THE CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I

HOW, WHY, When & Who

WHY DO WAR • Let's discuss why you believe wars start????
START????? • Conflicting ideologies
 The War was also known as THE FIRST WORLD WAR, THE GREAT WAR
and famously “ THE WAR TO END ALL WARS”

 It was a global military conflict that took place mainly in Europe between
1914 & 1918.

THE WORLD
BEFORE It was a total War which left great devastation, millions dead and shaped the
modern world.

WORLD WAR I
World War I created a decisive break with the old-world order that had emerged
after the Napoleonic Wars , which was modified by the mid-19th century’s
nationalistic revolutions. The results of World War I would be important
factors in the development of world war II; 21 years later.
 LONG-TERM CAUSES : WHY DID THE WAR
BREAK OUT?

• Napoleon Bonaparte and the Rise of Nationalist Sentiment

• Colonial Expansion
• Anglo-German Naval Race
• Tension in the Balkans
• Ascension of Kaiser Wilhelm II
• Web of alliances
• So MAIN: Militarism-Alliance- Imperialism-Nationalism
• Since the mid 1800s, rivalries had been
growing due to Imperialism
• All major countries look to expand their EUROPEAN
empires by creating new markets
• Competition turns to hostility as one RIVALRIES
power crosses paths with another
 CAUSE 1
NATIONALISM
 • Nationalism can be defined as a deep sense of patriotism. Nationalists
hold their country in high regard and place its interests above those of
other nations.
• Pre-war nationalism was fuelled by imperialism, both political and
economical, and pop culture present in the works of penny press
novelists.
• British nationalism was characterised by a century of relative peace
and prosperity. The British Empire had rapidly expanded its territories
in Africa and Asia mainly because of its naval strength. Britain was
also known for colonial wars.
NATIONALISM • German nationalism was a new sensation sweeping across Germany.
This was a result of the unification of Germany in 1871. Germany
was obsessed with imperial expansion, trying to emulate the British
Empire and German nationalists were resentful of the British and their
empire.
• Nationalism was also experienced in parts of Southern Europe where
some ethnic minorities wanted autonomy and independence.
• The French Revolution had spread nationalism throughout most of
Europe
• The idea that people with the same ethnic origins, language, and
political ideals had the right to form sovereign states through the
process of self-determination
• Nationalist aspirations of subject minorities threatened to tear apart
the multinational empires of the Ottomans, Hapsburgs, and
Russians
• Such a development would affect the regional balance of power
 • devotion to interests, culture of one’s nation
• • Nationalism leads to competition, antagonism
between nations
• • Many fear Germany’s growing power in Europe
N AT IO N A L IS M • • Various ethnic groups resent domination, want
independence
• • Russia sees self as protector of all Slavic
peoples
 NATIONALISM AND MISTRUST

• Germany and Italy were new nations in 1870; Great Britain feared
Germany’s new power
• France lost the Franco-Prussian (Germany) War and wanted their
land back
• France also wanted Germany to stay out of her affairs in North
Africa (Morocco)
NATIONALISM-
PROPAGANDA
NATIONALISM-PROPAGANDA
Aggressive Nationalism
 • Nationalists in Arabic-speaking lands
sought independence from the Ottoman
NATIONALISM Empire
: DESIRE FOR
• Nationalists in Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania,
SELF-RULE Estonia, and Poland called for separation
from the Russian Empire
 NATIONALISM

• Ultra-nationalism - extreme pride

• Serbia’s reaction to Austria-Hungarian imperialism = wanted independence
• PANSLAVISM = Russia feels nationalist connection to Serbia
(They are both Slavic ethnicity)
• French want Alsace-Lorraine back from Germany
 • Desire of the Slavic people to free
themselves from the rule of the Austro-
Hungarian and Ottoman Empires
• This was like the Irish against England.
• Serbian nationalists became militant and
demanded unification with the small
PAN-SLAVISM Kingdom of Serbia
• Russians promoted Pan-Slavism in the
Balkans by encouraging fellow Slavic-
speaking peoples in their quest to throw
off Austro-Hungarian rule
 NATIONALISM: SECOND FORM---LED TO
THE ASSASSINATION

• This was an age when all nations wanted

to assert their power and independence.
• In Europe Slavs, aided by Serbia and
Russia, wanted to be free of Austrian rule.

