What are the
causes of war
and conflict?
Lead up to War
- World War 1 or ‘The Great War’ officially broke out on 4th August 1914.
- However, many European countries had been preparing for this war for years.
- There are many causes that contributed to war breaking out across Europe.
- To understand World War 1 we need to know who the allied countries were.
Read through the Allies information and determine who
the allies of Britain were and who the allies of Germany
were.
Alliances:
- Germany believed that to protect themselves they should always be in an
alliance of three. This group of allies would change constantly.
- When the alliance between Russia and Germany failed, Germany was left with
the weakest alliance in Europe which was with Austria-Hungary.
- Thankfully for the Germans, Italy joined the alliance in 1882, thereby forming
the:
Triple Alliance/Central Powers
- Due to a long hostility between France and Germany and Britain’s battle for
naval superiority with Germany, Britain formed an alliance with France.
- In 1906 Russia forms an alliance with Britain which creates the :
Triple Entente/Allies
Germany in the 1900s
- In 1860 Germany was considered a ‘backwater’ amongst the powers
that ruled Britain, France, Russia, Spain and Italy.
- By 1910 Germany was thriving and due to migration, some of the
German cities were thriving under urbanisation.
- Due to an increased population the labour force was expanded and this
meant that Germany now had more wealth per capita than any other
country in Europe.
- To fight the increasing power of Germany, other European countries
revitalised their Imperial Campaigns (Empire Building).
- Great Britain, Germany and France needed foreign markets after the
increase in manufacturing caused by the Industrial Revolution.
- These countries competed for economic expansion in Africa.
- Also, in the Middle East, the crumbling Ottoman Empire was appealing
to Austria-Hungary, the Balkans and Russia.
Cause #1
- By the mid 19th C, Britain was the strongest economic power in Europe
and it had the strongest navy.
- By 1900 Germany had become the newest power in Europe and was
rivaling Britain in terms of Industrial power as well.
- However, Germany did not have any room to move in Europe . . .
Germany wanted world power and
ultimately – WORLD DOMINATION?
Cause #2
- With increased competition for land between the super powers, the need for
military strength increased.
- Spending on building large military forces soon spiraled out of control.
- The armies of France and Germany doubled in size from 1870 – 1914.
- Britain which had boasted the best navy was concerned about Germany which
had the best army and had announced plans to develop its navy.
- Germany introduced a new military strategy – in the event of war, Germany
would attack France before Russia – ultimately, this is what led to many more
nations joining the war.
- Each country developed plans for mobilisation that only awaited a go-ahead
signal.
- This existence of secret battle plans increased espionage, which in turn aroused
greater hatred and fear.
Militarism
Cause #3
- Strong feelings of nationalism fed the fires of hatred in prewar Europe.
- It turned Frenchman against German and Russian against
Austrian.
- These general causes created an atmosphere in Europe which
made war a likelihood.
Nationalism
- Ultimately, this led to the spark that lit the fuse and started
the fire!
Cause #4
- On June 28, 1914, Serbian fanatic, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated Archduke FranzFerdinand of Austria, while he was in Sarajevo.
- A few days after the assassination, Germany assured Austria-Hungary that it would
support whatever decision it came to in response to the murder. This has become
known as the 'blank cheque'.
- Nearly a month after the assassination, Austria-Hungary finally responded with an
ultimatum for Serbia. Serbia refused to comply with all the demands made, which
included allowing Austro-Hungarian forces into Serbia to assist in arresting
organisations which were hostile to them.
Austria-Hungary declared war on 28 July.
- Once Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia,
the pre-war European alliances came into
effect.
- Russia came to the defence of Serbia, which
made Germany react.
- On 1st August Germany declared war on Russia.
- Germany put the military strategy known as the
Schlieffen plan, which had been developed in
1905, into action.
- This meant that France and eventually Britain
were also drawn into the conflict.
Cause #5
- It can be often argued that the First World War started on the 22nd of April 1915.
- On the 22nd of April, not far from the city of Ypres, Belgium, the Germans did
something new . . .
- They opened cylinders of poison gas to try to break through the defensive
strength of the allies on the other side.
- French and Canadian troops were hit by this gas, or chlorine gas, and were
terrified.
- These are men without really any protection against this because it never
happened before.
- These weren't shells, these were cylinders that had been lined up, and when the
German troops thought that the wind was blowing the right way, the cloud
opened – it looked very much like a green cloud – and the people who didn't
escape from it would have their lungs burned out and die an awful death.
Gas Warfare
Your Task
- Choose one of these causes that you think is the most important contributor to
WW1.
- Create a timeline for that event on a poster which will need to contain the
following information:
- Date of the cause
- What happened
- Who was involved
- The contribution this event made to the start of World War 1.
- Your poster should be decorated with images and/or quotes that are associated
with your cause.
- You will need to do research to understand these causes in more detail!
- DUE: Next Week!