Was World War 1 Inevitable?

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Karaivanova, Katerina

11/5

14 October, 2004

Was World War 1 Inevitable?

        World War I was a unique event, since it was the first war to involve all major powers of the world. The First World War was inevitable, because of all events that happened prior to it, with exception of the assassination of the Archduke every other cause had a root years earlier, so no matter what, the war would have happened at approximately the same time.

        The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Serbia on June 28, 1914 was the event that directly caused the First World War. (Causes) It was the “spark” for the Great War, but also a coincidence. (Features) If the Serbian nationalist who did it was not in the exactly same café in front of which Franz Ferdinand stopped, this would not have occurred at all. If he was not dead, then Austria – Hungary would not have sent Serbia an ultimatum, and declared war on July 28, 1914. (Features) Thus, this coincidence actually is what directly caused the war at that particular moment. However, even if it hadn’t occurred, the war would have started in the near future.

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        One of the things that made the First World War practically inevitable was the strong will for power that some countries had. Germany, for example, was pretty confident that it can become a major power and was ready to do whatever it takes to become one.( 11.2 Causes) So Germany wanted to fight, in order to get more powerful and control more things. Great Britain, France and Russia had similar if not completely the same goals. Thus, sooner or later they would have fought a war for power.

        Imperialism was another important feature that caused World War I and that ...

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