The Causes of World War 1

The Balkan Wars, major territorial disputes, were major causes of WW1, indirectly and directly, because it established who the main powers in Europe were. It also reignited, and displayed, the fierce rivalry between Serbia and Austria-Hungary. This rivalry had a huge part in starting World War 1. In 1912, countries started emerging from the rubble of the Ottoman Empire and they created the Balkan League. This league consisted of Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro. To make sure the Turks did not return and retake their land, the Balkan League declared war on Turkey. The fear of having a huge, dominant force that took up so much land south of them was too much for the Austria-Hungarian Empire, so they created the Treaty of London, which was to be used to create peace in the south of continental Europe. However, due to lack of research and knowledge of the local opinions, a piece of land, called Albania, was given to the Balkan league as a whole. This resulted in an internal dispute between Bulgaria and the Balkan League, as Bulgaria believed it had control of this land. Bulgaria soon declared war on the rest of the Balkan League, a war that they were beaten considerably. Serbia, more or less, had control of the entire Balkan region and their neighbours to the north, Austria-Hungary, were angry and troubled since they had such a dominant force, a country that they were traditionally rivals with, below them. This feeling of worry and fear resulted in a rash decision by the Austrian Monarchy; they declared war on Serbia. The dispute over Albania caused so much trouble and was a key factor in the start of the war, as it caused a conflict between two empires, both of whom had alliances, causing the war to spiral out of control.

The immediate cause and the event that ‘pulled the trigger and started the declarations war’, was the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Archduke and heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand.  This was a result of the conflict between the two empires of Serbia and Austria-Hungary over land. This is an example of a quarrel over territory that then ended up being acted on in a violent manner. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian terrorist group, the Black Hand, whilst he was there due to the political situation at that time, 20 July 1914. This event ‘set in train a series of diplomatic events that led inexorably to the outbreak of war in Europe at the end of July 1914’.

Although arguments of colonies and territorial disputes were a major factor in the declaration of war, one reason behind the start of WW1 that was not caused by a conflict over land was the system of Alliances that was in place at the time the First World War started. The web of alliances was ‘the mechanics that brought the world's major nations into the war at one time or another’. The declaration of war from Austria-Hungary on Serbia meant that a number of other different nations were now involved in the war, each alliance varying slightly. Austria-Hungary had organised an alliance with Germany in 1879, which stated that if either got in a conflict with Russia, that the other would help with reinforcements and supplies. Serbia and Russia had an alliance which meant that when war was declared on Serbia, Russia backed them up. However, because Austria-Hungary was now fighting Russia as well as Serbia, Germany by honouring their alliance would join the war, supporting Austro-Hungarians. In 1891, France and Russia had agreed that they would support one other if they were attacked by the Germans or Austria-Hungary. This event occurred, as Russia was fighting against Germany and Austria-Hungary. This meant that Serbia, France and Russia were fighting against the empires, Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany’s wartime tactics involved going through Belgium, to get through to France. Little did they know about the alliance, a different, Treaty of London, that Great Britain and Belguim had that was signed in 1839. This stated that if either country got in a conflict that they would at least remain neutral against each other, if not support the other country. However, due to Britain and Germany already having a troubled relationship, due to a previous territorial dispute, Britain declared war on Germany, therefore supporting, France, Russia and Serbia.

The expansion of empires in the 19th century caused many territorial disputes and it was these conflicts that started causing the tension between major colonies in Europe. At the time, it was looked at as a sign of strength to have as many colonies as possible in as many continents as possible. This was because the different colonies not only meant more land but they had new products that the Empires could trade which would then boost their economic situation. Due to the fact Germany only became a unified nation in 1871, they entered the race to expand very late compared to Britain who had colonies in many different continents, and France who control most of Africa. Germany were left with very little to sustain so they started lurking around for any scrap of land they could find. This would often lead to conflicts between Britain, France and Germany. The German empire soon got more and more frustrated and angry at the two controlling empires in Africa. This is one of the reasons, among others, that Britain decided not only to stay neutral when Belgium got invaded but militarily supported them against Germany.

World War 1 was a conflict that had been brewing for a long time. From 1871, tension between empires in Europe started increasing as each one started wanting more control over the others. To show their power, the empires expanded all over the world. However, this would often lead to conflicts over land. Fighting over land within Europe was another issue as one nation was always scared of another gaining more power then themselves. Both of these examples of conflicts over colonies and territories were the main reason WW1 started. There were other contributing factors, such as, the alliance system, and together they are the reason the Great War started.

Words: 1, 393

Bibliography

"Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, 1914," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (1998). [Cited, 15/3/11]

M. Duffy, firstworldwar.com, 22/8/09, [cited, 15/3/11],    

M. Duffy, firstworldwar.com, 22/8/09, [cited, 17/3/11],

        

L.E. Snellgrove, The Modern World since 1870, Longman Group Ltd., Burnt Mill, Harlow Essex UK, 1981, p. 60

P.M. Kennedy, The rise and fall of the great powers: economic change and military conflict, Random house, London, 1988, p. 269

D.C. Lieven, Russia and the Origins of the First World War, (Macmillan 1983) pg 33

H.W. Poon, The Corner: World War 1, 2007, [cited, 17/3/11],

M. Duffy, firstworldwar.com, 2009, [cited 17/3/11],

H.W. Poon, The Corner: World War 1¸2007, [cited 13/3/11],

S. Tonge, European History: Causes of World War 1, 2001, [cited 12/3/11],

J. Zotti, (2011). Causes of World War 1: territorial disputes. Mercedes College, Banks. F.  7/3/11

---