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What Factors Contributed To The Great War

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What Factors Contributed To The Great War
There were four major factors that contributed to the Great War. Militarism, which is the glorification of war, is one of the major factors. Countries were ignoring diplomacy and getting advice from military leaders. This created an arms race, which was a competition to create the best weapons. Another contributing factor was the alliances. Countries signed them for military and economic protection. The Triple Entente consisted of Great Britain, France, and Russia while Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy made up the Triple Alliance. In 1915, Italy left the Triple Entente and the alliance was renamed the Central Powers. Thirdly, imperialism significantly contributed to the start of Great War. Countries competed to take over parts of the world. …show more content…
The Allies and the Central Powers began using trench warfare, which was a network of trenches in tunnels dug from the Swiss border to the English channel on the Western front of France. The use of trench warfare created a stalemate. Fighting on the Western front went back-and-forth for three years, only a few yards were gained. New weapons also contributed to the stalemate. Such weapons include machine guns, grenades, submarines, mustard gas and gas mask, tanks, flamethrowers, gas filled blimps, and biplanes. On the Atlantic, the United States used a convoy system to protect the troops and supplies. This means supply ships were surrounded by warships when traveling. Once American troops arrived in France, they immediately went on the offense. After only a couple months, German leaders asked for an armistice, or a cease-fire. This was signed on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour. In January of 1919, a peace conference was held at the palace of Versailles in France. President Woodrow Wilson led the United States delegation and brought his peace plan the called the Fourteen Points. At the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had to pay reparations and took the blame for all of the war. Although the United States senate refused to accept the this treaty, the United States made separate treaties with the Central Powers. This was the end of the

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