Some may argue that no one wanted war. Winston Churchill stated that the Great Powers slid over the brink into a war nobody wanted. (Doc I). Russia and France were forced into war because Germany declared war on Russia 1 August 1914 and war on France 3 August 1914. Therefore, it may be true that countries that did not want war were forced into it, however, “nobody” is inaccurate due to the fact that Germany wanted war.
His first move was to test the other European powers by inserting troops into Germany’s coal mining area next to France. This was ofcourse forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles and Hitler wanted to see how far he could push his adversaries before they would strike back. If Britain had not been so passive to Hitler they might have stopped this war before it ever started. They, however, allowed Hitler to do this because they did not want to start another war. Hitler then pushed the European powers further and further until he invaded Poland and Europe had no choice but to react.The results of the vote were fixed and showed that 99% of Austrian people wanted Anschluss (union with Germany).
Decline and Fall of the Romanovs Why did Russia enter World War 1? Russia entered World War One for many reasons. One was to come to the defence of its ally Serbia after it was attacked by Austria-Hungary because of an assasination believed to have been commited by Serbia. Another reason was when Germany declared War on the 1st of August 1914 for mobilizing its troops the day beforehand. The final reason was Russia’s involment in the Triple Entente, an loose agreement between Russia, France and the United Kingdom .
Nationalism was needed to unify Germany, but Metternich, the Austrian Chancellor of State, suppressed nationalism to prevent the breakup of the Austrian empire. With the downfall of Metternich, Austria was weakened and thus made it easier for Prussia to defeat Austria and gain complete control over the unification process, making a unified Germany under Prussian rule possible. Bismarck formed alliances, obtained land, and used realpolitik which were more policies/actions to support Prussia. However, to a lesser degree, he used the Zollverein, or German Customs Union to exclude Austria from Germany. He, therefore, would be considered more of a Prussian nationalist.
He wanted to punish Germany and weaken them for what they have caused to European countries and wanted them to pay for the reparations so that France can rebuild itself. Meanwhile, Woodrow Wilson wanted to make a fair treat to end the war. He didn’t want a harsh peace and was more sensible than Clemenceau and David George. Woodrow wanted justice to be paid. He issued Fourteen points which talks about what he wanted and his views that could avoid another start of
Source 1 state’s that ‘as early as 1906, Germany had in place a plan for an aggressive war.’ Suggesting that the plan was put in place to start a war when the time was right. Source 2 says, in agreement, that ‘as a reaction to the German war plan’ the French told the Russians to start mobilizing. This suggests that the Schlieffen plan pushed for war and also suggests that the French were being aggressive. Furthermore, this shows how the French - amongst other countries - had ‘confidence in victory’ as said in source 2. Many historians like Fischer, who’s also mentioned in source 1, believe, that if the Schlieffen plan was not aggressive then why would a war plan need to be devised in a time of peace?
If any of the triple alliance attacks either Russia or France, the other will send aid. Russia and France made this treaty because the triple alliance was too powerful to take them on individually. The whole thing went downhill when Russia not France began mobilizing their troops. When Russia began mobilizing, the Germans Callics of the Austro-Hungarian empire decided to declare war on both Russia and its ally France. Even after the Germans declared war, France did not wish to engage in war.
Wilson believed the treaty of Versailles should punish Germany but not so harshly that it would someday recover and seek revenge. However Wilson’s main aims were portrayed> through his fourteen points. But perhaps his main goal for post war Europe was to strengthen democracy in Germany so the citizens would not let its leaders cause another war. France suffered enormous damage in WW1. When the war ended the general population of France wanted revenge on Germany.
This is implying of course that the decision by Nicholas II to go to war against Germany and it’s allies in 1914 was wrong, but this is not the case. Russia actually had many reasons to risk war again; the war was weighed heavily in the allies favour as the combined forces of Great Britain, France and Russia were far stronger than that of Germany, Austria and Hungary. Russia was aware of it’s major failing though, it’s slow modernisation had left it trailing behind that of the other countries, and Russia would have to be prepared for the rapid social and economic change that a war brings. This was Russia’s best chance to modernise and not be left behind. Russia’s early hopes were soon dashed however.
When Hitler became the chancellor of Germany, he issued conscription and also began to rearm his army and build up his army capacity in order to invade both countries such as Czechoslovakia and Poland. In conclusion , even though increased militarism was one of the reasons why the second world war started , it was not the main cause of it. I believed that Britain and France hadn’t followed the policy of Appeasement, Hitler would not have the confidence to implement his plans to take over Eastern Europe. By allowing Hitler to reoccupy the Rhineland (which was against the Treaty of Versailles) Britain and France gave the impression that they were weak, and this allow Hitler to rebuild his army to invade other countries. (Note: the title is from a gcse paper but the essay is