Causes of WW1

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Causes of World War One

There many factors contributing to the start of World War One, one of the bloodiest wars ever fought, both short and long term. The long term causes were Militarism, the Alliance System, Imperialism and Nationalism. The short term events include the First Moroccan Crisis, the Second Moroccan Crisis at Adagir, the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany's "blank cheque" and finally the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo.

Militarism was ripe in the European countries during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Militarism means;

"The belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests".

One example of militarism leading up to World War One are the British-German Naval Race. The Naval Race began after Kaiser William II announced the Tirpitz Plan to increase Germany's naval size. Britain, who went by the "Two-Power Standard" at that point, also increased their naval size. However in 1906 Britain introduced the HMS Dreadnought into service. The Dreadnought was a revolutionary ship, rendering most previous battleships obsolete with its superior speed, thicker armor and