Completely altering what a war was in every aspect of the term, World War I caused immense devastation and havoc. Excluding the American Civil War, it was the first war that took place lasting any longer than a few months. This was due to countless innovations made in both war strategy and weaponry. Involving 32 countries and causing the deaths of over 17 million soldiers and civilians, World War I was one of the largest and most destructive wars at that point in modern history. As a result of the abundance of militarism and nationalism throughout all European countries, most of the world was thrown into the chaos of World War I.
Bringing about a competitive attitude between the major powers of Europe, militarism greatly increased the chances
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As depicted in the map in Document 2, the Triple Alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, while the Triple Entente was made up of Great Britain, France and Russia. This source can be trusted due the fact that it is a map exhibiting proven facts. Similar to how building up one’s military made countries more likely to fight, forming alliances did the same. They felt more comfortable entering battle when they knew they had another army backing them up. This boosted confidence made the concept of war seem like a much smaller issue, causing more brash responses to the issues at hand. Therefore, as a defense mechanism, and a way to be more prepared for conflict, countries found allies in each other. Raymond Aron speaks of an example of this when, “The rise of Germany, whose supremacy France dreaded and whose navy menaced [or threatened] England had created among [England and France] an alliance which claimed it was defensive in nature” (Doc 7). England and France felt intimidated by Germany, so they teamed up, creating the Triple entente, knowing they stood a better chance together. Germany, in response, created its own alliance as a way to protect …show more content…
This included the countries of the triple entente, who fully blamed Germany for the war, despite their contributions. After winning the war, these countries saw the Versailles Treaty as an opportunity to use Germany as a scapegoat and avoid criticism for their own actions. In Document 4, they hold Germany completely responsible, because they were enemies and they could. This enmity towards Germany provides just cause to question the bias of this document. Germany had a differing view, saying they were “far from declining all responsibility for the fact that this great World War took place” (Doc 5). At the Versailles Peace conference, German delegate, Count Brockdorff-Rantzau, pointed out that “the imperialism of all European states has chronically poisoned international relations” (Doc 5), making hostility between countries more apparent and war more likely. Along with that, he mentioned that they fought the war defensively in response to the military advances made by their enemies. The author’s background being German should also be taken into account, as a German delegate is likely to favor their own country and be biased toward them. Thus, every country in Europe holds some responsibility for the causing of World War
Alliances are when two or more countries make an agreement to support each other. Alliances are formed due to rivalries and mistrust among countries. When one country is part of a war, its allies are also pulled into the battle. The two major alliances during WWI were the triple alliance, containing Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary, and the triple entente which contained Great Britain, France, Serbia and Russia. The political cartoon “Chain of Friendship” from 1914 demonstrates the alliance system.
When a nation gained more powerful arms, they were seen as a larger threat to the rest of the world, which was proven by post-war speeches from leaders of involved countries and statistics from the war. When Germany was blamed entirely for starting the war, German Versailles Treaty delegation leader Count Brockdorff-Rantzau argued that imperialism and the massive power put in the militaries across Europe had a larger impact on the war than Germany (Document 5). The mobilization of European armies and missed preventative steps to avoid war in almost every European country were both also cited by many historians for causing the Great War to occur (Document 6). The effects of military advancement and involvement in political discrepancies is clearly shown in statistics of money paid by each country involved in the war throughout time. When the war broke out, substantial increases in the investments made for weaponry are shown, especially by the main countries involved in the war, such as Great Britain, France, and Germany (Document 1). Military advancement overall had a large part in World War I’s breakout, due to its effects on the mindset of countries to create more weaponry for defense, and the power it gave to a nation’s
After taking action against Serbia, Austria-Hungary gained German support, and from there, the first alliance began. Within a week, major European powers like Russia, France, and Great Britain became involved, and more alliances were formed. Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary were the members of the Triple Alliance, while Great Britain, France, and Russia were the members of the Triple Entente. If a country in one of these alliances declared war, the conflict would quickly escalate due to all of the countries that would essentially need to become
Britain and France had created, “an alliance which claimed it was defensive in nature” to counter the threat of Germany’s massive army (Document 7). Germany saw itself encircled and formed the Triple Alliance. The alliances formed increased tensions because when one country formed an alliance with another, surrounding nations felt threatened and therefore, formed their own alliances. Europe was divided into two major alliances: the Triple Alliance made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy and the Triple Entente established between Britain, France, Russia on the eve of World War I (Document 2). Russia also had close ties with Serbia because of their common Slavic heritage.
