What were the causes of World War I?

#625Lab – History, marked 88/100, detailed feedback at the very bottom. You may also like: Leaving Cert History Guide (€).

By mid-1914 for the first time in many years Europe on the surface seemed calm. Diplomatic relations had been cleaned up and even seemed to be improving between some of the major powers. France and Germany had cleared their conflict over economic spheres of influence in Turkey. Germany and Britain had signed a peaceful deal over Portuguese colonies in Africa, for the first time since the reign of Wilhelm II. This was simply the calm before the storm. Underneath the surface there was major tension and issues that still needed to be resolved. No one country could be blamed for the causes of the first ‘total war’. The build-up of tension over the years, the breakdown of the structure of European diplomacy, militarism, an atmosphere of war, nationalistic pride, colonialism and the final straw the Austrian ultimatum were all major contributing factors to the first outbreak of war on the 28 July, 1914. The Kaiser remarking in 1914 “ The whole of Germany is charged with electricity. It only needs a spark to set the whole thing off.’ That spark happened to be ‘some silly thing in the Balkans’, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the consequential Austrian ultimatum, that plunged Europe into the greatest and first World War in history.

The breakdown of the structure of European diplomacy was a major factor in the lead up to war. Europe was run on a system of alliances that Bismarck had crafted to create peace over the years which had been destroyed by Wilhelm II and the balance of power in Europe was no longer preserved. Wilhelm had a careless attitude towards alliances and viewed them as meaningless. He was more focused on his plans to create a large German Empire through his system of politics, Weltpolitik. As a consequence, many treaties and alliances were lost. The failure of Germany to renew the Reinsurance Treaty in 1890 completely changed the structure of European diplomacy. As a result Russia signed a treaty with France in 1894 and now Germany was no longer in alliance with two of the five great European powers, Russia and Austria- Hungary and was left bitter. Germany’s decision to construct a large navy fleet and the subsequent naval race meant that Germany could no longer count upon the neutrality of Britain in any future conflict. Germany had ruined its alliances with most of the great European powers, Britain was no longer in ‘splendid isolation’, and the balance of power in Europe was permanently changed. This divided Europe into two armed camps later to face each other on the battlefield, The Triple Alliance formed of Germany, Austria-Hungry and Italy and The Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia. Over the following years these system of alliances would strengthen and become less flexible leading to tension and increasing the chance of war breaking out. In 1908 during the Bosnian crisis Germany demonstrated its commitment to Austria-Hungary and in 1911, the second Moroccan Crisis had created much bitterness and strengthened ties between France and Britain. These alliances were not constructed in preparation for war in fact both were created in attempts to prevent war, but their appearance being so strong, divided Europe into two halves, setting up the groundwork for a war to occur.

Militarism began to grow in Europe after 1900. War budgets were increased and military service was introduced in several European countries. With the advancement in technology and the creation of bigger, better arms came an inevitable arms race. Britain had always had the policy of two-power standard, believing that their navy should possess more battleships and cruisers than the next two largest navies in the world. Admiral Von Tirpitz decided to challenge British supremacy of the water. Competition between Britain and Germany led to a naval race which would continue right to 1914. It also led to the British developing the dreadnought “a new type of floating gun carriage” which made all previous battleships obsolete. The naval race was simply just part of a larger arms race which all European powers were involved in, armies were growing with huge reserves of trained men, governments widened their military budgets and new weapons were invented. This changed peoples attitude to war during this time. By the turn of the century, an atmosphere of war existed throughout Europe. Many books were written about a possible World War, such as “The Riddle of Sands” which dealt with the worsening Anglo-German relations. These books were key in preparing the public for the conflict ahead and created a sense of enthusiasm which greeted the outbreak of war in 1914.

