The Causes of World War 1

The First World War

The First World War, which occurred in the early twentieth century, is one of the most significant conflicts in world history. In the late twentieth century, countries formed alliances for defense in case of war. The unions aimed at guaranteeing the security of the allied forces in the future. At the same time, countries such as France and Germany were acquiring territories in African countries with rich economic potential. The need for colonies made the dominating countries conflict with each other. As a method of exercising dominance, countries invested in the military and procured many weapons making the situation tense. During the time, the Slavic people desired to shift from the Austria Hungary alliance to Bosnia. However, the shift presented various challenges due to the need for territorial expansion. In protest of Austria-Hungary control, a Serbian assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. In protest of the action, Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia (Raico).

Escalation of the Conflict

Due to the alliances formed, more countries joined the war to help their allied forces making the conflict escalate. For example, Russia joined the battle to defend Serbia. The mobilization prompted Germany to mobilize her forces and attack Russia. The United States entered the war in protest of the bombing of submarines by the Germans during the war. As time progressed, the conflict escalated leading to the Versailles treaty aimed at punishing Germany for the war. In the agreement, Germany was to relinquish all territories as dictated by the League of Nations. Therefore, the treaty reduced the number of colonies for the Germans while giving Europe a more important land to control. World War 1, was about weakening some of the countries which appeared to present a threat to the expansion of areas under the control of competing nations.

Work Cited

Raico, Ralph. Great wars and great leaders. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2010.