World War 1 was started when Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austro-Hungary in Sarajevo. He had no idea that his actions would have such severe consequences. However, the shooting in Sarajevo was just the tip of the iceberg. There were many other events that took place before the murder that heavily contributed in creating tension between the European countries which ultimately lead to World War 1. One of the events responsible for creating tension was the arms race. The arms race was an event which took place between 1900 - 1914. It involved countries building their armies and navies and preparing them for war. The arms race did not lead to war however, it was instrumental in creating tension between the countries part of the war. The arms race on land was intense. Every major country improved its military in one way or another to prepare for war. Due to this, the amount of money spent on Military increased drastically. The increase in expenditure on Militarism resulted due to the fact that most governments were under the influence of Military officials who encouraged investments in the Military. …show more content…
In Germany, the Kaiser himself encouraged modernisation as well as military expansion. In Britain, the people drove the arms race and pressured the government into spending more money on the military. In Russia, after the humiliating defeat against the Japanese, the Tsar was adamant not to lose another battle and increased Military outlay. The French wanted revenge against Germany for humiliating then in the Franco-Prussian war and used this as a driving force to improve their armies. In other countries, previous defeats as well as people fuelled the need to improve armies