1914 States Went To War Essay
How valid is the claim that in 1914 states went to war due to fear rather then motives of gain?Austria 's quarrel, Germany 's warOne of the theories about the outbreak of the First World War is that nations went to war not to necessarily gain something but mainly because of fear which caused by many different factors.
Europe before the war can be compared to a round-about with the countries involved, Germany being the central pole, speeding up and thus causing the nations into uncontrollable chaos resulting in them breaking off.
The basis of the alliance systems started forming as early as 1871. France and Russia had been supportive of each other ever since France lent Russia money to start industrialization during the reign of Alexander II. The bond between these two great powers was strengthened by their shared enemies, the Central …show more content…
As and addition to this served the image of barbaric hordes from the steppes of Asia, charging the civilized central Europe. This visceral fear and the fact that with the population of 166 million people, Russia had practically unlimited human power reserves (and would be therefore practically undefeatable if there were an adequate amount of equipment) made Russia itself the biggest fear of the Central Powers, as proved by the Schlieffen plan, which stated that it was necessary to focus on Russia after quickly defeating France.
"We cannot compete with the Russian masses." Von MoltkeA perfect example of the fact that nations went to war mostly because of fear and not gain is first war declaration. This was caused by the Russian mobilization, which was a reaction to German aggression towards Prussia. Russia, however, was for now not going to precede any further then a mobilization. But fear and confusion led the Germans into the certainty that Russia is about to attack. German mobilization was then the obvious next step, and The Great War was about to
Europe before the war can be compared to a round-about with the countries involved, Germany being the central pole, speeding up and thus causing the nations into uncontrollable chaos resulting in them breaking off.
The basis of the alliance systems started forming as early as 1871. France and Russia had been supportive of each other ever since France lent Russia money to start industrialization during the reign of Alexander II. The bond between these two great powers was strengthened by their shared enemies, the Central …show more content…
As and addition to this served the image of barbaric hordes from the steppes of Asia, charging the civilized central Europe. This visceral fear and the fact that with the population of 166 million people, Russia had practically unlimited human power reserves (and would be therefore practically undefeatable if there were an adequate amount of equipment) made Russia itself the biggest fear of the Central Powers, as proved by the Schlieffen plan, which stated that it was necessary to focus on Russia after quickly defeating France.
"We cannot compete with the Russian masses." Von MoltkeA perfect example of the fact that nations went to war mostly because of fear and not gain is first war declaration. This was caused by the Russian mobilization, which was a reaction to German aggression towards Prussia. Russia, however, was for now not going to precede any further then a mobilization. But fear and confusion led the Germans into the certainty that Russia is about to attack. German mobilization was then the obvious next step, and The Great War was about to