The Causes of World War One - Essay Example

Running Head: WORLD WAR Topic: World War I Lecturer: Presentation: World War The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand the apparent heir to the throne of Austria by Gavrilo Princip of a Serbian terrorist group called Black Hand in Sarajevo sparked the Great War (Stone, 2009). The war was fought in 1914 - 1918 and involved all European nations through numerous alliances that had been formed before the assassination on the 28 June 1914. The rise of pan-Slavism and consequent rise of German nationalism also played a great role in enhancing the war combined with imperialism and militarism (Sammis, 2002). The American government first remained neutral until 1917 when it entered the war due to pressure from the German military that were sinking ships on Britain waters. The American President Woodrow Wilson was very instrumental in ending the war in 1918, and in designing the Treaty of Versailles as well as forming the League of Nations. The paper will discuss the events that led to the war and the events that followed. European nations before the war employed imperialist policy. According to Spielvogel (2009) by 19th century, Britain had 5 continents while France occupied large areas of Africa. The Britain and France occupied huge tracts of land hence creating rivalry with German which began to scramble for the remaining parts of Africa. The colonizers were undergoing a period of industrialization hence saw the new colonies as a source of labor and market for finished goods. Imperialism created a lot of rivalry and tension among nations as they competed for power. Most of the colonized people were under the power of colonizers and followed the rules of the colonizing state. However, the Slavic states yearned for freedom from the controlling states. They formed a cultural and political movement in the 19th century known as pan-Slavism which united all the Slavic. The movement got support from Russia whose main aim was to extend its rule over Slavic people (Stone, 2009). The nations also felt threatened by their counterparts hence wanted to unite their people so that in case of war, the states would fight against a common enemy. The attack on German speaking central Europe by France in Napoleonic wars instilled a sense of nationalism (Sammis, 2002). Bismarck had the idea of uniting Germany but Austria which had much power was resistant. Bismarck used diplomacy to create an atmosphere for war between Austria and Prussia and reinforced Prussian army so as to defeat Austria thereby relinquishing its position to Prussia. France was unhappy with the defeat hence waged war on Prussia but had no allies as opposed to Prussia which was supported by all German states. France was defeated and lost two provinces Alsace and Lorraine to Germany hence tension between the two nations (Stone, 2009). German was unified in 1871 under Prussian rule with Wilhelm as the new emperor. Austria began concentrating on the Balkans hence forming the Austro-Hungarian Monarch. The Balkan war in 1912-1913 saw their freedom from Turkish control but a conflict of interest by Russia and Austro-Hungary. The nations in order to outdo each other and in preparation for war engaged in arms race and gave the army and military a lot of power in controlling government policy. Spielvogel (2009, p.534) notes that the European military machines had doubled in size between 1890 and 1914. The German empire led by Bismarck engaged in massive shipbuilding in order to produce large naval fleet than Britain. In 1914, Britain had 49 battleships while German had 29 (Duffy, 2009). New highly destructive weapons such as; submarines, tanks, and poison gas were made which worsened the war. The readiness for war culminated into alliances. Various alliances were formed by the powers to help each other in case of war and to protect themselves from potential threats. Heyman (1997) observes that the prime ministers, foreign ministers and military leaders were crucial in the formation and dissolution of alliances. For example, Prime Minister Bismarck contributed much in the formation of a triple alliance between Germany, Austro-Hungary and Russia to aid each other in times of war but Russia withdrew later leaving Germany and Austro-Hungary with an alliance to aid each other against Russian invasion. They were joined later by Italy for protection against France and provide military assistance. Britain, France and Russia formed a triple entente to counter increasing German threat. Britain and France had military agreement. Britain also had an alliance with Belgium while Russia allied with Serbia. These alliances increased tension among the nations. The assassination of Archduke Fran Ferdinand of Austria by a Serbian terrorist was an excuse for Austria-Hungary to exert control over Balkans (Duffy, 2009). It gave an ultimatum to Serbia backed by Germany and when not fulfilled, it declared war on Serbia. Russia having Slavic ties with Serbia came to its defense. German being an ally of Austro-Hungary declared war on Russia. France an ally of Russia defended it hence German declared war against it. Britain an ally of France was thus drawn into the war but in pretence of defending Belgium invasion by German. The major European powers were thus drawn into the war through the various treaties. Italy was supposed to be neutral but due to a secret alliance with France it entered the war against her allies. Germany, Austro-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire joined to fight against the alliance comprising of Britain, France, Russia, Italy and US (Heyman, 1997). The US remained neutral from 1914-1917 due to commitment to peace. The US is comprised of people from different ethnic origin mainly European immigrants and African slaves thus the president feared divisions of class and immigrant origin (Collins, 2008). President Woodrow Wilson played a great part during the war. He wanted to enact the elements of a league of nations after the war so deemed it fit not to interfere. However, he provided arms and food to warring sides and offered neutral negotiating opportunities. America was drawn into the war due to war on the seas. The German submarines were sinking ships on Britain waters and these included American ships with relief supplies. Woodrow warned German against the act and negotiated for peace with German. It stopped for a while but resumed the operation later in order to starve Britain army. The sinking of three ships coupled with Zimmerman telegram showing Germans intention to lure Mexico into war with America drew America into the war against Germany (Collins, 2008). The Russian revolution made Russia to quit the war creating a chance for German to attack the exhausted Britain and France army but the entry of US troops made German to surrender thereby signing an armistice on November 11, 1918 hence end of war. President Wilson played a role thereafter of designing the peace Treaty of Versailles in collaboration with Britain and France. He wanted long lasting peace while Britain and France wanted revenge on Germany. Some of his fourteen points which would have seen establishment of a league of nations were therefore not taken into account. The treaty was thus a way of punishing Germany by forcing it to accept guilt, pay reparations to victims, surrender its colonies, and shrink its military (Heyman, 1997).The treaty also created a league of nations to solve disputes and ensure long lasting peace but German and Russia were not allowed to join. However, the treaty was defeated as it was one sided aimed against Germany; Wilson had given in to demands of Britain and Russia and failed to put in his points. The congress thus refused to ratify it. The league which was part of the treaty was seen as intensifying nationalism which had caused the war. It was also rejected by public due to creation of alliances which had resulted in war. America also wanted an isolation policy and the league would violate that policy. The senate foreign relations committee also defeated the treaty as they were not consulted during its preparation. The Americas role in the world was thus diminished by the fact that having not ratified the treaty or the League of Nations, it could not interfere in the peace process by offering military assistance or imposing economic sanctions on errant nations. The treaty which was widely rejected by European nations finally led to the World War II. References Collins, Ross (2008). World War One. Westport, CT: Greenwood. Duffy, Michael (2009). ‘The Causes of World War One’. Firstworldwar.com. Available at http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm. Accessed 13 April 2011. Heyman, Neil (1997). World War I. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing. Sammis, Cathy (2002). Focus on World History: The Twentieth Century. USA: J Weston Walch. Spielvogel, Jackson (2009). Western Civilization: A Brief History. USA: Wardsworth Stone, Norman (2009). World War One: A Short History. US: Basic Books. Read More