What were the causes of hostility which led up to the First World War?

History 3rd March 2002

Jessica Clayton – Lower VI

The fundamental causes of the conflict between Europe and the rest of the world were rooted deeply in the European history of the previous century, particularly in the political and economic policies that prevailed on the Continent in the late 1800s. This was the time in which the world recognised the emergence of Germany as a great world power. The underlying causes of World War I were the spirit of intense nationalism that divided Europe throughout the 19th and into the 20th century, the political and economic rivalry among the nations and the hostility at military power.

In 1914, Europe still dominated the rest of the world, with Germany taking the leading power both economically and militarily. Whilst Germany had taken over the production of pig iron and steel, Britain; France; Belgium; Italy and Austria-Hungary still lapsed well behind. Russia could never be a threat to Germany or even Britain, despite their industry expanding rapidly. But outside of Europe – it seemed the USA was producing more steel and pig iron than Germany and Britain combined. Japan was too modernising rapidly and was regarded as one of the most powerful countries in the world. It was soon clear that Europe was beginning to lose it’s domination against the rest of the world. Soon this hostility between countries concerning the industry and economy was to cause a major war.

Another cause of hostility between countries leading up to the First World War was that of politics. Whilst the USA, Britain and France were ruled democratically by a government, the rulers and governments of other countries varied greatly, as shown :-

GERMANY : had an elected lower house of parliament called the ‘Reichstag’. Real power, however, lay with the chancellor and emperor.

ITALY : was a monarchy with an elected parliament, but the right to vote was limited.

JAPAN : had an elected lower house but their franchise was restricted.

RUSSIA/AUSTRIA-HUNGARY : were ruled by an emperor and were ‘autocratic’ rulers – although ...

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GERMANY : had an elected lower house of parliament called the ‘Reichstag’. Real power, however, lay with the chancellor and emperor.

ITALY : was a monarchy with an elected parliament, but the right to vote was limited.

JAPAN : had an elected lower house but their franchise was restricted.

RUSSIA/AUSTRIA-HUNGARY : were ruled by an emperor and were ‘autocratic’ rulers – although there was a parliament, the ruler often ignored their decisions.

Varied power and politics throughout the world, led to great rivalry therefore causing much animosity.

During 1902, Europe divided itself into two alliance systems :-

‘The Triple Alliance’ of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.
‘The Triple Entente’ of Britain, France and Russia. In addition Japan also signed an alliance with Britain.

There was undoubtedly friction caused between the two systems – many people thought it would culminate in a world war.

There were many causes of friction which threatened to disrupt the peace of Europe: Anglo-German rivalry; French resentment at the loss of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany; German resentment at Britain; Russia and France for trying to ally against her and Russian hostility at Austrian ambitions in the Balkans. Perhaps the most dangerous hostility of all was Serbia’s desire to free one’s nation from the control of people of another nationality – they wanted to unite all Serbs and Croats. If the Serbs and Croats were to unite then it was inevitable that the Italians, Czechs, Slovaks and Poles would demand their independence too. Hostility was formed when the Austrians became keen to start a preventive war against Serbia.

In 1905, the Germans made an attempt to test the recently signed Anglo-French alliance. One of the few areas in Africa at this time not occupied by Europe, was Morocco. England and France hoped they could also gain power over this also, but after declaring their plans, Germany also declared they would support the Sultan of Morocco in keeping their country’s independence. However, to Germany’s surprise, Russia, Italy and Spain also supported the Anglo-French plans and Germany suffered a great diplomatic defeat in what is known as the ‘Moroccan Crisis’. After this defeat, Germany thought the world was allying against her and it therefore caused much hatred.

The British agreement with Russia in 1907 was an undoubtedly logical move. For years Russia and Britain had had many differences causing a long-standing rivalry. But both countries were keen to end this and so they signed a non-military alliance. The Germans, however, viewed it as a move against them – yet again they thought other European countries were trying to encircle her in a hostile and unfriendly alliance.

The Bosnia Crisis of 1908 heightened the animosity. The Austrians were determined more than ever to capture the Turkish province of Bosnia – it was a deliberate aim at Serbia which had also been hoping to capture Bosnia. The Serbs put a plea to their fellow Slavs, the Russians who then held a conference for French and British support. But it soon became evident that Germany would support Austria in the event of war, so the French withdrew any help for they did not want to become involved in a war in the Balkans; Britain did no more than protest to Austria and the Russians did not dare become involved without their allies. Austria kept Bosnia, but they soon realised they had made a mistake for Serbia remained bitterly hostile and many believe it was this hostility that caused the First World War.

A third crisis, again in Morocco, occurred in 1911 when the German government sent a warship to Agadir in protest against French efforts to secure domination in Morocco. After threats of war on both sides, the matter was settled by a colonial compromise between France and Germany in November 1911. But the Germans were becoming rapidly ‘anti-British’, especially because Britain’s naval power was greatly expanding – towards the end of 1911, they had built eight ‘Dreadnought’ battleships, Germany had only four. Yet again an increasing sense of hostility had been formed, and now a World War seemed imminent.

The Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 resulted in an intensified desire on the part of Serbia to capture the parts of Austria-Hungary inhabited by Slavic’s. It also strengthened Austro-Hungarian suspicion of Serbia and left Bulgaria and Turkey, both defeated in the wars, with a desire for revenge. Germany was disappointed because Turkey had been deprived of its European territory by the Balkan Wars, so it increased the size of its army. France responded by expanding peacetime military service from two to three years. Following the example of the other nations, the rest of Europe hurriedly gathered together the best military available, for now the great loom of war was inevitable.

The war was, in conclusion caused for many reasons. Years of feuding, hostility and animosity culminated in one of the greatest wars our world has seen. But who was really to blame? Despite the fact the world was in fact against Germany – should the blame be shared equally or even more so amongst other countries? I think the answer to this is yes, for if we are to look at the evidence summarised in this essay, Germany are certainly not to take all the blame for what was a brutal and most hostile war.