Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

why did the arms race help cause WW1

Good Essays
560 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
why did the arms race help cause WW1
The Arms Race was a race to build the biggest army, navy and air force in preparation for looming conflict. All countries except Britain and Germany tried to build colossal armies. Britain and Germany instead tried to build up their respective navies, as Germany wanted their navy to beat the size of Britain's.
In Germany they had the biggest army, and it was the best trained and most powerful out of all armies involved in World War One. However Britain, being completely surrounded by water, had large powerful navy helped to keep the empire safe. Also, it wasn't until after WW1 that Air Force really played its part, as planes were still rather early in development and could not fly from country to country and accurately bomb a target.
All the countries began a "contest" for who was the best by doing all that stuff. They all really wanted to "show off" their weapons etc. So because of that everyone(countries) are thinking that the other is going to attack them and it kept going on and on. Because of that the countries started making alliances with other countries. When the Archduke of Austria-Hungary was killed and Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Then because of the alliances almost all of Europe was in the war. 1. a. After examining one of the maps of Europe, explain whether Germany or Great Britain had the greater need for a strong navy.
Germany
b. Explain why you chose this country. Because Germany was surrounded by the Triple Entente (the Great Britain, France, Russia). So Germany was land-locked. Germany needed a strong navy so that it would have a place in Europe, and to confront other countries.
c. Based on the state of the arms race in 1914, if you were a German citizen, how would you feel? Explain why.
I would feel nervous but I would feel more confident. Once again Germany is not on good terms with the countries surrounding them. It would cause tension seeing soldiers with guns walking along boarders every day. But Germany catapulted from being the fifth largest naval force to the second largest. So I would have been proud. And I would gain confidence. d. Based on the state of the arms race in 1914, if you were a British citizen, how would you feel? Explain why. I would feel safe. The Great Britain is an island nation. It also has the strongest naval force. So to me other nations invading the Great Britain are impossible.
2. How did the naval arms race encourage the development of the alliance system the way it did? Be sure to refer to Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, as well as each of the alliance groups specifically. In the naval arms race, Germany wanted to have a naval army as strong as the Great Britain since the strong naval army brought the Great Britain the control right of the oceans. France and Russia—two of the countries right beside Germany didn’t want Germany to be a threat to them. So this caused France, Russia, and Great Britain to form into an alliance group (the Triple Alliance).
3. a. How was Canada connected to the European system of Empires? Canada used to be the colony of the Great Britain and France. But then the Great Britain took over. Canada was a Dominion of Great Britain.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the early 1900's there was a naval race between great Brittan and the Germans. Both countries were racing to build warships that would keep their countries safe on the water because there was a constant threat of naval attack. The naval race caused heavy tension between Great Brittan and Germany. Although the Germans had the clear advantage by having the U-boats functioning underwater first, Great Brittan proved to be the victor of the naval race by mass producing ships to overwhelm the small fleet of U-boats. This was a huge part of the allies winning the war because the Germans were not attack Great Brittan at all due to their massive fleet, also the Germans were not able to get around France and attack the North Western or Western parts of France because of the British Navy, so the French focused all of their men on the Eastern border of France. This advantage of the focusing all of their soldiers on the eastern front with the protection of the British Navy helped the Allies push the Germans back into Germany.…

    • 869 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During this alliance time Germany was the biggest power for their side called Central Powers. Since Germany was the biggest they had to make up for the smaller countries and over tripled their spending. With Germany leading this side with Austro-Hungarian empire, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire they were surrounded by the Allied powers seen on Doc. 2. Europe was often blamed for the starting of WW1 because of the mobilization of their armies even though Russia started mobilizing However, in The Master of the Seas by Eugene-Melchior de Vogue it says “Any country that does not wish to become less important must obtain as much new territory as their rivals are…

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The development of the two rival alliance systems which included the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria- Hungary and Italy) and the Triple Entente (France, Russia and Great Britain) escalated into an European war. Furthermore, the two alliance systems could start an European…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The menace of the hostile division led to an arms race, another cause of World War One. Germany was the leader in a military organization and efficiency, the great powers of Europe copied the universal conscription and detailed planning of the Prussian System. The armies of France and Germany doubled in size between 1870 and 1914. Naval expansion was also competitive, particularly between Germany and Great Britain. British had established the principle that maintained naval superiority in the event of the…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Punic Wars