The alliance system that took place between the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and Triple Entente (United Kingdom, Russia, and France) divided the European empires beginning the war. According to document B both alliances blamed each other from the start. By doing this both alliances were split against each other creating a diversion. The background essay states, “The great players were picking sides” this created a greater diversion between the empires. Geographically in Document A the Triple Alliance were closer together and the Triple Entente surrounded them although the Triple Entente weren’t themselves close to each other. This caused
Even though it wasn’t their fault that the war started, the Big Four countries made them sign something that claimed it was their fault and they admitted it. In Document C, it says that Germany was forced to undertake the responsibility for all the damage that was done to the Allies. This made Germany very mad because they also had loses and they didn’t start the war in the first place. In Document D, it states that Germany had to take full blame and accept the consequences, also, that Germans saw the Treaty of Versailles as an evil thing and that it needed to be destroyed, this starting the Nazi party and for Hitler to rise in his power for all the countries to look at Germany as something else, more powerful, and for the countries to fear
World War 1 was one of the bloodiest wars that the world ever seen. World War 1 was a war fought in Europe, between Germany, Russia, France, Great Britain, the U.S. and many others. At first, Europeans wanted a balanced power, but then alliance started to form. An assassination happened and soon Europe was at war. However, there are numerous causes of World War that are not commonly known which include nationalism, militarism, and alliance.
(Fred Fierch)” “Among those alliances were the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente.(Also Fred Fierch)” The Triple Alliance, also known as the Allied Powers, consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, and the Ottoman Empire (Doc 7), and the Triple Entente consisted of France, Russia, and Great Britain (Doc 7). The formation of the Triple Entente, also known as the Central Powers, unified the UK and the French and “marked the end of almost a thousand years of intermittent conflict between two states (Doc 5)”. As a token of pride in my Italian heritage, I am proud to state that Italy later on switches from the Triple Entente to the Triple Alliance, because it was the victorious group of alliances.
World War II was partly caused by the Versailles Treaty. The Treaty infuriated Germany by taking their money, land and resources, and blaming them for World War l. All of this made Germany want to rise to power and start another World War. One of the reasons Germany was so mad about the Treaty of Versailles is it blamed Germany for the war. The Treaty stated, “...Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all loss and damage.” (Doc D) Germany did not agree that they were responsible for all the damage of the war; they thought this was extremely unfair.
There was two main Alliances between states the two were germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy which made up the triple alliance. The other alliances was Russia, United Kingdom, and France which man up the Triple Entente. When having alliances it can affect all the countries in the alliance. When The alliances come to join forces they focus more on destroying themselves instead of fighting for the real prize which was the peace of Europe which is represented in document B, Also when the join forces the triple entente have a huge disadvantage because they are more separated than the triple Alliance. The triple alliance are all clumped together while the
To begin, World War I was the most devastating war yet at its time and had widespread repercussions for nations all over the world. The global impact of World War I can be analyzed by identifying what pushed so many nations to war, the immediate effects of the war, and the long term effects of the war.
World War I was often referred to as "The Great War". It began in 1914 and ended in 1918. America witnessed much devastation in this time period. In these four years alone nearly 9 million people died and millions more were maimed, crippled, grief stricken, or psychologically scarred, World War I is considered by many historians, the first man-made catastrophe of the twentieth century.There are many things that contributed to the war these causes were militarism, alliances, imperialism, and na's attempt to normalcy to be a challenge.
The final product of the Versailles Treaty’s terms was the humiliation of Germany and more importantly, its individuals. Supportingly, Document D reports that, “The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.” (Document D) As the Treaty enforces blame, it singles out Germany. This attempt to prevent war only fueled the fire, creating bitterness that would be a massive contribution to World War II. In agreement, Document D continues the theme, relaying that, “What they knew of the treaty was etched
World War I was a great loss both physically and emotionally. It was a conflict between the Allies and the Central Powers from 1914 to 1918. More than 15 million people were killed in battled, making it one of the most deadly conflicts in history. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria- Hungary was seen as the trigger of the war. The war was described as a world war, a total war, and a modern war. A world war because it involved the whole world. A total war because people used maximum resources for the purpose of the war. A modern war because the people used technological and industrial mobilization.
Although in the Treaty of Versailles Germany was to accept full responsibility for World War 1 this in not necessarily the case. Many factors have to be taken into account when considering the cause of World War 1. Germany may have been primarily responsible for the war but the other major powers must accept some of the blame for failing to prevent it. The conflict resulting from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinard should have been local and confined but due to a series of factors, militarism, the alliance system, nationalism, this one incident led to the greatest war Europe had ever seen. As a result of underlying hostilities the assassination led to a chain of