War broke out in 1914 due to forces that had been building up in Europe for years. While the Allies blamed Germany for the war too harshly, its actions certainly did directly contribute to World War I, as did those of Austria Hungary. However, each country involved fostered militarism in their country, and became in entrenched in the web of alliances and race for imperial power, all causes of the environment that led to the Great War. Therefore, it could be said that all European countries were responsible, in part, for World War I, as reflected in Documents 5, 6, and 7. Militarism, the glorification of the military, affected most of Europe at the turn of the twentieth century as demonstrated by Documents 1 and 7. Military spending in three of the major powers in Europe, Great Britain, France, and Germany, more than doubled per capita from 1870 to 1914, according to Document 1. Great Britian and Germany in particular were involved in an arms race with each other. Germany attempted to build a navy to rival Great Britian’s, whose navy was considered the best in the world at the time, and Great Britian responded by improving on their own navy. In the rest of Europe, countries were building up their stores of weapons, including rifles, bombs, and artillery, causing international …show more content…
It could be said that every European country involved was partially to blame. Each country, at the turn of the twentieth century, built up their militaries and raced with each other for colonial power. Each country made poltical and military alliances with others and were expected to uphold those promises when war began. Many countries went to war to achieve something for themselves. While Germany and Austria-Hungary are easily blamed for the war because of their pro-war ideals and actions, no country in Europe can escape the blame for a war that lasted much longer than a couple weeks and caused the loss of so much