Why Did The First World War Break Out in 1914?

Why Did The First World War Break Out in 1914? The First World War was the most terrible war ever known due to the number of deaths that took place each day on the gory battlefields of the war. Altogether eight million soldiers lost their lives fighting in the trenches. The system of trenches stretched across Europe from the English Channel to Switzerland and soldiers faced their foe across a few hundred metres of churned up ground with barbed wire known as 'No Man's Land'. The grounds in and around the trenches were turned into a huge ocean of mud because of the rain and exploding bullets. It was impossible to attack the other side's trenches effectively because they were so greatly secured. Twenty million people were wounded and there was an extensive destruction, which ravaged cities and their civilian populations. The First World War lasted for four whole years and broke out in 1914 due to a number of reasons. The reasons that led the nations of Europe and later the world to go to war in 1914 are complex, and it is impossible to say the war started because of one single cause. There are a series of events, which derived in the early 19th century, which engulfed most of Europe by 4th August 1914. Some causes of the war were long-term whereas others were short term. One reason for the outbreak of the war in 1914 was the competition for colonies between the European

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Treaty Of versailles

A) What military restrictions in the Treaty of Versailles were imposed on Germany? The Allies imposed many military restrictions in the Treaty of Versailles to ensure that Germany would never again pose a military threat. The Treaty of Versailles contained a number of provisions to that end. Among them was the requirement that the Rhineland became demilitarized to ensure Germany couldn't attack France. In addition, no German troops were allowed to enter the Rhineland. Strict limits were placed on the size of Germany's armed forces. It was restricted to 100,000 men. The manufacture of military aircraft, tanks and submarines was prohibited. Furthermore, the navy could only build 6 battle ships. The German government also had to ban conscription- all soldiers had to be on a voluntary basis. This meant that people had the choice to join the army instead of being forced. B) Question: Explain why the 'Big Three' disagree over how to treat Germany. The 'Big Three' disagreed on how Germany should be treated on many occasions. As the talks at Versailles went on it became clear that the objectives and outcomes of the Big Three were very different. This was mainly down to the fact that the Big Three had different aims for the treaty. Clemenceau wanted the treaty to be very harsh. Whereas Wilson, wanted the treaty to be fair and wanted world peace. However Lloyd George was often in

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Was The Treaty Of Versailles Justified?

Was The Treaty Of Versailles Justified? The Treaty Of Versailles was an agreement between 32 nations deciding the fate of Germany. It was needed badly as war torn Europe was in turmoil. France had been devastated by the effects of war and sought to cripple Germany. The British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, realised the severe implications that this could have and so wanted a more lenient peace treaty. The American public had little interest in Post War Europe but their President, Woodrow Wilson, wanted a Germany that would make a good neighbour in Europe, hence his fourteen points. To reach a compromise a meeting was needed at the small palace of Versailles, not far from the French capital, Paris. Here the leaders of 'The Big Four', Orlando, Clemenceau, Wilson and George, representing Italy, France, Britain and America respectively, tried to find a lasting peace for Europe. This meeting was intended to bring stability ad peace into a crippled Europe. The date set was June 28th, 1919 and the members of 32 nations met up, in a council of 10, to agree on terms of peace for Germany, however none of the defeated nations were present at this meeting including Russia whose Government was not acknowledged by the Allies. The treaty was to last for 12 months and was to be a long and arduous task, even impeding Wilson's health, but what was the outcome and was the treaty justified?

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Why did Alexander II Emancipate the Serfs in 1861?

Why did Alexander II Emancipate the Serfs in 1861? The emancipation of the serfs by Alexander II in 1861 was the inevitable result of a rising tide of liberalism in Russia, supported by the realisation that Russia's economic needs were incompatible with the system, and driven by the fear that that without reform the state itself could be shattered by revolution. Russia's defeat in the Crimean war was also a major influencing factor as "Defeat in the Crimean war laid bare Russia's weakness, so well conceived reforms were set in train and permitted the birth of politics... Russian tsars had learned little during the century: at its end, they were still claiming to be absolute rulers."[1][1] Alexander II came into power in 1855, as the successor of Nicholas I. He started his reign in a difficult position, as the defeat of the Crimean war in 1854 cast a shadow over the beginning of his reign. The peace treaty of Paris finally drew a conclusion to the war in 1856, Russia ultimately being defeated by Britain and France, leaving the Russian state feeling weak and vulnerable. The Russian war effort had been characterised by the bravery of the soldiers, but poor military performance and incompetence in the military leadership "The Crimean war with its record of official incompetence and the heroism of the serf army... put a seal on the matter."[2][2] However, "the

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''Without the First World War British women would not have gained the right to vote in 1918.'' Do you agree or disagree with this interpretation?

''Without the First World War British women would not have gained the right to vote in 1918.'' Do you agree or disagree with this interpretation? British women over 30 got the vote with the 1918 Representation of the People Act. The law was being changed, to ensure that soldiers coming home from the trenches were able to vote, if they hadn't been changing the law anyway, women were unlikely to have got the vote in 1918. There are many reasons why women got the vote, including: their work during WW1, Lloyd George being a supporter of women's suffrage, the suffragists' campaign of propaganda, the suffragettes' terrorism, the desire of MPs to not alienate potential voters, society's gradually changing attitudes and the fact that Britain did not want to be seen as old-fashioned. During WW1, women undertook jobs that needed doing while men who previously did the jobs were away fighting. They worked in factories making things for the war, like uniforms and shells and took over jobs men had done before the war, like working on farms, driving lorries and delivering coal. This work in factories and other jobs gave women more money and confidence. This confidence meant that women were seen differently, and more able, by many men. This confidence and respect from men helped to gain women the vote in 1918, and was an important contributing factor. The work of women during the war and

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Why was Hitler able to become chancellor of Germany in 1933?

