To what extent was Germany to blame for the outbreak of War in 1914?

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To what extent was Germany to blame for the outbreak of War in 1914?

Whether Germany really was to blame for the World War has been a source of debate for historians for many years. The general consensus of opinion is that Germany was the main aggressor and has been held in the eyes of the victorious nations to be the cause of war in 1914. However, contrast to popular opinion, the original catalyst of war appears to have not been Germanys fault at all.

        The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, left Austria fuming with anger. Austria immediately blamed this on Serbia. Serbia was a small country in the Balkans. It had recently self-determined itself as an independent nation in 1878. Since this time, it had been overtly hostile towards Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary feared that ethnic groups within itself would attempt to break away and self-determine themselves, as did the people in Serbia, unless the pan-slavist movement was stopped. By 1914, Austria-Hungary was determined to stop Serbia. For this reason, it would have been looking for an excuse to start war with Serbia. Austria-Hungary declared war with Serbia on the 28th of July.

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        Germany was truly united with Austria-Hungary. Germany gave Austria-Hungary a ‘blank cheque’ and assured them that Germany would stand by Austria with whatever decision it took. However, by doing this, Germany put itself in a very compromising position. Beforehand, Kaiser Willhelm II had let the reinsurance pact between Russia and Germany run out. This allowed Russia to hold talks and form treaties with France. With Russia and France allied, Germany was liable for a war on two fronts, something that could cripple Germany. On top of this, Russia would have been annoyed by the fact that Austria-Hungary was moving in ...

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