Great Britain, France, and Russia all formed the Allies while Germany, Austria- Hungary, and Italy formed the Central Powers. The position of Germany might have led to an early declaration of was because it was surrounded by the allied powers. Nationalism and extreme patriotism towards the country was also a reason for the outbreak of the war. This over-confidence gave birth to a fatal misconception: that in the event of war in Europe, one’s own country would be victorious
“The outbreak of war in Europe in 1914 was due to an aggressive foreign policy which had been waged since c.1900”. How far do you agree with this opinion? Explain your answer using sources V, W and X and your own knowledge relating to the controversy. The implication that Germany’s use of an aggressive foreign policy led to the outbreak of the First World War is an extremely controversial topic, and has ultimately caused great debates amongst historians. Fischer, the provoker of this controversy, expresses this concept of German aggression by stating that since c.1900 Germany planned, and then was able to execute a war, due to their aggressive weltpolitik; based purely on expansionism.
Why did World War 1 break out in 1914? In this essay I will discuss the causes for the First World War. I will explain; how one incident started the brawls, the relationships between different countries and how the countries tried to take over other countries. All of these explanations will then lead to the main cause of World War I. The war was caused by grudges countries had held against each other from previous wars.
‘The outbreak of War in 1914 was due to an aggressive German foreign policy which had been waged since 1900’ Use source on page 46. The notion that Germany played a pivotal part in the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914 is expressed by all three sources, although the belief that it was their aggressive foreign policy which carried the greatest responsibility is voiced especially in Source W. Here David Blackbourn argues that Germany’s naval expansion was highly responsible for increasing international tension. Source V also states that Germany’s foreign policy was to blame for the outbreak of war, focusing on the army’s responsibility. However whilst Source X does suggest foreign policy was involved in the creation of WW1, it challenges the argument to the greatest extent, instead arguing that the Balkans played a crucial part in emergence of war. It can be argued that whilst German foreign policy was a highly significant factor in the outbreak of war, it is important to remember there were many other vital factors, especially the roles of other nations which played a more important role in the outbreak of war.
On the one hand, German aggression held the greatest responsibility for the outbreak of a general European war in august 1914. This aggression falls primarily under foreign policy. In the late 1900’s the policy of ‘weltpolitik ‘was introduced in order to secure colonial territories abroad and contend with the European powers such as Britain and France. Corrigan supports this by saying ‘Germanys foreign policy aims were focussed on annexation’. There are many events which highlight the importance of this policy no more so than the first and second Moroccan crisis.
Why did Germany go to war in 1914? There are many reasons as to why Germany went to war in 1914 such as fear of encirclement, various alliances formed, internal policies and domestic and military factors. I personally think the most important reason was due to their internal politics. Germany was formed as a country in 1871 and so felt like they had to prove themselves as a nation to the rest of Europe. They did this through aggressive policies, which they hoped would achieve their aim and build up their empire.
As Serbia’s confidence was now at its peak, as there sized had doubled, and the army had increased to 400,000, so if the were now confronted by the Austro- Hungarians they were now willing to fight. This confrontation was then sparked by the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, which inevitably led to the Austro-Hungarians declaring war onto the Serbians, leading to the creation of world war 1. Overall the mismanaged Balkan crisis can be argued to have caused the war as the leading powers failed to handle and diffuse the tensions before it did, knowing that the Balkans had the potential to spark a world war, in the words of Bismarck. However the July crisis 1914, did not necessarily make war inevitable as had the crisis been contained
Differences in warfare became inevitable, and made thinking and ideas very important. The nations were introduced to new weapons such as poison gas, machine guns, submarines, airplanes, more advanced artillery, and tanks ( Prior, Wilson 129). Each of these weapons changed a certain part of warfare and how the armies of the war would defeat their enemy. World War I had been sparked by many reasons, long term and short term. The ultimate long term reason for the war was the unification of Germany in 1871.
When this demand stacks up real high, the nation tends to take advantage of other nation. As nationalism evolved in the nineteenth century, it became imperialism, totalitarianism and racism. After a century of evolving, nations finally turned into world wars. First with World War I from 1914 to 1919. Followed by World War II from 1939 to 1945.
Germany quickly tried to produce battleships to counter it. Alliances The two opposing groups that fought in World War I were the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey) and the Triple Entente (Britain, France, and Russia), who would come to be known as the allies. These alliances were formed to produce powerful combinations