World War 1 was the first global war of its type. It started in 1914 and lasted until 1918, with more than seven million killed by the end of it. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and after this war there was major change. This war started with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria by Serbians. After this happened, there was a crisis in which Austria-Hungary went against Serbia, but the entangling international alliances were provoked, and the rest of Europe was drawn into this war. Russia was the first to mobilize troops, but other countries followed soon after. However, there were more complex reasons to the start of the war than simply the assassination of an Archduke. One of these reasons was militarism, which …show more content…
During the period of time before the outbreak of World War 1, there was extreme growth in the military as well as improvement in military weapons. After the Crimean war and other conflicts in the time, people were able to study war and develop many improvements and new weapons. One of the most important improvements was the change that made long range artillery more accurate and deadly and the creation of deadly gasses to be used in war. Militaries were also growing faster than ever. Both the armies of France and Germany doubled between the time of 1970 and 1914. This was often because Imperialism had started, which required a big and effective military to capture and defend land. Lastly, the effectiveness and power of the military was growing. In Germany, Wilhelm II wanted to maintain Germanys “place in the sun”, and so he endorsed both an increased military, new weaponry, and training for his troops. Because of this, his troops implemented improved training for the officers as well as getting a better means of command and communication. In the rest of Europe this was happening to, though sometimes motivated by other means. In Britain, this growth was encouraged by the arms race and by public interest and the press instead of by the monarchy. All this growth contributed to the European powers being ready for war and hyped up on militarism, and