Many different factors led to the start of the First World War. Like many other historical occurrences, one thing led to another and all of these factors came together to start World War 1. The main causes were militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism, but many more other causes also helped spark the war. The rulers of the countries were all first cousins, with a lot of power that was in need of testing. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand sparked rivalry between Serbia and Austria-Hungary. The Schlieffen Plan and growing militarism cause pressure between the countries as each knew the other’s capabilities for war. Nothing really started the first world war, but many things lead to it.
Tension had already started to build up between certain European countries before the war. Many countries had already started building up armies and ordering ships. There was also a fair amount of competition between the countries, as the rulers of Great Britain, Germany and Russia were all first cousins. As you could imagine, they would want to compare their armies, supplies and vehicles with each-others, so it was more a power contest, as whoever had the best developed military system seemed superior. It was also said that some of the cousins actually wanted there to be a war, as to set matters straight. This is one of the initial causes that helped fuel the start of the war. After the Black Hand assassinated the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary was displeased with Serbia. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914, after Serbia did not meet the requirements of an ultimatum. Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. As Russia is tied to Serbia by a treaty, Russian forces are sent to Serbia to defend against Austria-Hungary. This was just the beginning. The “official” outbreak of World War 1 was on 01/08/1914 when Germany attacked Russia as an act of defending Austria-Hungary, to whom they had