France was then drawn in against Germany and Austria-Hungary.
There were four main causes of World War I: militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism. Nations were preparing for war and arming themselves. Emperor Franz Josef wrote a personal letter to Kaiser Wilhelm requesting his support, and on July 6 German Chancellor Theobald Bethmann Hollweg informed Austrian representatives that Vienna had Germany's full support. Austria-Hungary didn’t do it alone, however - they knew that they had to look for help from their ally, Germany. Rising to power in an economically and politically unstable Germany, Adolf ...read more, When Union Army general William Tecumseh Sherman famously said “War is hell,” he was referring to war in general, but he could have been describing trench warfare, a military tactic that’s been traced to the Civil War. However, later that day a Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip shot the Archduke and his wife while they were driving through Sarajevo, Bosnia which was part of Austria-Hungary. Imperialism is when a country increases their power and wealth by bringing additional territories under their control, usually without outright colonizing or resettling them. The motivation behind the attack was to break away from the Austro-Hungarian occupation of the Balkan states in order to form a united Yugoslavia. On August 1, after hearing news of Russia's general mobilization, Germany declared war on Russia. See also: Top 10 Bloodiest Battles of World War I. Watch Now: 5 Causes of World War I 01. The Slavs identified themselves as Serbians, not Austria-Hungarians which led to conflict which later developed into a world war. World War I saw a change in warfare, from the hand-to-hand style of older wars to the inclusion of weapons that used technology and removed the individual from close combat. Nationalism increased the desire for major economic powers to establish themselves as economic and military powers within Europe. Prior to World War I, the British and French Empires were the world’s most powerful, colonizing regions like India, modern-day Vietnam and West and North Africa. The expansion of European nations as empires (also known as imperialism) can be seen as a key cause of World War I, because as countries like Britain and France expanded their empires, it resulted in increased tensions among European countries. Much of the origin of the war was based on the desire of the Slavic peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina to no longer be part of Austria-Hungary but instead be part of Serbia. Being in alliance with Serbia, Russia soon mobilized its army in Serbian defense, which in turn led to Germany declaring war on Russia. The main short term and long term causes of the war are outlined below. The major cause of World War 1 that leads to first great war in the history. The entire region was high on the concept of nationalism, each nation calling itself an “inviolable territory,” So when Germany captured Alsace-Lorraine in 1871, it did not go down very well with the French. Established in 1819, Norwich is a nationally recognized institution of higher education, the birthplace of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), and the first private military college in the United States. On June 28, 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip. So it was no big surprise when Russia and Germany also became involved in the conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary. assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. In the case of attacks on a member, those in the alliances would rise to their defense. Thus began the expansion of the war to include all those involved in the mutual defense alliances. The British had control over major parts of South Asia, the French were colonizing much of Africa, and the Spanish had parts of South America under their rule. Almost exactly a century before, a meeting of the European states at the Congress of Vienna had established an international order and balance of power that lasted for almost a century.
The Ottoman Empire was once a force to be reckoned with. Germany also saw this time as an opportunity to finally break out what they called the Schlieffen Plan. At the time, Germany did not have a military anywhere near the size of their Russian counterparts. Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment.
He then turned the gun on himself, but was tackled by a mob of bystanders who restrained him until the police arrived. Find out the 10 causes of the WW1, the biggest of Europe's powers were divided into two factions. Causes of World War 1. But then again, both Russia and Germany had further alliances with other European nations too, increasing the roster of participants in a conflict which eventually became a fully fledged war.