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Major Causes of World War I
Sam Student
University of Phoenix
HIS/100
October 12, 2009
Sally Teacher
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Major Causes of World War I
Although the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne,
is the best-known cause that led to World War I, several other lesser-known events triggered the
start of the war. Europe at the time was entwined in a web of secret alliances that effectively split
the continent in two. Additionally, fervent nationalism caused military buildups and plans for
mobilization of armies while imperialism led to colonization of Africa and South America by
England, Germany, and France (Sheffield, 2002). These three significant events, the secret
alliances between countries; nationalism that caused an arms race between countries; and
imperialism, Germany’s attempt to increase international influence, led to a global conflict that
escalated an assassination into the “war to end all wars.”
Between 1879 and 1914, many European countries signed a number of secret alliances.
The most influential of these was the Triple Alliance, entered into by Germany, Austria-
Hungary, and Italy in 1882 to prevent Italy from aligning with Russia (United States Army,
2001). In retaliation, Russia formed an alliance with France, who then fashioned a similar
agreement with England. These three major alliances helped set the stage for escalation of the
conflict; fervent nationalism thereafter provided the necessary armies.
The mounting tension in Europe led to an arms race between Germany, Britain, and
France. The armies of both France and Germany more than doubled in the years prior to 1914.
Britain launched its first battleship, the Dreadnought, in 1906 (Department of the Navy, 2001),
and Germany soon followed with a fleet of battleships of its own. Moreover, one of Germany’s
generals, Alfred von Schlieffen, already had constructed a plan to conquer France and Russia if a
conflict should begin (Count Alfred von Schlieffen, 2008). The stage was set for conflict; all that
remained was for the principal players to take their places.
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Germany had spent the early years of the twentieth century trying to find a niche in
international affairs and attempting to keep pace with France and Britain in international
influence. Bismarck, Chancellor of Germany, had reunified Germany 40 years earlier. In 1914,
“fate seemed to have offered Germany the opportunity to turn dreams into imperial reality”
(Sheffield, 2002, p. 2). By 1900, according to a popular expression, the “sun did not set on the
British Empire” as Britain’s colonial presence extended over five continents. Similarly, France
maintained a thriving domestic economy through the control of foreign resources in Africa
(James Madison Center, 2004). This imperialism fueled, once again, the rivalry between France
and Britain on one side and Germany on the other.
Little remained for the major powers in Europe than some spark to ignite the “war to end
all wars.” That spark was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914. The events that led
up to that assassination—the secret alliances between European powers, the rise of nationalism
which caused the arms race between countries, and imperialism of the major powers that
colonized Africa and South America—caused the conflict between three nations to escalate into
the greatest war the world had ever seen. As a result, the assassination of a minor political figure
set in motion a devastating cataclysm that came to be known as World War I.
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References
Count Alfred von Schlieffen. (2008). http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk
Department of the Navy. (2001). HMS Dreadnought. http://www.history.navy.mil
James Madison Center. (2004.) World War I. http://www.jmu.edu
Sheffield, G. (2002). The origins of World War I. http://www.bbc.co.uk
United States Army. (2001). World War I: The first three years. In American Military History—
Army Historical Series (Chapter 17, pp. 359-380). http://www.history.army.mil
