Causes of WWI

Fundamental Causes of WWI

• In 1914 the nations of Europe were teetering on the edge of war. The murder of a prominent European leader set off a chain of violent attacks, and within days most of the countries of Europe were declaring war on one another.

The United States tried to steer clear of the conflict, but the war affected the American people in many ways. The nation gradually became more and more entangled in the struggle.

Tension had been building among the countries of Europe for a number of years, as rival nations competed for empires and military power.

Fearing attacks, Europeans formed complicated alliances with one another. Once violence began, most of the continent of Europe was quickly drawn into the conflict.

Nationalism

People who shared common language and culture wanted to throw off foreign rule and form their own countries. Nationalism created special problems for those nations that had created empires. Often the individual groups of people who had been forced into the empire wanted to be free to control their own affairs.

Nationalism encouraged unity within those countries where most of the people shared a common culture and history, but it also set nation against nation. It created mistrust and even hatred.

Nationalism, intense feelings of pride in and loyalty to one’s country, caused much of the tension. In the 1800’s, nationalists called for freedom and self-government.

The major powers of Europe set out to prove their country was the best. Who had the most and the best colonies? Who had the biggest army? Who had the biggest navy? The quest for the answers to these questions led to an intense competition and rivalry.

Review-Nationalism

Nationalism• Nationalism - having pride in your country,

willing to defend it.

Patriotism

NationalismNationalism led European nations to compete for the largest army and navy, or the greatest industrial development. It also gave groups of subject peoples the idea of forming independent nations of their own.

NationalismStrong feelings of nationalism fed the fires of hatred in pre-war Europe. It turned Frenchman against German and Russian against Austrian. Nationalistic speeches and writings speed up the war by saying it as the best test for proof of national superiority.

Imperialism During the 1800’s, the powerful

nations of Europe tried to add to their wealth and power by building empires. Empires enriched the parent countries by providing cheap raw materials and larger markets for finished goods.

Britain, Germany, France, and Italy sought to build their empires by making colonies in Africa and Asia. Russia and Austria-Hungary built their empires by taking over neighboring lands in Europe.

The scramble for empires led to a number of bitter rivalries, especially between France and Germany and between Russia and Austria-Hungary.

MilitarismAs they competed with one another, the rival European nations grew deeply nationalistic. Each country was determined to protect its own interests. To do so, the nations of Europe built large armies and navies.

The policy of building strong armed forces to prepare for war is called militarism Militarist governments in Germany, France, and Russia each assembled armies of more than 4 million soldiers.

Great Britain built up the world’s largest navy. Uniforms grew more elaborate, and were often trimmed with gold braid, fur, or feathers. Frequent military parades showed each country’s national pride.

AlliancesTo further protect themselves, European powers formed alliances with one another. By 1914 there were two major alliances in Europe. The Triple Alliance included Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

The Triple Entente (ahn-TAHNT) included France, Russia, and Great Britain. Within each alliance, the members promised to help one another in case of an enemy attack.

In addition, some powerful nations agreed to protect smaller countries from aggression —attack. For example, Great Britain promised to protect Belgium, and Russia promised that it would protect Serbia.

Review

ImperialismImperialism - trying to build up an Empire.

ImperialismA large Empire was important not only for trade but also national pride. The larger your empire, the more important your country was. In 1800 France and Britain both had large empires, and these continued to grow throughout the 1800s.

ImperialismIn 1870s Italy and Germany became united countries for the first time. They too wanted an overseas empire. The result was that in the years up to 1900 competition between European powers grew more intense. There was a scramble for territory, especially in Africa with its rich minerals and resources.

ImperialismThis competition for colonies caused several disputes and disagreements. For example, in 1906 and 1911 Germany and France argued about who should own Morocco. However, none of these arguments lead to a war, but they did lead to anger and caused bad relations between some European countries.

Imperialism

Militarism• Militarism - building up armed forces, getting

ready for war.

Militarism• Militarism means that the army and military

forces are given a high profile by the government. The growing European divide had led to an arms race between the main countries. The armies of both France and Germany had more than doubled between 1870 and 1914 and there was fierce competition between Britain and Germany for mastery of the seas.

MilitarismArms Race -A competition between nations to

have the most powerful weapons.

MilitarismThe British had introduced the 'Dreadnought', an effective battleship, in 1906. The Germans soon followed suit introducing their own battleships. The German, Von Schlieffen also drew up a plan of action that involved attacking France through Belgium if Russia made an attack on Germany. The map shows how the plan was to work.

AllianceAlliances - agreements or promises to defend and help another country.

AllianceBetween 1900 and 1914 the great powers of Europe became suspicious of each other and began to increase the size of their armed services. Eventually this turned into an arms race.

AllianceBoth France and Britain were afraid of Germany’s want to build a larger empire. The only way that Germany could achieve this in 1914 was by attacking and taking other European countries colonies.

AllianceEventually, each of the great powers realized that if there was going to be a war they would need friends and allies to help them defeat their enemies. They formed two gangs. These gangs were called alliances. The Map below shows the gangs or alliances that each of the great European powers had joined by 1914.

Alliance

Triple Entente: Britain France RussiaTriple Alliance: Germany Austro-Hungary Italy