World War I: A Summary of Causes, Key Events, and Outcomes
Europe on the Brink of War: 1914
In 1914, Europe was the center of political, economic, and cultural development around the world. France, Britain, and Germany were the most advanced nations in Europe. However, competition between them was fierce. Russia, the Balkans, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey were beginning to modernize. Political systems varied: Britain had a strong democracy, while Germany and Austria-Hungary had liberal constitutions but authoritarian systems. In Russia, the Tsar held absolute power.
Main Points of Conflict Before 1914
- Colonial rivalry
- Territorial claims
Alliance Systems
Triple Alliance: Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Germany.
Triple Entente: France, Russia, and the United Kingdom.
The Triple Alliance was formed in 1879 as a military agreement in which Germany and Austria-Hungary committed to defending each other if attacked by Russia. Italy joined in 1882 but later switched to the Triple Entente because Austria-Hungary had invaded and taken Trentino and Istria.
The Triple Entente was formed in 1891 by France and Russia. In 1904, France and Britain ended their rivalry, and Britain joined the Entente with France and Russia. Serbia, Romania, and Greece were aligned with the Triple Entente, while Bulgaria and Turkey were aligned with the Triple Alliance.
Causes of World War I
- Economic rivalry: Between Britain and Germany, and financial interests between France and Russia. Germany’s construction of a new type of powerful warship accelerated the arms race.
- Arms Race: Pre-war Commonwealth countries had invested heavily in creating new weapons and preparing their armies.
- Territorial and colonial rivalry: Germany wanted more colonies, feeling it had too few compared to its economic potential.
- The rise of nationalism: This generated a sense of victimhood among people of all countries as nationalist sentiment grew. This sentiment led to feelings of superiority and animosity towards other countries. For example, France was against Germany for taking Alsace and Lorraine, the French and Germans were against the Slavs due to expansion, and Italians and Hungarians were against Austria-Hungary for taking parts of their territory. The Balkans (Croatians, Czechs, Poles, etc.) wanted independence.
Two prominent ideologies were Pan-Germanism, which sought to unite all peoples of Germanic origin, and Pan-Slavism, which sought to unite all peoples of Slavic origin.
The Outbreak of War (July-August 1914)
The assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, by a Serbian nationalist funded by a nationwide organization, triggered the war. The Austro-Hungarian Empire gave an ultimatum to Serbia to fight against the terrorists. When Serbia refused, Austria-Hungary declared war and bombed Serbia’s capital. Russia, not wanting further expansion of Austria-Hungary, mobilized its troops. Germany felt threatened and sent an ultimatum to Russia to halt mobilization and one to France to remain neutral in case of a conflict between Russia and Germany. When Russia and France did not comply, Germany declared war on them. Germany then applied the Schlieffen Plan, which involved invading Belgium to attack France. Belgium’s refusal to violate its neutrality led Britain to enter the war against Germany.
Pacifist movements failed. On July 31, Jean Jaurès, a symbol of peace, was assassinated by a nationalist, demoralizing peace advocates.
The Year 1917
The civilian population no longer had the resources to survive and was tired of the war. Russia began a revolution led by the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, took power and asked the Central Powers for Russia’s withdrawal from the war through the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Russia’s withdrawal was offset by the entry of the United States. The reason for the US entry was the confrontations between German submarines and American ships, and the possibility that the US would not recover credits provided to France and Britain if they lost.
The End of the War
The lack of essential products led people to demand an end to the war. The declaration of war in favor of the United States brought a quick end to the conflict, as the US was superior to the Triple Alliance. Bulgaria fell, Turkey was in the process of dissolution, and the Yugoslav council wanted to reunite the Slavs. After the destruction of Austria’s borders, peace was agreed upon. The German Republic was proclaimed, and peace was signed with France.