Nationalism was a large influence leading towards both World War I and World War II. People began to identify and be proud of their country. France, Britain, Italy, and Germany all experienced a sense of nationalism, which gave them strength, but also divided them. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated. This turned into a larger conflict and ultimately started World War I. In 1882, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were joined in the Triple Alliance. Britain, France, and Russia formed Entente in 1907. Germany made two mistakes leading up to World War I. First, German generals believed the British would stay out of a European war. Secondly, German general staff expected France to capitulate before the British …show more content…
The United States became an ally with Britain, France, and Russia. The third mistake Germany made in WWI, was they believed Britain and France would lose the war before the U.S. could send troops. Following the war, there was an outbreak of the flu and there was extreme environmental damage. There were 116,000 U.S. casualties in WWI. The war cost $334 billion. This is 13.6% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). World War II began in 1939. The allied powers included Britain and France. The Axis powers included Germany and Italy. During the war, the United States, China, and Soviet Union joined the allied powers. Japan joined the Axis powers. World War II was a war of machines and movement. Both sides of the war had access to more modernized guns, bombs, planes, submarines, ships, and tanks. Unlike World War I, World War II was not localized in Europe. There were battles in Europe, North Africa, Asia, and in the Pacific. With the help of the United States, the Allied powers were able to defeat Germany. On Aug 6, 1945, the United States dropped the atomic bomb, which killed 80,000 people, and injured about another