What caused World War I?

There are many reasons why the First World War (WWI) started. Some of the factors that led to World War I were the political, territorial, and economic in nature. The rampant militarism in Europe, the rise of nationalism, imperialism, complex alliances between countries and the collapse of the Ottoman empire also contributed to the start of the first world war. 

Europe during this period was a metaphorical bomb waiting for someone to spark it. The intense tension between the countries within Europe is at its breaking point.

What ignited this war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by a Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip. This led to further escalation of tensions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, and which would soon include Germany, Russia, France and Britain.

Tensions have been exacerbated by slow diplomatic communications between the countries involved in this war. It also didn’t help those European countries had enormous and heavily equipped armies due to several years of militarization before this war.

Reasons for the Onset of World War I

To better understand the beginning of WWI we need to list the factors that led to the beginning of this war:

The Alliances before WWI

An alliance is an agreement between two or more countries that ensures that they will help each other during their time of need, for example in the event of a war.

Between 1879 and 1914, many alliance agreements were signed between European countries. This means that if their ally declares war, they are obliged to also declare war to their ally’s opponent. Below is a list of agreements formed before WWI:

• 1879, Dual Alliance- Germany and Austria- Hungary formed an alliance to protect themselves against Russia.
• 1881, Austro-Serbian Alliance- Austria-Hungary and Serbia reached an agreement to oppose Russia’s takeover of Serbia.
• 1882, Triple Alliance- Germany and Austria- Hungary formed an alliance with Italy. It was to prevent Italy from forming an alliance with Russia.
• 1894, Franco-Russian Alliance- This is the alliance between France and Russia to protect themselves against Germany and Austria- Hungary.
• 1907, Anglo-Russian Entente -This is an alliance between Britain and Russia
• 1907, Triple Entente -This is the alliance between Russia, Great Britain, and France (in 1914, at the height of the war agreed not to sign a peace treaty without the consent of all members)

Imperialism

Throughout the 1900’s, Great Britain had huge control over five countries on different continents while France had huge influence over African lands. Due to the rise of industrialization in Europe, many countries are looking for markets where they can sell their goods and obtain raw materials.

During this period the European countries that started late in colonizing other countries had no choice but to claim only small tracts of land as colonies. This caused friction between Germany and two of its colonial rivals, Great Britain and France which both had large numbers of colonies in the world.

It can be said that a European nation’s desire to get more colonies and to exploit the resources available to the colonies motivated them to be part of a war. This is because war can cause territories to change hands and line in a map getting redrawn.

If Germany wins a war against its colonial rivals, it could capture some of the colonies held by France and Great Britain in Africa and Asia.

Militarism

Militarism means giving a position in the government or giving more power to military officers to have more influence within the government, an example of which is Otto von Bismarck who led and unified Germany during prior to the events of WWI. 

Due to the conflict between the European countries, it resulted in the accumulation of weapons and an arms race to produce a larger army than their rival country. From 1870 to 1914, France and Germany were able to double the number of their armies while Great Britain and Germany would strengthen their navies.

Rise of Nationalism in Europe

As a result of Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat, the Congress of Vienna consisting of the alliance that defeated Napoleon (Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussian) took steps for the reorganization of Europe, but this resulted in both Germany and Italy losing some of their territories which caused their nations to weaken and become disjointed states. This led to major nationalist action in both countries aimed at rebuilding Italy (1861) and Germany (1871).

Subsequently, at the end of the Franco-Prussian war, France became terribly angry with Germany because a large part of their territory fell under German control, and they wanted to reclaim it.

On the other side of Europe, Austria-Hungary and Serbia are home to various nationalist groups who want independence and self-determination. The nationalist aspirations forming in Serbia and Austria-Hungary have caused tension in their region.

The Bosnian Crisis and the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

In 1908, Austria-Hungary placed the province of Bosnia under his leadership. This angered Serbia who believed they owned Bosnia. Serbia threatened Austria-Hungary that they would declare war if Austria did not give up control of Bosnia.

Serbia’s ally Russia prepared for war while Austria-Hungary’s ally Germany also prepared their forces. Russia reconsidered its position, and a war was averted.

From 1911 to 1912, there was a war in which the Balkan states drove Turkey out of their territories. After that the Balkan states began to have a dispute over who owned the territories left behind by Turkey. Here Austria-Hungary entered to settle the conflict and at the same time Austria also forced Serbia to relinquish the territories it claimed in this area. This has led to increased tensions between Austria and Serbia.

June 28,1914, in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie were ambushed and killed by a Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip. Franz Ferdinand was in Bosnia to check on the peace situation in that area. Another reason is the inauguration of the ongoing military exercises in Bosnia.

Gavrilo Princip was also a member of the terrorist group Black Hand but his alleged motive for assassinating the Archduke was the desire of the Serbs to end the Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was what pushed to further escalate tensions between Austria and Serbia. The Serbian government was blamed for the attack that took the life of the Austrian heir.

July 28, 1914, one month after the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne on, Austria declared war on Serbia. In just six days, different nations joined in this war. When Russian military mobilization began, Germany declared war on Russia. And the war began to spread to all the countries part of the various alliances.