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The armies of both France and Germany had more than doubled between 1870 and 1914. The rivalry between the powers led to a building up of weapons and an increase in distrust.
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In the Triple Alliance there were:
Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy -
By 1900, Britain owned a quarter of the world. Countries such as Canada, India, South Africa, Egypt, Australia and New Zealand were either owned by Britain or were still highly influenced by the British Empire. Queen Victoria had been crowned Empress of India. Huge amounts of money were made from these colonies and Britain had a powerful military presence in all parts of the world. The Empire was seen as the status symbol of a country that was the most powerful in the world. Hence Britain’s titl
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The launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 made matters worse. This ship was fast, heavily armoured with powerful guns and it made all previous battleships obsolete.
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In the Triple Entente there were: Britain, France and Russia
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By 1914 Italy was only a nominal member of the Triple Alliance. She had concluded a secret treaty with France by which she promised to stay neutral if Germany attacked France and when war broke out she stayed out. This meant that Germany had only one dependable ally, Austria-Hungary.
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The System of Alliances / rivalry between the powers
Militarism
Nationalism
Crises before 1914
The Eastern Question / The Balkans
Domestic political factors -
The direct cause of WWI was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
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FRanz erdinands was dead to shot together his wife by the Nacionalist Gravrilo Princip
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On July 5, Kaiser Wilhelm secretly pledged his support, giving Austria-Hungary a so-called carte blanche or “blank check” assurance of Germany’s backing in the case of war.
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On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the tenuous peace between Europe’s great powers collapsed. Within a week, Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Serbia had lined up against Austria-Hungary and Germany, and World War I had begun.