Why was Hitler able to become chancellor of Germany in 1933? On 30th January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany and Von Papen descended himself to a vice-chancellor position. There was political scheming between the leaders which allowed Hitler to become chancellor. There were factors that helped the Nazis and Hitler to gain recognition and come to power. Some factors were long-term reasons such as the Treaty of Versailles which indirectly helped Hitler to become chancellor because the Weimar Government could not cope with the reparations payments. The weaknesses of the Weimar Republic is another long term reason playing a huge part giving the Nazis opportunities to take action and persuading people to vote for them. Some were short term factors such as the Wall Street Crash which led to a depression. This essay will look at how Hitler achieved his chancellor ship. Germany was never governed by a strong leader who kept serious issues under control. The three main leaders Ebert, Hindenburg, and Stresemann all had problems. Ebert could not deliver his promises because he had to form coalitions and had to agree with the people who joined. Hindenburg was not a good politician; he was 84 years old and was controlled by army leaders and business men. The best leader was Stresemann who was respected within and outside Germany. He died, however, before having a

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Was Nicholas II responsible for his own downfall?

Was Nicholas II responsible for his own downfall? Nicholas II acted as an autocratic monarch rather than a constitutional leader, and this was a factor in his eventual downfall and abdication. Other factors included, him leaving Russia in the incapable hand of his wife, Alexandra, who herself was greatly influenced by Rasputin. The 'Holy Man' Rasputin was becoming more and more popular with Alexandra for helping their only son, Alexis's with his haemophilia, and his strange but powerful brand of spirituality certainly affected both Alexandra and Nicholas. It could be argued that Nicholas was himself responsible for allowing the power of Rasputin to extend so far and to influence his political decisions. Historians are in agreement that Nicholas lacked the necessary skills and qualities to rule a rapidly changing country. There were however factors outside of Nicholas' control, including his son's illness, that he could not be held directly responsible for. Indeed Russia was a huge country which was very hard to govern even for the most competent Tsar. One of the first factors which Nicholas was responsible for was his weak character and the fact that he allowed Alexandra to be so dominant. She encouraged him to hold on to his absolute power when a change in his style of leadership may have been a more politically useful tactic. A very significant contributing

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To what extend do you agree with Rhodes view that the British Empire was beneficial to both Britain and the colonies?

This term in history we have been learning about the British Empire and what impacts the British Empire had on the countries they conquered and on the world itself. The British Empire was the largest Empire in history and for a period of time it was the world's globally strongest countries. By 1921 the British Empire was in command of a population of about 458 million people roughly one quarter of the world's population. The land that Britain had conquered covered about a quarter of the earth's surface area (14.2 million squares miles. The legacy that is the British Empire is well known throughout the world; at the peak of its power, people often said" The sun never sets on the British Empire, "As the sun will always be shining on one of Britain's colonies all over the world." However people had many different interpretations on the empire some say they were positive some say negative. There is evidence to support Cecil's Rhodes view the empire was beneficial for both sides. However there is more persuasive evidence that the empire had negative effects. Furthermore if considering why each gave the interpretations that they did , it is obvious that Cecil's Rhodes interpretation is particularly unreliable .In this essay I will be examine different interpretations on the British Empire to answer the following question "To what extend do you agree with Rhode's view that the

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How significant a role did Britain play in the war against Germany, 1939-45?

How significant a role did Britain play in the war against Germany, 1939-45? On the 3rd September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany after they invaded Poland because Britain and France had made an agreement to defend Poland from a German attack. Despite this declaration of war, Britain and France did very little to defend Poland and no combat by the French or British took place for nine months to follow. This period of time was nicknamed the 'Phoney War'. In April 1940, the Germans invaded Norway; Britain attempted to defend Norway but after their defeat, Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister was forced to resign; Winston Spencer Churchill was appointed Prime Minister and formed a National Government. On the 10th June 1940, France was invaded and defeated by Italian-German forces; this resulted in Britain being alone against GermanY. Germany came up with a plan to invade Britain called 'Operation Sealion' because Churchill refused to negotiate with the Germans. For this plan to work the German Luftwaffe would have to have air superiority. The Luftwaffe had an advantage over the RAF of 2300 more aircraft overall, but they had an equal number of fighter planes. Also, the fighter planes from Germany could only spend 30 minutes over South-East England before having to return to refuel, this sometimes resulted in Bombers being left behind and then destroyed by

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Why did Hitler become Chancellor of Germany in 1933?

Why did Hitler become Chancellor of Germany in 1933? Hitler's rise to chancellor came about because of the political problems Germany faced rather than being elected for the position. A number of long-term factors contributed to him becoming chancellor, and were the basis of how he did it. It must be noted that a great deal of why he became chancellor was linked to the problems that existed in Germany in the 1920's as well as the actions taken by. After the 1920's more luck was involved in Hitler gaining steps towards the chancellorship, it was not only his actions but also the actions of others that finalised his plans to the top. His ideas made the people restless and ready for a dictator to come to power, this argument seems to be the most convincing and logical conclusion to reach as to why he became the Chancellor. On the other hand it can be argued that Hitler was in part a product of German culture. German culture at the time stood out as particularly aggressive and racist. The values and ideas found in this culture's history inspired Hitler to do many things that he did and can explain in part why he felt the way he did on certain issues. For example there were talks of the master race in the past history of Germany by philosophers, which might have given Hitler his ideas on the Aryan race. It is believed by some that at the time German culture was going

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