Why Did World War 1 Happen Essay
World War 1 was a very different war from all of the other wars previous to it. The number of countries involved in this war was a great deal more than in the preceding wars. There was also more modern technology which made this war different because of the weapons and machinery used. There are a number of different reasons why this war happened, but it can be narrowed down to five main reasons that built up tension and therefore started the biggest war in history up until that point in time. The first factor in the war was alliances made between countries. Countries started making agreements that if a battle took place, they would render support to each other. So in reality, the allies that would defend each other during the war were already decided before the war even started. Some of the previously existing alliances included Germany and Austria-Hungary, France and Russia, Russia and Serbia, Britain, France, and Belgium, and Japan and Britain. When Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed by
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Serbians, Austria- Hungary declared war on Serbia. Because of Russia’s alliance with Serbia, Russia started mobilizing troops, and this is where Germany came in- to stop the Russian troops and declare war on Russia. But this caused France to be pulled into the war also, and later Britain followed when Germany attacked France through Belgium. And finally this dragged Japan in to defend Britain. All of these alliances played a huge part in how big the war was because once the alliances were made, all of the countries had no choice but to get involved if something happened. Another factor in the war beginning was imperialism.
At that time, Britain was the dominating world power, and Germany wanted to rival that power. Britain had hopes of building a railroad that ran the whole length of Africa, but Germany had been expanding and gaining land and colonies in Africa. This put a stumbling block in the way of Britain’s railroad. Germany used this struggle for power in Africa to try and drive a wedge between the French and the British. The French had colonies around Morocco so they tried to make it into a protectorate. The German Kaiser rallied the Moroccan people into wanting their independence. Later when the French were trying to put a stop to the Moroccan rebellion, the Germans landed a ship in a Moroccan port without a reason or previous warning. This infuriated the French, and they were on the verge of declaring war on Germany. But, contrary to Germany’s plan, these incidents only strengthened the relationship between France and
Britain. A further key component was militarism. Militarism was a huge factor in the new war technology that was displayed in WW1. Because of Germany’s desire to become a dominant world power, it started building up arms at a considerably fast rate. Within three years, the German military had increased by 170,000 men. But Germany wasn’t the only country who built up their military; the total cost of military spending during the arms race from Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Italy combined was 94 million pounds. And it didn’t stop there- just 44 years after all of that outrageous spending, the amount had skyrocketed into 398 million pounds!
Serbians, Austria- Hungary declared war on Serbia. Because of Russia’s alliance with Serbia, Russia started mobilizing troops, and this is where Germany came in- to stop the Russian troops and declare war on Russia. But this caused France to be pulled into the war also, and later Britain followed when Germany attacked France through Belgium. And finally this dragged Japan in to defend Britain. All of these alliances played a huge part in how big the war was because once the alliances were made, all of the countries had no choice but to get involved if something happened. Another factor in the war beginning was imperialism.
At that time, Britain was the dominating world power, and Germany wanted to rival that power. Britain had hopes of building a railroad that ran the whole length of Africa, but Germany had been expanding and gaining land and colonies in Africa. This put a stumbling block in the way of Britain’s railroad. Germany used this struggle for power in Africa to try and drive a wedge between the French and the British. The French had colonies around Morocco so they tried to make it into a protectorate. The German Kaiser rallied the Moroccan people into wanting their independence. Later when the French were trying to put a stop to the Moroccan rebellion, the Germans landed a ship in a Moroccan port without a reason or previous warning. This infuriated the French, and they were on the verge of declaring war on Germany. But, contrary to Germany’s plan, these incidents only strengthened the relationship between France and
Britain. A further key component was militarism. Militarism was a huge factor in the new war technology that was displayed in WW1. Because of Germany’s desire to become a dominant world power, it started building up arms at a considerably fast rate. Within three years, the German military had increased by 170,000 men. But Germany wasn’t the only country who built up their military; the total cost of military spending during the arms race from Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Italy combined was 94 million pounds. And it didn’t stop there- just 44 years after all of that outrageous spending, the amount had skyrocketed into 398 million pounds!