What were the causes of the First World War? – Bits of information you might
want to include!
*Also use your notes from the video and the spider diagram
1. Nationalism:
Intense national pride leads to rivalries between Britain and Germany and France and
Germany.
Economic competition existed between Britain and Germany.
Both were
industrialised nations, however, Kaiser Wilhelm was jealous of Britain’s empire and
navy.
France and Germany (then known as Prussia) had been at war over an area called
Alsace Lorraine which bordered both countries. France was bitter about their defeat
in this war and wanted the land back.
Military competition was fierce between Britain and Germany. Britain had always
had a strong Navy and Germany wanted one too. Britain started to build Dreadnought
warships and Germany announced they were going to build four. Britain and
Germany entered into an arms race.
2. Militarism:
Use of new weapons in war. France went to war in 1914 using Bayonets; the Germans
however, were using machine guns and other superior artillery to the French.
The Germans were competing with Russia and France to increase their army.
Dreadnoughts were built by both sides in the war.
Air planes such as Zeppelins were also used.
3. Alliances:
Triple Alliance = Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.
Triple Entente = Britain, France and Russia.
Britain also had an old alliance with Belgium signed in 1838. However, the Germans
hoped they would forget about this alliance. Germany’s plan was to invade France
through Belgium. However, the British did remember their old alliance and entered
into battle with the Germans in Belgium on the 4th of August 1914 after Germany had
failed to back down.
Existence of alliances made it more likely that war would start; it also ensured that the
war would spread quickly and everyone wanted to protect their allies.
4. Personality of Kaiser Wilhelm:
He wanted to be seen as a strong leader. He was unstable and unpredictable. He had
always wanted to prove himself because of his disabilities. He was a grandson of
Queen Victoria of England and so was the cousin to George V (current King of
England in 1914) and Nicholas II of Russia. The Royal family got about a bit!
Germany had recently come into being as a new country after the Franco-Prussian
war, and was keen to prove itself. Wilhelm was also keen to represent the new
Germany.
What triggered it all …?
5. Spark!
Serbia had doubled its size in the Balkans thanks to help from Russia and wanted to
be free for Austrian rule. This posed a threat to Austria-Hungary. On June 28th 1914
the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, paid a visit to
Sarajevo the capital of Bosnia recently taken by Austria-Hungary as their own. At 11
o’clock Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated by a member of a Serbian group that
wanted Austria-Hungary to withdraw from the Balkans. Austria-Hungary ordered an
investigation to be carried out by their police, but Serbian officials would not allow it.
Austria-Hungary threatened that if the Serbians did not allow the investigation, they
would invade Serbia the following week. This was a very tough ultimatum on the part
of the Austrian-Hungarian Prime Minister, Count Berchtold. Serbia still refused to
cooperate and so Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Here the alliance system
kicks into play. Germany were the allies of Austria-Hungary and were only too
happy to assist their allies and show their military strength. Germany declared war on
Russia on 1st August 1914, who as old friends of Serbia had begun to mobilise. On
the 3rd of August 1914 Germany declared war on France and decided to attack France
through Belgium. Britain entered the war to protect Belgium. Germany was now at
war on the western front and the eastern front. Italy stepped in to help Germany.
Think Point:
How are you going to structure your essay?
Are you going to have an introduction, main points and conclusion?
Will you order your main points in order of their importance or in order
of long term and short term causes of the war? Maybe a bit of both!
What will you argue in your conclusion? Was there one single cause for
war or were there many?
How do I structure my essay?
Structure your essay like a hamburger or a really
tasty sandwich!
Top of the bun! – Introduction, gets you
ready for the rest of the burger!
Sesame seeds add a bit extra!
Meaty part! – Main arguments/points
(along with some details and ideas
hold things together, think
lettuce, tomatoes and mayo!)
Bottom of the bun! – Conclusion, what
are your main arguments?
Without this it all falls apart!
What a mess!
So, just think of a burger when you write your essay! But please don’t
drool on the paper!
The top of the bun gets your taste buds ready for the filling. The meaty,
tasty bit in the middle is where it all happens – would you buy a burger
from McDonalds without any meat/filling in it? Here you’ve also got things
like mayonnaise, cheese, tomatoes, gherkins, whatever your heart desires!
These bits are the added details that make your main points so exciting!
They hold the argument together. Mayonnaise is your topic sentence!
The bottom of the bun is essential. This is your conclusion and holds the
rest of the burger together. Without it and the top of the bun, you
would just have a heap of meat and filling!