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages

    gave them the advantage in the first war, although they suffered a large loss at the battle…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Asses the importance of each of the following in causing the First World War: nationalism, alliances, economic factors.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Militarism played a humongous role in World War 1 because, since people became more nationalistic over their home countries, they wished to prove superiority and dominance through their armament forces. Due to the Russian’s increasing army size, the Germans felt forced to increase spending on their own army so as to be undoubtedly superior to the Russians. The Germans also believed that strong navy and army forces were necessary to survive as a country and as an imperial power (2). Soon enough, the Germans had the largest army amongst the soon-to-be Central and Allied Powers. Great Britain stood their ground with the largest navy throughout the World War 1 period (1). Throughout World War 1, Germany was repeatedly bashed by surrounding countries…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Before WW1, the competition between the main European powers increased with the militarism’s and imperialism’s factors. The imperialism trained countries into competition to the conquest of new territories, market and raw materials. This rivalry would also conduct to the incensement of militarism through an arms race by building of the biggest navies, armies and air force. All those factors helped to…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Wwi Essay

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The most important of the long term effects leading to the outbreak of war was imperialism. Seemingly all at once, the great European Empires broke free of their decided boundaries, and expanded into colonies spanning the entire earth. Most colonized was Africa, due to the fact that it seemed every country had a piece of her. Distances meant nothing, as many countries spread over thousands of thousands of miles to set up a new colony. England holds the best example of this, as it managed to colonize Australia. Unfortunately, Germany was in troubled times. Instead of a unified country, Germany saw herself in many states. When the great Empires began to spread, Germany pulled together. This, however, was too late, and Germany was left with little to colonize. They began to pick up the scraps, the chunks of countries not colonized, which tended to yield little resources to the motherland, in hopes of still keeping some power. Germany now felt jealous, and needed to prove its power to the rest of Europe. They fought for new colonies, although gained little. Soon, they felt the need to increase the army and navy, in the hopes of becoming the strongest militarized nation. Militarism was not unusual, and generally poses little threat. The Kaiser wanted Germany to be a strong world power, with a Navy enough to challenge Great Britain's. This began the Naval Race. Great Britain was…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The industrial ambitions of Germany illustrate the rapid growth of Wilhelm II’s ambitions in Europe after many decades of economic prosperity in the 19th century. These industrial developments define the increasing ambition of Germany to rival the naval power of Great Britain and the military strength of France on the Continent. In this context, the Kaiser sought develop a world-class modern navy that would threaten the imperialism of England as a dominant force in Europe. More so, Germany; massive heavy industrial complex allowed for the building of large warships, artillery, and other modern weapons of total war, which posed a direct threat to the neighboring European nations. Politically, England France responded to German industrial militarization by producing its own weapons of total war that created massive arms race throughout the 1900s and into the 1910s.…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the early 20th century the European powers, driven by nationalist and militarism rivalry, had restructured and fortified their soldiers and fleets, bringing the European continent to the brink of war. There are many events that led to the military conflict that transpired between 1914-1918 is known as World War I. This war divided Europe and by the end of it several different countries that belonged to two different coalitions would have participated directly and indirectly. The government’s response to the arms race was to increase military spending, fueling and escalating a reactive munitions sprint. This race and threat level…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Administrative policies were symbiotically integrated with militaristic endeavors. The German military had been deemed a "State within the State" with the General Staff's control over Parliament and politicians (World War I). Military competition, judged relatively between the major European powers, bolstered war capabilities and instilled a cultural paranoia. "It is also important to take notice of the fact that from 1910 to 1914, while France increased her [defense] expenditure by 10%, Britain by 13%, Russia by 39%, and Germany was the most militaristic as she increased by 73%." (World War I). Germany in particular sought to expand its navy with the 1900 Naval Law which doubled its inventory to 24 battleships however, the British always maintained naval superiority with its Dreadnoughts. British obsession with naval dominance was strong government rhetoric which exaggerated military expansionism. A simple naivety in the potential scale of unchecked aggression and bloodshed of a war stemmed from the conscription program and technology. A delusion of possible invincibility and expedient triumph soaked the ideology of each major European…

    • 1196 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Germany had challenged Britain as the number one maritime control.…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Ionian Revolt

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The German government decided to prevent their allies from getting any supplies that they needed from overseas what they had to do was to take over the seas, but they couldn’t use the blockade tactic like the British did, because the German wasn’t as powerful as the British navy was.…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The naval race between Germany and Britain created major tensions in the continent, similar to those of the Cold War. The United Kingdom had the biggest navy in the world prior to this, but on Wilhelm II’s orders and enthusiasm the German Navy began to expand drastically. The British defense policy at that time was to make sure that their navy was at least twice the size of the next two largest navies. Also, over 85% of men of military age in France and 50% in Germany had served in the army or navy, another feat of the military at that time. In 1880 Germany had 88.000 tons of military shipping, Britain 650,000; by 1910 the figures were 964,000 and 2,174,000 respectively.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics