What reasons explain the outbreak of World War One- Which country is most to blame?

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What reasons explain the outbreak of World War One- Which country is most to blame?

There are many reasons that can explain the outbreak of World War One. All the countries involved can shoulder some of the blame for the war. In this essay I will look at the different reasons for the outbreak of World War one and I will consider which country is most to blame.

Tension had been building up between the major powers for a long time. Since 1817, the Franco-Prussian war France had hated Germany. Germany had won the war and had taken the Provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. Both countries hated each other since then. France was afraid that the Germans might attack again and were jealous of Germanys growing wealth. France felt threatened by the ambitions of Kaiser Wilhelm. There was great suspicion and mistrust between all of the major powers. Germanys leader (Kaiser Wilhelm) was very ambitious and wanted Germany to become the greatest nation in the world. This annoyed Britain, who was the most powerful nation at the time. Germany did not have a very big empire. All of the main European countries were either concerned about