"The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of itself and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies. "(Treaty of Versailles, Article 231)
Immediately after the peace agreement, November 1918, solely Germany was held responsible for the outbreak of the War. In this essay I will question that statement by emphasizing the attitude of the main powers and take into account other causes historians assume, especially the current ideological ideas in Europe and the events in the Balkans. Nevertheless, I will conclude that none of these reasons were solely the cause of the outbreak, but the combination of them all, and especially hegemonic ambitions and the lack of diplomacy.
The ideological disposition in Europe’s society was greatly affected by a high estimation of social Darwinism, the interpretation of which got pretty close to nationalism, resulting from successful imperialism. To conquer the “inferior”race was seen as “White Man's Burden”1, but the outcome was a rivalry between the colonizing states; “nationalism and a mixture of chauvinism and racism were prevalent”2. Another factor I would like to mention is the technical and industrial progress accompanied with economic growth. This “had turned Europe into a veritable box of inflammable tinder”3, because it came along with a great esteem for militarism. Generally you might say that this atmosphere was the foundation of the outbreak, due to the fact that without the support of society war is much less likely to break out.
To examine Germany’s guilt you have to u...
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...r war the moment the rigid military mobilizations schedules became the ruling logic."14.Additionally, war was even desirable to end all conflicts and rebuild a sustainable order by Christmas.
To conclude, the First World War occurred due to “nationalism and ethical arrogance”15 with militarism as the result of imperialistic rivalries and a general struggle for power within Europe. In my opinion, this and therewith the war could have been avoided with the means of diplomacy and dialogue. If the countries had understood each others' desires and intentions, instead being solely concerned about one's own hegemonic pursuits and preparing for war, many disputes could have been solved with out violence. However, maybe the knowledge of the leading countries nowadays - that diplomacy is superior to the means of war - had to develop through the dreadful experience of war.
The first and possibly most important cause of World War I may have been the allying of the countries involved in the war and the posturing for action which they participated in. Although many treaties were signed and many alliances made previously, the start of the time line of WWI may be traced to the Dual Alliance signed by Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1879, to which Italy joined in 1882 forming the Triple Alliance. It was an agreement that was one of military protection, stating that if a...
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
...ress from the continuous arms races and military scares, held a big part of the responsibility for the war. Imperialism is tightly connected with militarism, because as one increases so does the other, but if this relationship is ignored we can clearly see that militarism was the half that bore most of the responsibility. Without expanding militarism, countries wouldn’t have had as many imperialist aims. But the deciding factor was the changing alliances in Europe. Even though this ties in with the tension building from the military scares and naval arms races that went on because of military expansion, they provided an environment of mistrust and a sort of betrayal for the evergrowing tensions between nations to grow to the breaking point. Even though alliances alone did not cause the war, without the crumbling alliance system in Europe war could’ve been avoided.
The causes of World War One are extensively different from the ones of World War Two. Although, both wars were catastrophic, the causes of the first war were about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the July Crisis, and alliances between the European nations. While, the Second World War’s cause was Germany’s expansionist aims and Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf, the failure of Collective security along with the failure of the League of Nations, and also one major cause would be appeasement. In WW1, the terrorist attack of a Serbian nationalist caused the ignition of flames that were set across Europe.
.... Militarism was white spread. Germany tried to build their navy because britain had the strongest in that time. Militarism could had mainly cause WW1 because if a country believes that they need a well-built defence force than other countries will think as a threat. Other than having a big military, taking over a weaker country is another main reason that caused WW1. Imperialism is a belief that a country must enlarge its nation and take possession of other places . For example, Africa and Europe. Europe took over Africa for its resources and power. Imperialism could had also mainly cause WW1 because if a strong country takes over a weaker one,socially, economically, or politically; than conflict can happen because countries will compete for supremacy and resources. A country will try to have a strong and large military to try and imperialize a powerless republic.
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
Nationalism, the love and support of one's country, has always existed. In this era, however, it was to take part in the creation of one of the most famous wars in history. Since so much pride was devoted to countries, it made the possibilities of peace between past rivals less probable. It also meant that most nations, especially the great powers, would rather fight a war than back down from a rival's diplomatic provocation. In effect, nationalism was also a contributing factor to the alliance system. No country feels comfortable being in a war alone, and with the growing militaries in almost every country, allies provided much comfort.
“The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 grew out of a short term
The first global world war that led to the death of millions of people and the use of excessive chemical weapons, tanks, and machine guns that the world has ever witnessed is accused by Germany’s violent actions and their extreme ideologies, but some others argue Germany was not the sole cause of the war. In an attempt to dominate the world, Germany enforced their extreme ideologies to the rest of Europe. Many scholars believe that Germany fueled World War 1 because Germany believed that they should conquer the weak. Some people believe that Germany was the sole cause of World War because their extreme ideologies led them to declare war on other countries. Although Germany deliberately supported Austria to go to war with Serbia, supported the idea of Nationalism, and signed secret treaties, Russia also supported Serbia and signed secret treaties. Thus, Germany wasn’t the sole motive of World War 1.
...y countries building and perfecting their war techniques, they were the most significant prior to the outbreak of WWI. It does not take long for these countries to find a reason to use their militaries against one another in an attempt to prove who is superior. (Brown, B. (2009, April 23). Causes of world war I (great war). Militarism was very important to countries that try to promote national interests. However it also created a very hostile and militaristic atmosphere in Europe countries. (Nationalism, imperialism, and militarism in world war I. (n.d.). Militarism was one of the most important thing to all of the countries that fought in World War I.
Great War, also known as The First World War, lasted for four year (1914 to 1918). It brought a huge development of war technics and weapons. More number of countries had been involved in the Great War than any previous war. It involved the mobilization of the whole nations, not just an enormous army that turned the war into a “total war”. (Clare 6) However, historians are still arguing about the major cause of the World War I. The major cause will be one of the four long-term causes of WWI, which are Militarism, Alliance, Imperialism, and Nationalism. In my opinion, the two major causes would be Alliance and Nationalism. Alliance is an association between two or more countries for mutual benefits that formed with different treaties, while Nationalism is feeling and principles of patriotic.
details the causes of the first World war and describes the first month of the war. The book clearly illustrates how a local war became an entire European struggle by a call to war against Russia. Soon after the war became a world issue.
World War I was a conflict that claimed over 10 million peoples’ lives, ravaged all of Europe and engineered modern warfare, as it is know today. The Great War has been scrutinized and examined through many complex theories in order to understand how such a conflict escalated to one of the most epic wars in history. This essay, like many works before it, looks to examine WWI and determine its causes through two distinct levels of analysis, individual and systemic. The individual level of analysis locates the cause of conflicts in individual leaders or decision makers within a particular country, focusing on the characteristics of human decision-making. The systemic level of analysis explains the causation of a conflict from a system wide level that includes all states, taking in to account the distribution of power and the interaction of states in the international system.
Throughout history, there have been several conflicts that have disturbed the peace in various areas. One of these gruesome events happens to be World War I, which was evoked by many different causes. The most significant and immediate causes of this catastrophe was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie. Numerous nations were involved in this war, and two examples of opposing forces are Germany and Russia. World War I was resolved to an extent with the Treaty of Versailles, but it was not entirely settled. This is clear because World War II was a result of World War I.
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.