Prior to 1871 many European leaders were of the opinion that the cost of maintaining colonies in distant lands outweighed any economic benefits available. Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli referring to the possession of colonies as ‘millstones around our necks’. However due to a number of economic, political and humanitarian factors ‘a scramble for Africa’ occurred in 1871. This significant ‘rush for empire’ was fuelled by rising nationalism. Two newcomers to the building of empires were Germany and Italy who had previously been opposed to colonies. The scramble for Africa sparked several diplomatic incidents most notably the events in Morocco and the Russo-Japanese war, the only major war involving a European power caused by a direct result of new imperialism prior to 1914. Colonial rivalry worsened relations between the major powers. Germany’s intervention in Morocco, which caused crises in 1906 and 1911, tightened the bonds between France and Britain and increased the state of tension in Europe. When Japan blocked Russian expansion in the Far East in 1904, it led to Russia focusing more of its attention on the turmoil occurring in the Balkans. The Bosnian crisis of 1908 almost provoked a European war. Colonial rivalries cannot be considered be an immediate cause of World War I, they undoubtedly heightened tensions and strained relations in Europe prior to 1914 which might have been the breaking point of an already agitated Europe. However without colonialism the war that occurred in 1914 would not of been world-wide, the curiosity in the wider world and the expansion that occurred in the latter half of the nineteenth century dragged the whole world into European issues, a war which would have been previously contained and short-lived would become the most extensive war in all of history.

The aggressiveness and militaristic mentality of Europe in the early twentieth century stemmed from the issue of nationalism. This prevailing national pride was linked with the urge for national expansion increasing tension among borders. The societies of Europe had an exaggerated view of their respective countries, quite often leading to excessive patriotism and extremist nationalistic groups being set up such as the ‘black hand’ of Serbia. The public were so invested in expansion for their country that the lure of world power meant they would endure any cost. This desire for expansion was the direct cause of ‘the scramble for Africa’, which caused conflict and tension between nations. Another form nationalism took was that people of the same language, culture, religion wished to form self-governing states. The idea that there were was the existence of races who were no longer content with being part of an empire threatened European peace and the way the world was governed at this time. There were many parts of Europe who now wished to form their own states such as the Western part of Russia which was populated by mainly non-Russian peoples such as the Poles and Finns. The province of Alsace-Lorraine which was controlled by Germany since the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871 was also discontent as it contained a French population. The French population at this time harboured bitter thoughts towards Germany and were looking forward to a day in which they could take revenge on the days of isolation Bismarck had caused them. Both of these places caused increased tension in an already tense Europe but were not a notable example of the most acute problem of nationalism which was occurring in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Nationalism was such a notable cause of the first world war because it was what created the Atmosphere of War in Europe, at this time society was so invested in the success of their country that if war was necessary for the prosperity of their nation they would encourage and embrace the idea which is what happened in 1914.

The Turkish empire was once strong, but continuous poor Governing had reduced it to a crumbling wreck and accordingly it became known as the ‘sick man of Europe’. B.Lewis in his book ‘The Emergence of Modern Turkey’ refers to Turkey as the “Medieval state with a medieval mentality and a medieval economy”. The Turks still ruled over a vast area in the Balkans, but by the middle of the nineteenth century independence had begun to spread among the Balkan people. By 1870, Greece had gained independence, Serbia and Romania had acquired self-government and other Slavic people such as the Bulgarians were now encouraged to follow. This was not just a simple conflict between Christian Slavs and their Muslim Turkish rulers as all major European powers hovered over ‘The Sick Man’. This Eastern question not only caused revolts against Turkey but caused major conflicts between the European powers and the Balkans became known as ‘The powder keg of Europe’, ready to erupt at any moment. This eventually led to the collapse of the Turkish Empire Austria-Hungary and Russia both wished to fill the power vacumn it had created. This created a state of permanent tension and hostility between the two empires. The first Balkan crisis, leading to the Congress of Berlin and to the overthrow of the San Stefano treaty was essentially the foundation for the First world War to occur. This was because it led to closer links between Austria-Hungary and Germany and Austria’s expansion in the Balkans also established her a bitter enemy, Serbia. The Serbs wished to unite the Slav people into a new independent state called Yugoslavia. Serbian attitudes towards Austria-Hungary were also cold. Several extremist terrorist groups were formed, most famously the ‘Union of Death Movement’ commonly known as the ‘Black Hand’. This group was formed by Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic. The Black hand was committed to the liberation of all Serbs living under foreign rulers. These reasons coupled with Russia’s support for the Slavs, made Austria-Hungary determined to crush Serbia. This opportunity arouse in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and was the direct cause of World War I.