Serbia’s
national
flag
 NATIONALISM:
AUSTRIA-
HUNGARY

• Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs,

Croats, and Slovenes all had
nationalist aspirations,
especially the Serbs
• The Serbs were strongly
supported by the Russians as
part of the pan-Slavic
movement
• The Austria-Hungarians were
strongly supported by the
Germans
The Balkan
Peninsula
AKA
The Powder Keg
of Europe
NATIONALISM-AUSTRIAN-
HUNGARIAN EMPIRE

• Serbs wanted to free

Bosnia and annex it
to Serbia to form a
Greater Serbia.
• Slavic Connection
Pan-Slavism: The
Balkans, 1914

The
“Powder Keg”
of Europe
 SERBIAN NATIONALISM

• Austria-Hungary & Russia were competing over the

Balkan region in southeastern Europe that had been
under the control of the Ottoman Empire.
• This developed into an intense rivalry.
• This Muslim rule had been resented by the Slavic,
Christian people of the Balkans.
• But also did not want to be ruled by Austria-Hungary or
Russia.
• The Balkan ethnicities wanted to be independent.
Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria, &
Albania all became free.
ISSUE OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

• 1908: A-H annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina to

its empire.
• Bosnia was a mix of Slavic Muslims, Serbs,
& Croats.
• The Serb ethnic group wanted to be part of
greater Serbia and not A-H.
• Growing resentment and liberation groups
developed after this.---Black Hand (Some say
they were terrorist groups.)
A 1908 Political cartoon from the
French Parisian Petit Journal
shows Franz Josef grabbing
Bosnia -Herzogovina and an
independent Bulgaria being torn
away from Turkey. Turkey looks
on dismayed.

Parisian Petit Journal

 THE BOSNIAN CRISIS, 1908

MAIN STORY:
• In 1908, Austria fully annexed Bosnia (i.e. it became part of the Austrian Empire).
• Serbia - which had been hoping to get part of Bosnia (so it could have a port on the
Adriatic Sea) - protested. 
• Serbia called up its army demanded a strip of land across Bosnia to the Adriatic Sea.
• Serbia was supported by Russia, which proposed a conference.
• Austria Hungary, Turkey and Germany said that a Conference wasn't necessary.  
• There was an international crisis.
 END:

• There was an international crisis -

Germany threatened war.
• Russia and Serbia were forced to back
THE BOSNIAN down and humiliated.  
CRISIS, 1908
• Serbia was forced to agree publicly to
Austria's annexation.
• The Kaiser boasted that he had stood by
Austria 'in shining armour'.
 RESULTS:
THE • There was more trouble in the Balkans
BOSNIAN (Balkans War) in 1912-13.

CRISIS, 1908 • Serbia was furious (Bosnia included

many Serbs). 
ALLIANCES
 • An alliance is an agreement made between two or more
countries to give each other help if it is needed. When an
alliance is signed, those countries become known as Allies.

ALLIANCES • Several alliances had been signed by countries between the

years 1879 and 1914. These were important because they
meant that some countries had no option but to declare war if
one of their allies. declared war first
ALLIANCES AND
THE FIRST
WORLD WAR:
ESSENTIAL
BACKGROUND -
FACT 1

World War I was all about the place of Germany in Europe

 ALLIANCES AND THE FIRST WORLD
WA R :
E S S E N T I A L B A C K G R O U N D - FA C T 2

•France and Germany hated each

other! When Germany became
united country in 1870-1, France
went to war to try to stop it … but
got WHOPPED!
 ALLIANCES AND THE
F I R S T W O R L D WA R :
ESSENTIAL
B A C K G R O U N D FA C T 2
( C O N T. )

•France also lost Alsace-

Lorraine in 1870-1.
•The French never forgave the
Germans. They wanted
REVENGE.
 ALLIANCES AND THE
F I R S T W O R L D WA R :
GERMANY IN THE
MIDDLE

•Germany’s BIG problem was

that it was IN THE MIDDLE.
•That made it VULNERABLE if it
came to a war.

1879
The Dual Alliance
Germany and Austria-Hungary
made an alliance to protect
themselves from Russia
1914
Triple Entente (no separate
peace)
Britain, Russia and France
agreed not to sign for peace
separately.
1907
Triple Entente
 This was made between
Russia, France and Britain to
counter the increasing threat
from Germany.
1881 1882
Austro-Serbian Alliance The Triple Alliance
Austria-Hungary made an  Germany and Austria-
alliance with Serbia to stop Hungary made an alliance with
Russia gaining control of Italy to stop Italy from taking
Serbia sides with Russia
1894
Franco-Russian Alliance
 Russia formed an alliance
with France to protect herself
against Germany and Austria-
Hungary
1904
1907
Entente Cordiale
Anglo-Russian Entente
 
This was an agreement, but
This was an agreement
not a formal alliance, between
between Britain and Russia
France and Britain.
OTTO VON BISMARCK: 1815-1898

And yes, the doughnut was named after him...

