from someone else and this again may cause a war and usually did. Another idea which was contributing to the shifts of power in Europe was Militarism.
What triggered WWI to occur was the killing of Archduke Francis, a heir of Austria and Hungary, on June 28, 1914 who was killed by a Serbian nationalist. The nature of this war was between countries for the acquiring colonies, territories, and resources.The invasion of Serbia was another caused for the war to break out, and at the same time of the invasion Germany invaded Belgium, Luxembourg and France. There were a number of new alliances formed which later cited conflict to spread around the world. Austria and Hungary invasion of Bosnia caused indignation in many European nations. At the time, Europe was divided into countries that had strategic political and military confederation.
Prior to the start of the war the dominant nations of Europe were preoccupied with their own dramatic, internal circumstances. France was attending to a major murder trial. Britain had issues with Ireland. Russia was trying to rebuild itself from the destruction of previous wars. German society was worried about the socialists. In Austria it was the Czechs versus Germans and in Hungary it was the Magyars versus Romanians. Serbia’s civilian government was not getting along with its military. Each of these internal conflicts caused the countries they took place in to become weaker because citizens were divided among themselves and taking sides. This allowed for a less unified nation. Time, resources, and money were being spent on internal conflicts. Most of all everyone’s attention was diverted to national issues rather than international issues. World War I was somewhat unexpected since everyone was focused on the affairs of their own country and assumed the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia would remain localized. Had the surrounding countries been more interested in the dealings of Austria-Hungary, Serbia, and Germany they would have been able to stage an intervention, serving as mediators and dissuaded a hostile, Serbia from attacking the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy; and kept the monarchy from retaliating and the war fro...
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,
Imperialism was a competitive force that inevitably led to crises among rival 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 I. Nationalism has long been a cause of disunity throughout European nations. Nationalism in Germany was especially prominent. With powerful military forces and an industrial outlook, Germany thrived. A sense of national unity was dispersed throughout the empire and gave Germany the assurance it needed to expand.
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
World War One was greatly influenced by many factors, and in many ways. National interest ignited the mistrust and insecurities within nations, which in turn led to the creation of strong alliances and immense military forces. The growing suspicion Britain had of Germany only heightened the wariness and uncertainty of nations. The means, by which individual nations dealt with the issues within themselves, and outside of their boundaries, in the years preceding World War One, were irrational and improperly thought through. Nations fell into a strong ultra nationalistic point of view, and acted in a way which expressed interest in themselves only.
Although France and Britain were natural enemies, their fear of Germany united them together with Russia. These alliances set the final stage for the beginning of World War I. Each country in each alliance would help each other during warfare. For example, if Germany attacked France, Britain and Russia would help France, and Italy and Austria would help Germany, dragging Europe into a state of chaos and violence. & nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;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.
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.
Europe has seen many wars over its vast and broad history, some of which being quite immense and destructive. One such war would undoubtedly be World War One. A war powered by the brainwashing ways of militarism and the stubborn pride of nationalism. Once engaged in a war a country’s militarism will produce fine soldier ready to drop like dominos on the battlefield, while the nationalism works as fuel providing the naive determination to fight the war. This naïve determination and soldier production is why World War One, like every other war, continued with such persistency. But what started World War One? Was it militarism that trained young men since they were kids to become soldiers, nationalism propelling a nations pride forward or was it neither? While both of those aspects could be potential reasons their still not the main pillars of cause. The true reason’s that made World War One inevitable were the intimidating alliances, avaricious imperialism, and tedious tensions.
There were several long-term events that led to the outbreak of World War One. The most prominent factors include: nationalism, militarism, imperialism, the Balkan and Morocco crises, and the alliance system. Ironically, these things were either started in response to, or upheld because of, one of the other factors. The alliance system was one of the last factors to emerge before the war. Consequentially, the contributions of this system to the beginning of the Great War have to be considered. Although the alliance system was a main cause of the First World War, it arose because of several other factors, and did not cause the war single handedly.
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 link to one thing: the alliance system. The alliance system is what makes 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 the war in Europe.