On 28th June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne, unwisely went on an official tour of Bosnia. Tensions were already high on that day, as it was Serbia’s national day and the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo where the Serbs had been crushed by the Turks. Even though the authorities were aware of the increased tension over the visit they believed that no one would be foolish enough to attack ‘Do not worry. These lesser breeds would not dare to do anything’ and security precautions were almost non-existent. Serb nationalists were well aware of the Archduke’s visit and began to plan his assassination. Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic, the head of Serbia’s intelligence and a member of the Black Hand, planned the murder. The Serbian Government were opposed to the plot and advised the Colonel to scrap his plan. The Colonel abandoned the plot however a small number of young Black Hand members ignored the order. Gavrilo Princip, a young member shot the Archduke and his wife, Sophie, as they passed in an open car. Even though no connection between Princip and the Serbian government could be proven, Austria was not going to allow a chance to destroy Serbia pass them by. Wilhelm II promised full support ‘if matters went to the length of war between Austria-Hungary and Russia’. This was known as the ‘blank cheque’. This gave the Austrians permission to use force against Serbia and on 14 July, the Austrians agreed that they would take unyielding action against Serbia. On 23 July, Austria presented a ten point ultimatum to the Serbians and gave them 48 hours to reply. Serbia’s reply was moderate and adhered to all points of demand except one, that Austrian officials be allowed to enter Serbia and participate in the investigation of the assassination, as she felt this compromised their newly acquired independence. However they did agree to hand over the matter to the International Court of Justice in the Hague. The Austrians, who were already seeking reasons for conflict against Serbia, rejected the Serbian request. On 28th July they broke off diplomatic relations with Serbia and declared War.

The causes of the First World War are immense and still debated to this day. However, the build-up of tension over the years, the breakdown of the structure of European diplomacy, militarism, an atmosphere of war, nationalistic pride, imperialism and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand are undoubtedly major factors in the outbreak of the first ever world war. By early August, a full scale war had broken out in Europe and by the time the war was over in November 1918, 30 nations had become involved in the conflict, 9 million soldiers had been killed, more than 20 million wounded and an estimated 5 million civilians died as a result of bombardment. There was very few people left unaffected by The Great War. The brutality of the war had shocked the world and it was hoped that it would be the ‘war to end all wars’. However, time would show that the war had created more problems than it had solved.

Feedback: This is a good essay. You answer the question directly, through good use of relevant information and quotation. Your introduction gives really good context for the question, and your conclusion is nice as it adds something more to the information you have presented. You make some very good points, with some strong commentary such as “These books were key in preparing the public for the conflict ahead and created a sense of enthusiasm which greeted the outbreak of war in 1914.” Just make sure that you make the same kind of commentary in every paragraph. You are also always clear in your explanations of how these events contributed to the outbreak of the war, which is very good.

Cumulative mark: With paragraphs of this level, you could definitely achieve 60/60 for your cumulative mark – just be careful though, if you are going to write the same amount of paragraphs of this length in the exam, they need to be of a high quality to ensure you get 60 marks! If you can include one or two more paragraphs in future essays, it would help make sure you meet the mark.

Overall evaluation: This would get about 28 out of 40 for overall evaluation – it’s very good in its treatment of the question and uses accurate and substantial information with a good level of commentary.

Total: 88/100