CAUSES OF

WORLD WAR I

CONTESTABILITY:
WHO IS THE
BLAME????
EUROPE IN THE LEAD UP TO WWI
 At the start of 1901, the countries of Europe appeared peaceful and prosperous
 Queen Victoria had occupied the British throne for over 60 years and many of
her children and other relatives had married into royal houses all over Europe
 In the lead-up to World War I, many thought it was unlikely that these close relations
would become involved in an armed conflict at all – let alone fight on opposing sides
 the Industrial Revolution had transformed societies across Western Europe, with new
production methods and technologies affecting almost every sector of society and
industry.
 Governments had made improvements in health care, sanitation and relief fo the poor.
Roads, canals and railways made transport easier and more accessible, and literacy rates
were rising
 However this prosperity masked both international and domestic tensions. Issues such as
different rates of economic progress, the size of colonial empires and the development of
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, King George V of Britain and Kaiser Wilhelm of
Germany ( Queen Victoria’s grandsons)
 CAUSES OF WWI:

Imperialism
System of Military
Nationalism and Militarism alliances Plans
Colonialism Arms race
NATIONALISM
 is a sense of pride in one’s nation
 grows out of an understanding that the people of a nation share a common
language,
culture and history.
 can unite the people of a nation or region. feelings of nationalism contributed to
the unification of many small Germanic kingdoms to form the German Empire in
1871.
 a sense of nationalism also encouraged cooperation between Germany and
Austria–Hungary, because German-language speakers ruled both empires.
 can also divide people in a region; for example, the French and the Germans
both very nationalistic peoples – were long-time rivals
IMPERIALISM AND RIVALRY OVER
COLONIES
 Imperialism: the policy of a country to extend its territory to create an
empire, for financial and strategic reasons
 this led to fierce competition between powers in Europe to claim and
control territories and resources in different parts of the world
 European powers including Britain, France and Germany had colonised
much of the world between the 15th and 19th centuries, and they often
competed for control over different parts of Africa, Asia and the Pacific
Which nation
appears to have
the most
colonies?
Why?

Which nation
might want to
extend their
colonial
holdings?
Why?
 MILITARISM AND RIVALRY OVER ARMS
 in the early 20th century, modern battleships and submarines were developed
as important weapons of war.
 despite claims by European powers that they were not preparing for war, most
were training armies and building up their stores of ships and weapons.
 Some historians argue that tension between the European powers was made
worse by the build-up of military forces.
 A more specific and important aspect of the arms race was the decision of the
German government to dramatically increase the size of its navy. Britain saw
this as a major threat
Why do you think this might be the case?????
 SYSTEMS OF ALLIANCES
 the system of alliances was meant to maintain a ‘balance of power’ and help to keep the
peace, it backfired
 the thinking behind the ‘balance of power’ was that if the rival European powers were
all more or less equal in strength then none of them would risk going to war because
no one could be sure of winning
 In 1914, Europe was divided into two rival sets of alliances
 Triple Alliance, made up of Austria–Hungary, Germany and Italy
 Triple Entente, made up of Britain, France and Russia
 Each participating nation promised to provide military support if one of its members was
attacked.
 the alliances, in fact, expanded the war and turned a limited, local conflict into a wider
European and world war
 MILITARY PLANS
 Prior to World War I, all major European powers had military plans in place in case war
broke out.
 These plans had strict timetables for what is known as mobilisation (the process of
preparing armed forces and resources and getting them in position to fight).
 The Germans devised a special military plan (known as the Schlieffen Plan) which was to
launch an all-out attack on France. The aim of the Schlieffen Plan was to put a quick end
to the threat from France before the huge Russian army was ready for war.
 In order for the Schlieffen Plan to work, the German army needed to attack France by
passing through neutral Belgium. However, Belgium had an alliance with Britain.
 When the German army invaded Belgium, Britain declared war on Germany.
 As you can see these plans put pressure on the politicians and diplomats from all
countries during the July Crisis.
 None of them could afford to let another country get a head start in mobilising, the
British historian AJ P Taylor referred to this situation as ‘war by timetable’.
 CATALYST

 Assassination of the Austrian-Hungarian Archduke Franz

Ferdinand in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princep
JULY DAYS: LEAD UP TO WAR

What do you think

is happening in the
Source?
JULY
DAYS:
LEAD
UP TO
WAR
Declarations of War
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XPZQ0LAlR4&feature=kp