Causes Of World War 1
Although there were many reasons the European Nations first broke out in war, the fighting of Austria-Hungary and Serbia contributed to the expansion of the war. This war was resulted by the aggression of European countries that strived to be the best. These country's nationalism, militarism, imperialism and alliances escalated into the spreading of war. (The Great War 1)
Imperialism was at the hands of Germany during the outbreak of war. Germany was not far-gone when it came to taking over territories in Africa. They had to compete against France and Great Britain to gain control of this territory. This competition spelled out war between these European countries. Germany's intent here was to better their own country, and prove that their country was better than all the rest. The extreme nationalism led European nations to compete for the largest army and navy, or for the greatest industrial development. This proves that not only does Germany use imperialism, but they use nationalism as well. Territorial disputes were an ongoing problem for many European countries. The leaders of these countries always wanted more land to make them better than all the rest, but the leaders did not know who owned this land because it was always being taken. As we know, Germany declares war on France on August 3rd, 1914 claiming that France came upon their territory. Once this happened, many other countries got involved. Once Germany declared war on France, they moved into Belgium where they took over. Great Britain sent an ultimatum to Germany stating if they didn't withdraw from Belgium, they would have to enter the war. (Germany during World War One 3)
In 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary formed a Dual Alliance. In 1882 this became the Triple Alliance when Italy joined in. Each country established that they would assist one another if attacked by either France or Russia. Accepting Italy was because they did not want Italy choosing sides with Russia....
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