Causes Of World War I :: Papers

Causes Of World War I There were many reasons for the beginning of World War 1. Both small and large events contributed to war and it was impossible to control the situation in anyway. Tension was a very large contributor to war. Also there was the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which sparked major issues between Austria and Serbia. No one really understood the reason for the beginning of war or why the countries were fighting. In some cases, you could say that no one was to blame and that war was inevitable. In 1904, an alliance was signed between Britain and France and few years later, Russia, too, joined the alliance. This was to be known as the Triple Entente. Ten years later, the six larger countries had been divided into two alliances. Germany, Austria- Hungary and Italy had formed the Triple Alliance. There were many predominant tensions between specific countries such as Britain- Germany, Russia- Germany, and France- Germany. Germany was a main source of tension between the two alliances due to the arms build up and the strength of Germany as a single power. Within the alliances, each member was made to promise that if an ally was ever in trouble, that they would always help that particular country and help. There were many tensions between people and there wasn't much trust at all. When Germany took the important industrial area of Alsace-Lorraine France in 1871, France showed resentment towards Germany and was trying to form an ally with someone to finally get revenge on Germany. And in 1894 this occurred and France formed an alliance with Russia. France was determined to get revenge on Germany and rightfully get back their land of Alsace-Lorraine. Kaiser Wilhelm 2nd, had always wanted Germany to be a strong power like Britain, but he wanted more power than the British. The German leaders were worried because of the positioning of the two powers in the Triple Alliance. France and Russia were either side of Germany and this was known as 'encirclement'.