 •In the outbreak of World War 1 (1914)
Germany, as a unified country, was
only 50 years old.
U N I F I C AT I O N O F G E R M A N Y ( J A N . 1 8 , 1 8 7 1 ) :
PA N - G E R M A N I S M
•Before it was unified, it was made up
of a bunch of independent national
states, each with its own ruler
“SEVEN WEEKS WAR” (PRUSSIA VS.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY)
1866
F R A N C O - P R U S S I A N WA R ( P R U S S I A V S . F R A N C E )
1870-1871
NAPOLEON III (LEFT) AND
BISMARCK (RIGHT)
After a formal announcement,
Germany is declared a nation in
1871 at Versailles, located just
outside Paris; this was a
tremendous insult to France.
As a result of the Franco-
Prussian war, France loses their
territories of Alsace and
Lorraine. France is bitter about
this...
 Bismarck fears a two-front war

+ = Reinsurance Treaty

Germany Russia
 ALLIANCES AND THE
F I R S T W O R L D WA R :
THREE EMPERORS’
LEAGUE, 1881

•In the 19th century, Germany’s

brilliant Chancellor, Bismarck,
•solved this problem by keeping
friends with RUSSIA and
•AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
•(the Dreikaiserbund).
 The Alliance “Goose Chase” Begins....

Congress of Berlin (1878)

= The Dual Alliance (1879)

+
- Secret

Germany Austria-Hungary
 Italy Also
Joins

+
Germany Italy
 The formation of the Triple
Entente in 1907 by Britain,
In 1879 Germany and Austria- France and Russia reinforced
Hungary agreed to form a the need for the alliance.
Dual Alliance.

FORMATION OF
THE TRIPLE 1879 1882 1907

ALLIANCE

This became the Triple

Alliance when in 1882 it was
expanded to include Italy, The
three countries agreed to
support each other if attacked
by either France or Russia. It
was renewed at five-yearly
intervals.
 + +

Germany Austria-Hungary Italy

THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE IS FORMED

(1882)
 ALLIANCES AND THE
F I R S T W O R L D WA R :
TRIPLE ALLIANCE,
1882

•Then Bismarck allied with Italy

and Austria-Hungary (the
TRIPLE ALLIANCE, 1882).
•Together with his friendship
with Russia, this kept Germany
safe.
 BISMARCK
GETS FIRED

The New Kaiser, Wilhelm II, fires

Bismarck and adopts a new policy: Place
in the SUN
( Germany starts colonization)
TROUBLE IN THE BALKANS
 ALLIANCES AND THE
F I R S T W O R L D WA R :
THE BALKANS

•But Russia was also allied to

Serbia, Romania and
Bulgaria. When trouble
erupted in the Balkans in 1914,
the nations found their
alliances dragged them into
war…
THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR
 The Other European Powers Start to React...

France Russia

Russia and France form the Double Entente in 1894

  In 1882 Germany, Austria Hungary and Italy
formed the Triple Alliance. The three countries
agreed to support each other if attacked by either
France or Russia.

 France felt threatened by this alliance. Britain was

also concerned by the growth in the Germany
Navy and in 1904 the two countries signed the
Entente Cordiale (friendly understanding). The
FORMATION objective of the alliance was to encourage co-
operation against the perceived threat of Germany.
OF THE  Three years later, Russia who feared the growth in
TRIPLE the Germany Army, joined Britain & France to
form the Triple Entente.
ENTENTE  The Russian government was also concerned
about the possibility of Austria Hungary
increasing the size of its empire. It therefore made
promises to help Serbia if it was attacked by
members of the Triple Alliance
 The Stage is Set

The Triple Entente (1894) The Triple Alliance (1882)

France Germany

Russia Austria-Hungary

England Italy
 ALLIANCES
AND THE
FIRST WORLD
WAR:
WEBS OF
ALLIANCES

There were many more

alliances.
 A L L I A N C E S A N D T H E F I R S T W O R L D WA R :
A N G L O - J A PA N E S E N AVA L A G R E E M E N T, 1 9 0 2

•A very important one was the 1902 Anglo-Japanese naval alliance,

which freed up Great Britain from protecting its Empire in the far east…
Alliances and the First World War:
Entente Cordiale, 1904

… which allowed Britain to make the Entente

Cordiale (‘friendly relationship’) with France in
1904.
How the Alliances caused war

… like mountain climbers tied to the

same rope.
(i.e. it is arguable that THE
SYSTEM OF ALLIANCES
CAUSED WORLD WAR ONE.)
 Please download the document
from MB

CARTOON
ANALYSIS

We shall analyze the cartoons

based on the Alliances of WW 1