The Great Conflict

World War I
1914 – 1918 By: Shanawar Ali 8 - Blue

The Causes of The Great World War:

• Nationalism
• Imperialism
• Alliances
• Militarism
• Assassination Attempt
I. nationalism
The spirit of nationalism had spread across all nations of Europe which
meant patriotism and pride in ones nationhood and the need to defend
it. This concept had led to the reunification of Italy in 1861 and
Germany in 1871 as many smaller nations at that time had united into
one whole.

Figure 1.1
The German Empire
from 1871 - 1918
II. Imperialism and Militarism
As well as nationalism, European nations had also begin to colonize on
continents such as Asia and Africa to take over their land and use them
as subjects to their rule. During the 1900s Britain had taken over most
of Asia while France had colonized most of Africa. Due to these
colonies the growth of Industrialization had increased and as they were
provided with surplus resources from the colonies and later on used as
the profitable markets to support their economy. As well as products
the manufacture of arms and ammunition had also reached a large
scale. Countries started to arm themselves in hopes to increase their
military capability. E.g. Germany had built a strong navy to compete
with Britain's while other nations built up their armies as an excuse to
defend themselves.
III. Alliances
There were number of alliances among the European nations as they all
had signed secret pacts. The part of the alliance agreements stated that
if a European nations ally was attacked, it was to declare war on the
opposing country. This resulted in the formation of two main sides, the
Allies consisting of the UK, France, Russia and later being joined by
the USA and Japan. The other side was the Central Powers, consisting
of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy and later being joined by the
Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.

Figure 1.2
An artists impression of an
Alliance between France and
Russia being made
IV. The assassination attempt
However, the short term cause that led to the World War was the
assassination attempt on Archduke Ferdinand of Austria Hungary by a
Serbs rebel bullet during his tour of Sarajevo in Bosnia. This gave
Austria-Hungary to invade Serbia, its long time enemy and had also
made a pact
with Germany to help support it in the
war. It was thought to be a quick end
but the war carried on for another 4
years as other nations got involved.
Figure 1.3
The assassination attempt on
Archduke Ferdinand of
Austria -Hungary