Was Germany Responsible For The First World War

Richard Brown
First draft of history essay
Topic: Is it true to believe that Germany was the sole instigator of the First World War?

No topic in the 20th century is more debated about by historians. The causes of the Great War, which raged on from 1914 to 1918, can be found as far back as the Franco- Prussian war which ended in 1871, the political and economic environment of Europe and the web of alliances which divided the empires of Europe into two tense and armed camps. As for Germany’s involvement in the start of the war, there are three ways which one can look at it: Causes for which Germany is directly responsible for, causes for which it is indirectly responsible, and causes over which it had no control. Ultimately, while Germany is
This was due to the instability and political desires of the Irish people, which had sprung up in 1886 when a politician, Gladstone, campaigned for Ireland to have home rule. By 1914 the situation had worsened, as Irish rebels had begun conscripting and training their forces, and important arms illegally. Naturally, due to this unfortunate climate in Britain, politicians in Germany, and most notably the Kaiser, while warming up for a war were aware of this. It led the Kaiser to assume that, should a global war come about, Britain would be far too busy in her own domestic affairs to worry about a European conflict, and would therefore stay out of the war (B). Therefore, it is possible to blame Germany directly for the Great War, due to the assumptions it made about Britains’ neutrality, which of course were incorrect as Britain joined the war on the 4th of August 1914, when German troops crossed the border of Belgium. Therefore one could say that Germany was an instigator of the First World
By the 29th of July, Russia had issued the call for partial mobilisation of its forces, in response to Austrian and German aggression towards Serbia. Germany, relying on slow Russian mobilisation for its Shlieffen plan to work, and through the German ambassador Count Pourtales in St Petersburg, warned Russias’ Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov that, if Russia kept up with its mobilisation, Germany would be compelled to do so too. Sazonov saw this as an ultimatum and threat, and therefore by the evening of the 29th, was trying to convince the Tsar to issue a declaration for full mobilisation. The Tsar was only swayed not to at the last minute by a telegram from the Kaiser, in which the Kaiser asked that contact between the German and Austrian governments, and the Kremlin was what he desired. The relieved Tsar then wrote to the Kaiser:” The military measures which have come into force were decided five days ago for reasons of defence on account of Austria’s preparations. I hope from all my heart that these measures won’t in any way interfere with your part as mediator”(D)