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Why Did World War 1 Start Essay

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Why did World War One Start? The events of the first world war started because of the build up of tension between the Great powers. Tension between the Great Powers were created because of four main reasons: Militarism Alliances Imperialism Nationalism Militarism In 1805, Britain defeated the French in the battle of Trafalgar and was confirmed as having the world’s greatest navy. But nearly one hundred years later, in 1898, the German Kaiser (Wilhelm) announced that Germany was going to build 41 battleships and 61 cruisers, rivaling that of Britain. Britain felt threatened that there could be a navy strong enough to rival theirs so they needed to build a battleship so strong and powerful that all previous built battleships were immediately …show more content…

Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination and gave them a harsh ultimatum to follow. Serbia declined the ultimatum and Austria-Hungary declared war on them. This set off a rapid chain of events which got all the Great Powers involved. Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary because they were allies with Serbia. This resulted in Germany, Britain and France getting involved through their respective alliance systems. Why did Men Want to Fight? One of the main reasons men signed up to the army was because they wanted to get away from their boring lives back in Britain. Going to war was glamorized as being a big adventure so choosing between a boring job or an exciting adventure was a no-brainer. Soldiers were conned into believing that glory awaited them but instead it was death. When times got desperate in 1916, the government had to introduce conscription, this meant men were forced to join the army. Some objectors could be imprisoned as some people had strong beliefs against war. Pals’ Battalions People often went to recruiting offices(places where men signed up for the army) with their friends and ended up in the same battalion. A

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