Discuss The Motives For World War 1 Imperialism

World War I was the world’s first ever global conflict. World War I was a series of battles fought in Europe between the allies, which consisted of Great Britain, France, Russia, and later on Italy, and the Central which consisted of Germany, Austria – Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. Although not every country had all of the same actions and motives, World War I was a struggle based primarily on imperialism and nationalism, which led to geographical competitions, thoughts of cultural superiority, political differences between countries and economic growth and decay. World War I was a time of Imperialism. Imperialism is the building up of one’s “empire” to as big as the country could. That meant building up military strengths, building pride into their own nation, setting a dominant place in politics, and leading its way in
economics. Germany was in the middle of two battles, France to the west and Russia to the east. Alfred von Schlieffen, chief of staff in Germany, constructed a method to fight both efficiently. The plan was to send Germany’s top and best men full force to conquer France and then make their way to Russia by Train (Causes 1). The Schlieffen plan was Germany’s plan for geographical take down. However the Schlieffen plan failed which caused Germany and France to come to war. This introduced trench warfare to Europe. Soldiers were incredibly vulnerable to trench foot by the high waters from rain in trenches. Trench warfare was a grueling experience for all soldiers and turned the land between France and Germany into a wasteland. As said by Private H. F. Leppard, “The soldiers at the front need more rest. While in the trenches the water is over our knees most of the time. The war is going to last some time yet, and might be another twelve months before it is over. The war has only just begun and it’s going to be a war of exhaustion. After the regular armies have done their work it means that all the young lads at home being trained and disciplined and will take our place in the field. The sooner people understand this, the better, it will be for the nation (Memories 1).” Europe’s physical geography was altered tremendously by the Schlieffen Plan and Trench Warfare. Once a durable and forceful army has been set in place, and canny techniques take course in battle acquiring land was simple.
This made establishing a new culture and receiving that countries economy nearly inevitable. With that said smaller countries began to cling to their goods. This meant preserving raw materials and payback on expenditures by fastening out right political and military oversight of the under developed. Between the years of the 1850s to 1911 all of Africa was colonized by European countries excluding Liberia and Ethiopia (Origins 1).Taking control of another smaller country and maintaining your own countries goods was a strategic security blanket to safety from larger European countries. This in turn brought other countries to become enemies with each other. Germany demanded a rail link to the Ottoman Empire, Russia wanted a way to Mediterranean Sea, and Austria Hungary accused Serbia of forcing their power over Bosnia (Major 1). Nearly every European country wanted something while still trying to maintain their goods. Imminently, economic problems occurred between all of the European countries practicing
imperialism. Along with Imperialism, Nationalism played a major role in the causes of World War I. June of 1914, Heir to the Austria Hungary kingdom, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were visiting the capital of Bosnia to basically flaunt the Austria – Hungary rule over Bosnia. While in the town, Serbian Nationalist, Gavrilo Princip stepped from the streets and shot Ferdinand. Princip was already apart of Black Hand which was a Serbian Nationalist group( Danzer 374).A love and care for his country is definitely brought Princip to assassinate the Archduke. In Princip’s court hearing he states, “There is no need to carry me to another prison. My life is already ebbing away. I suggest that you nail me to a cross and burn me alive. My flaming body will be a torch to light my people on their path to freedom ( Primary 1).” The assassination of the Archduke is what caused Austria – Hungary Empire to become unstable without a leader and pummeled Austria – Hungary’s political standing in world. Not only did that agitate Austria – Hungary, it made Austria – Hungary vulnerable to attack. The greatest cause that contributed to World War I was Imperialism. Imperialism is the reason why countries wanted to expand geographically, it is what caused countries to begin preserving their raw materials. Imperialism is what began the concept of Nationalism and then later brought the assassination of the archduke of Austria – Hungary, which ultimately made countries officially declare war on each other. Studying the causes of past wars helps us understand causes of the tragedy of 9/11. We wanted other countries oil and without permission went and got it just to expand and prosper America. By studying and understanding causes of war we can learn and try to prevent future wars because of all the strife it puts on countries.