Causes and Impact of World War 1: A Comprehensive Overview
School
El Camino Community College District**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
POLI SCI 4184
Subject
History
Date
Dec 11, 2024
Pages
5
Uploaded by DukeMaskFox34
World War 1In June of 1914 a global conflict erupted in europe. This conflict caused the death of 20 million soldiers and injured 21 million more. World War 1 caused a split which forced countries to choose between two different groups. These groups were called the Central Powers and Allied Powers. The Central Powers group “led by the German, Austro-Hungarian, Bulgarian and Ottoman Empires” (National Army Museum). The Allied Powers group “led by France, Russia, the British Empire, and later Italy (from 1915) and the United States (from 1917)” (National Army Museum). This war was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo. This caused Austria to declare war on Serbia which officially started World War 1. Following shortly after in August of 1914, Germany invaded Belgium and France. As a result Britain declared war on Germany which showed everyone that they sided with Belgium and France. The First official battle of World War 1 happened a month later and was the Battle of the Marne, which halted the initial German advance in France. The following year in 1915 Italy joined the Allies and the Ottoman Empire became heavily engaged in the Gallipoli campaign. The next year in 1916 had the bloodiest and longest battle of the whole war, The Battle of Verdun. After the sinking of the Lusitania and the unrestricted submarine warfare conducted by Germany, the United States decided to join the Allies and enter the war. Four years after the start of the First World War, it began to turn in favor of the Allies and the Central Powers started facing an increased exhaustion which affected their ability. Finally on November 11th, of 1918 the Armistice was signed and officially ended the war. Some would say that the competing accounts of the cause of the war are European expansionism, Serbian nationalism, Conflicts over alliances, the Bank Check Assurance and the Assasination of Franz Ferdinand.
The top three accounts of the causes of war that are the most convincing are the Assasination of Franz Ferdinand, European expansion and the conflicts over alliances. The European expansion made an impact in the start of World War 1 because countries like Great Britain and France expanded their empires “it resulted in increased tensions among European countries” (Norwich University). Tensions rose between Britain, France and the opposing countries. Those of which include Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. Which just so happens to be the Central Powers during World War 1. In the article “The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand” by Jesse Greenspan published on the History.com website, it is said that “The start of World War I, the so-called "Great War" of 1914 to 1918, was triggered when a teenage Serbian revolutionary shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand” (Greenspan, 2020, paragraph 1). Franz Ferdinand was the heir of Franz Josef and the inspector general of the Austro-Hungarian Army. The Article “Six Causes of World War 1” by Norwich University also states that “though the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the direct precipitating event leading to the declaration of war”. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was a direct effect from the tensions that were constantly rising from the expansion in europe. Lastly, there were also the conflicts over the Alliances. These conflicts consisted of alliances that were created in imperialism prior to the start of World War 1. During imperialism countries all throughout Europe created different alliances. These alliances consisted of “Russia and Serbia; France and Russia; Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary; Britain, France and Belgium; France, Britain and Russia; and Japan and Britain were firmly in place. The alliance, between France, Britain and Russia, formed in 1907 and called the Triple Entente, caused the most friction among nations” (Norwich University). These alliances forced countries to come to the defense of each other
because of their promise. This is what caused the divide and what decided which country was a Central Power and what country was an Allied Power. Some may believe that the other three causes of World War 1 were the main competing accounts of causes. Those three causes are Serbian Nationalism, the Blank Check Assurance and the German Millenarianism. Serbian Nationalism is one of the many political forces at play leading up to World War 1. It is said in the Norwich University article that “Slavic Serbs sought independence from Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, and in 1878, they tried to gain control of Bosnia and Herzegovina to form a unified Serbian state.” With Serbian nationalism continuing to rise and the Ottoman Empire declining, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand was just the cherry on top to start the entire war. Next is the Blank Check Assurance which is the alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary that they had at the start of the war. This alliance occurred after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and Germany was offering their support to Austria-Hungary. With this new support system they embarked on war with Serbia. “Historians regard it as one of the most controversial decisions in the history of modern warfare, particularly because Germany failed to withdraw the unconditional support when given the opportunity” (Norwich University). This newly embarked war on Serbia is recognized as the main reason World War 1 escalated and continued on. Lastly, the Millenarianism in Germany was another main impact on the war. This was the belief that was held by religious and political groups on the major transformation that will occur during the war. It is reported by historians that in 1914 the spirit was high. The support from Germany’s population for their participation in the war made their government believe that they would become a leading power. ACcording to “The Six Causes of World War 1” it is said that “The success Germans saw in the opening battles of WWI provided a platform for the German government to position itself as able to accomplish
more when unified and nationalistic”, but is was only short lived and they soon realized that germany was underprepared for the four year long fight. Which inevitably took a huge toll on their citizens. Even though some people might think that the three major competing accounts of the cause of war are the Serbian Nationalism, the Blank Check Assurance and the German Millenarianism. The actual three major competing accounts are the Assasination of Franz Ferdinand, European expansion and the conflicts over alliances because without the Assasination of Franz Ferdinand. Without the importance of the assassination there couldn’t have been the Blank Check Assurance or the German Millenarianism, which followed shortly after as a result of the event. Lastly, Serbian Nationalism also couldn’t have happened without the European expansion that influenced them to try and take over Bosnia and Herzegovina to form a unified Serbian state. World War 1 caused a split which forced countries to choose between two different groups. These groups were called the Central Powers and Allied Powers. In conclusion, the top three accounts of the causes of World War 1 that are the most convincing are the Assasination of Franz Ferdinand, European expansion and the conflicts over alliances. This is because without these three major events the Serbian Nationalism, the Blank Check Assurance and the German Millenarianism couldn’t have happened. What all of these events have in common is that they surround the topics of land, political disputes, economic competition and territorial claims, which are the most common causes of a war. Works Cited
National Army Museum. (n.d.). First World War | National Army Museum. https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/first-world-war#:~:text=The%20First%20World%20War%20saw,after%20the%20revolution%20in%201917.Norwich University. (2024). Six Causes of World War I | Norwich University - Online. Online.norwich.edu; Norwich University. https://online.norwich.edu/online/about/resource-library/six-causes-world-war-i