The Long and Short Term Causes That Led to The Breakout of The World War 1

World War 1 was not just due to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, although this could have been considered the triggering short term cause; it was actually the result of multiple short and long term causes, which stretched back far into the 19th CE.

Kaiser Wilhelm II ruled over Germany. However, the whole world was now engaged in Imperial Rivalry, with all the ruling powers wanting to increase their territories, power and influence. Britain had the largest Empire, ruling over almost a quarter of the world. Wilhelm wished to impress the rest of the world, and gain an even larger empire. He felt that Germany had been left rather behind, and wanted ‘A place in the sun.’ This referred to his want for an Empire. Having been divided up between the European Nation in a race called the ‘Scramble for Africa, Africa was now yet another thing for the ruling powers to fight over. Germany had not done particularly well out of this, and so proceeded to try and stir up trouble between all the colonies in Africa. One example of this was the Boer Wars between the British and the Dutch. In South Africa there were Dutch settlers, called the Boers, and British settlers. The Germans then tried to inspire the Dutch into fighting against the British, in order to weaken their rule and cause them trouble. Germany felt that if they couldn’t have a large Empire, then nobody could, and so they tried to create messes in other countries affairs. Kaiser Wilhelm II was very jealous of the British Empire, something that may have stemmed out of his emotional insecurity due to his withered arm. As a child, Wilhelm’s family were not understanding of his arm, and felt that he would not be a worthy ruler with his disability. He then felt that he had to overcompensate in order to prove himself, to his family, himself and the rest of the world. This meant that he had large expectations, and was desperate to gain the Empire he believed he deserved.

Another long term cause was the Economic Rivalry. Britain was ahead of the rest of the world in terms of industrialism, they had had their industrial revolution, factories were springing up and they were constantly finding and inventing new, more innovative ways of doing things. Having been the first country to develop their industry, Britain was ahead of the rest of the world. However, countries such as Japan, America and, most worryingly, Germany were now catching up. This meant that they were all now making an effort to be more powerful than their rivals, which in turn meant that tensions were increased and that countries began to trust each other less and less. Britain was particularly worried about Germany, as they knew that if Germany could gain the upper hand on industrialism and create a more developed economy they could make weapons, and mass produce them. This is one of the reasons why so many people – eight million – were killed in the First World War, as countries now were able to mass produce armaments Germany was now overtaking them in some cases. For example, Britain had produced 292 million tonnes of coal, but Germany was close behind with 272 million tonnes. Whilst Britain had 6.5 million tonnes of steel and 11 million tonnes of iron, Germany had 14 million tonnes of steel, and 15 million tonnes of iron.

Economic Rivalry also leads into the Arms Race. The Arms Race was yet another cause of the First World War, and just served to create yet more tension between the ruling powers in the world. Before 1914, as with industrialism, Britain had stayed relatively ahead of everyone else in terms of arms and resources. Now, however, Germany was close on their tail. This was already causing tension, as with more resources came the ability to create more weapons, more weapons came the ability to kill more people, and with killing more people came the likelihood of war. Although this was threatening enough, these newfound resources were not the biggest of Britain’s problems. Germany had now begun to overtake Britain in soldiers, and was steadily catching up on her battleships. Previously, Britain had ‘Ruled the waves,’ and had the largest naval fleet in the world, but Germany was now starting to develop their own battleships and submarines. Their submarine development was very worrying, as it meant that they were able to sink merchant ships – something they actually did during the course of the war. If they started to do this regularly and the British were not able to get any food in, there was the potential for Britons to start starving. As well as their submarines, Germany had begun to develop their battleships. Britain had a larger navy, 64 – 40, but a new type of ship had just been designed – the Dreadnought. The designs were released and Germany got a hold of them, and this new ship was so powerful it made all other ships obsolete. Now Britain only had a lead of 27 – 19, and were becoming very apprehensive. Throughout 1914, the average percentage of increase in arms spending was 205%, and this meant that now most of Europe was basically a huge armed camp, with the combined firepower to start a world war.

An additional cause of WWI was the alliances between the ruling powers in Europe. These alliances had been intended to preserve and keep the balance of power steady, and prevent any wars breaking out. However, this could also mean that if one of your allies became involved in a small dispute, more and more people could be dragged in until you were looking at a full scale world war. There were two main ‘Alliances,’ in the First World War, the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. The Triple Alliance had started out in 1879, with the Dual Alliance between Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1882, Italy joined, creating the Triple Alliance. In 1905, France and Russia formed an alliance called the Entente Cordiale. So far, Britain had abstained from joining any alliances, staying in what was called ‘Splendid Isolation.’ Britain believed they were big and powerful enough to not need any alliances, as they often ended badly. Now, however, with Germany improving their weapons, armies and naval fleets, Britain became increasingly nervous. This meant that Britain finally joined the Entente Cordiale in 1907, creating the alliance known as the Triple Entente.

Nationalism also played a large part in starting WWI. Nationalism is defined as “An extreme form of patriotism marked by a feeling of superiority over other countries.’ Nationalism was going on in the Balkans – they all wanted to stay independent from other countries, especially Austria – Hungary. The people of the Balkans were Pan – Slavic, and were very proud of their heritage. Bosnia, a country previously in the AH Empire, wanted to break away and be an independent Slavic area. However, Austria – Hungary were very keen to expand their Empire into the Balkans, an area which previously had been owned by Turkey. Turkey was known as the ‘Sick man of Europe,’ and the AH Empire believed they could take the Balkans and extend their empire into the Mediterranean. Unfortunately for Austria – Hungary, the Bosnians valued their freedom and no longer wanted to be part of the AH Empire. Serbia, a country in the Balkans which bordered Bosnia, had been encouraging Bosnia to break away from Austria – Hungary for a while, whilst the AH Empire were intending to extend their empire. Tension was also rising in Russia, a fellow Slavic country, as if Austria – Hungary were to try anything, Russia would come to the aid of the Balkans. This was the tipping point of the war, and the final trigger was to come as a result of the tension between the Slavs and the AH Empire.

The final trigger was the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the nephew of the Emperor of Austria – Hungary and sole heir to the throne. On 28th June 1914, the Archduke and his wife, Sophie, visited Bosnia. This was already a provocative day for a visit, as it was the National Day of the Serb Peoples, and his visit stirred up a lot of anger. Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been warned that his visit might cause trouble, and he was indeed wearing a bullet proof vest – something that proved futile later. A Serbian terrorist organisation, known as the Black Hand, carried out the assassination. They wanted their country to stay free and independent, and were infuriated by the Archduke’s arrogant actions. They did not want to be a part of the AH Empire, and decided the only way to combat the problem was with violence. An assassin named Gavrilo Princip, only 19 at the time, shot both the Archduke and his wife as they were riding through the city. Although Princip was a Bosnian, the Austrians blamed the Serbian government and issued a series of demands. When these were not complied with, they declared war. Russia, a fellow Slavic country, prepared to help Serbia. Germany, as an ally of Austria – Hungary, declared war on Russia, and therefore more and more allies were dragged in. The Entente Cordiale and Triple Alliance were now at war.

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