Causes of World War I

Reasons of the war

There are three principals reasons of the war:

-         France vs. Germany. Because the French defeat in 1871 and the loss of Alsancia-Lorena

-         Germany vs. Britain. Rivalry to be the most powerful country in Europe

-         Russia vs. Austria-Hungary. The control of the Balkans

The situation was not good for anyone and was becoming worse:

-         Russia was threatened by a social revolution

-         Austria–Hungary had war between different nationalities and they were not able to resolve them

-         Germany has domestic political confrontations

-         Britain and France had to deal with their workers who wanted more rights and better life quality

Many of these countries tried to avoid their problems with a nationalism feeling. They forced young people to do military service and they also established new national holidays.

Balkans

Those days, the Balkans were dominated by Austria-Hungary and the ottoman empire. It was a territory what everyone wanted:

-         Serbs: they wanted to have a place there where can the Slaws live in peace.

-         Austria-Hungary: they were attacked by the Serbs.

-         Russia: they helped the Serbs because they wanted territories near the Mediterranean.

-         Germany: they wanted to conquer a very strategic place, Dardanelles, where they could dominate the Mediterranean and central Asia.

-         France: same as Germany

-         Britain: same as Germany

So in the Balkans were lots of tension and any little problem could start a big problem between all of these countries.

Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand: a convenient excuse

The Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, were assasinated by a Serb student. Immediately Austria-Hungary declared war versus Serbia. Then, Russia went into the war defending Serbia. Right away, the two alliances, the entire and the triple, went into the war.

In both sides, lots of people wanted to defend his/her country. Lots of patriotic people were enlisted, the majority thinking that in a couple of months they would return home with an easy victory.

Conclusion

After writing this page. In my opinion the assassination was a excuse for a war that many expected.