Cause of World War 1

        The alliance system, the treaties that brought these alliances about and the balance of power in Europe are all reasons to why World War One started. But are they linked to nationalistic fervour? Many historians would say no, but under the definition given by the two sources in the introduction, I would say yes. The countries signed treaties and formed alliances to make their nation better, but also to solve disputes. The alliance system of Britain, France and Russia versus Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy came about because of colonial tensions and treaties to solve international disputes peacefully. Britain had strong problems with Germany’s nationalistic militarism, and so fought against it (and trying to compete to make the nation seem better to the people.) France had fierce issues with Germany over the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the giving up of Alsace-Lorraine (a French province) as well as colonial disputes. Germany saw the French as a threat, and invaded through Belgium to get to France. A 75-year-old treaty that Belgium held with Britain brought the British Empire into the war. All these dealings of treaties and alliances to provide the best for the nation were certainly major contributors to the outbreak of The Great War.

        The friction of the Balkans region and the assassination of Franz Ferdinand are some of the best examples of the nationalistic fervour that let to the outbreak of World War One. Many historians call the assassination “the spark that lit the bonfire”, that is The Great War. The Balkans was a mix of different nationalities, which had been under Turkish rule for centuries. Russia wanted to control the area to help Serbia, under its treaty with the country, to create a grand Slav nation for the area. Austria-Hungary also wanted to control the area, to gain trade routes in the Mediterranean, as did the Germans with a Berlin – Baghdad railway. In 1908, when Austria-Hungary took over Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russia and Serbia were livid, but they quickly backed off when Germany said it would support Austria-Hungary. Russia, determined to gain control over the area with Serbia, and still fuming, began a rapid arms build-up. In 1912, a newly formed Balkan League, comprising of Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro), defeated Turkey and gained more land from a decrypted Ottoman Empire, which was quickly diminishing. This victory gave more land to Serbia and Bulgaria, in particular, but in 1913, the Balkan League fell out because Bulgaria wanted more territory. Bulgaria then signed an alliance with Germany in 1914, to become an ally of the Triple Alliance. All of the nationalistic ideas of land and a grand Empire were really getting out of hand. Patriotism was being taken to the next level (war) to satisfy the people of the country. It was this type of extremism in Serbia, which led to the killing of Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne. He had openly said that he was opposed to the idea of a grand Slav nation, and was going to Serbia to try to calm down the Serbs down. He was parading down of the main streets of Sarajevo, (on a Serbian national holiday, St Vitus’ day, ironically) when members of a secret radical, and nationalist, group called the Black Hand lined parts of the street to kill the prince. The whole nationalist expectations of the country had to be met to keep the people happy and the Black Hand saw this as the way to do it. How horribly wrong he was! Nationalism and patriotic militarism collided into an ugly mess in the Balkans, which was the fuse that led to the detonation of World War One.

        The arms race at land and sea, and the German militarism of the and late 19th and early 20th centuries definitely provided extra national tensions across Europe in the war that was supposed to end all wars. The naval rivalry that Britain and Germany had is a good example of the tensions between the two countries. Britain had a supreme navy to Germany, used for trade, colonisation and defence of the empire. Germany was jealous of this, so in 1898 Kaiser Wilhelm II pronounced that Germany would build a powerful navy. Germany had the better technology to do this of the two, and was able to produce plenty of warships in a short space of time. They claimed it was to protect its growing trade. In 1906, Britain retaliated by launching a new type of warship called the Dreadnought. The Germans countered this action by starting its own line of Dreadnoughts. All of this competition to have the best navy came from nationalism and the want to improve the nation’s military and trade capabilities. It contributed to the strains between the two countries and was another reason for the two to go to war. The arms land race between all of the mainland major powers of Europe was also a major factor to the causes of World War One. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Russia and France all increased their military numbers, because the idea at the time was that war was going to be happen sooner rather later, and all the major powers needed to be ready. Conscription was compulsory in all of these countries to help bolster the militarism. In Germany, in particular, the Kaiser and the people of Germany glorified militarism and the ideas of war. Expansion of Germany from a European power to a world Empire power was what the Kaiser and the people of Germany wanted. To do this, they needed to increase the size of the army and navy. However, most of the world’s land was colonised at this stage, so Germany would have to take land from some of the other colonised powers. Of course, this was only going to make tensions between the powers of Europe even worse. German militarism and the arms race at land and sea was just more explosives added to the bomb that was to explode into The Great War.  

        In conclusion, nationalistic fervour was responsible for the outbreak of war for a number of reasons. The colonisation of Africa, Germany’s want to expand into an empire, and the crises at Morocco are all examples of the strong nationalism of the times. The alignment of the alliance system and the treaties to better the countries involved caused more friction in the lead up to a seemingly inevitable war. The arms race at sea and land, with the ideals of German militarism added to the tide of emotion that had engulfed Europe in the early 20th century. But most importantly, the spark of the war came from the troubled Balkans region, who all wanted their own nations, and showed this through the assassination of the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne. These are all major contributors to the outbreak of World War One, coming from nationalism, patriotism and nationalistic fervour.  

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