Why Did World War 1 Happen Essay

World War I was called The Great War because it indicated how big the war was going to be, especially since it was fought against the major powers of the world. World War I was fought between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. The reason that WWI happened was due to Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism. These four elements caused the greatest and deadliest war the world had seen at the time. However many people can’t decide which element was the most vital. The most vital element was Alliances. Alliances in WW1 caused all major powers of the world to get involved in the war. The way that alliances work was due to a treaty between mutual countries that clearly stated that if one of the countries were to be attacked, the other country(s) that were part of the treaty had to get involved. Alliances get nations involved even though the other nations might not want to get involved. In alliances the countries should get ready to fight immediately if one of their allies has gone to war. In World War 1 alliances changed everything. In 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The reason was due to a Serbian resident who decided to kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This war could have been between two countries only and it …show more content…
On January 1917, British cryptographers found a message that could have formed an alliance between Germany and Mexico. The message basically said that if Mexico decide to join with Germany in the war Germany would help Mexico take United States territory. The Zimmerman Telegram definitely helped decide the United States to join the Allies during the war. The United States joined the war just three months after the British found out about the Zimmerman Telegram. In this case the initial alliance of the Zimmerman Telegram failed, but it helped cause an alliance between the United States and the Allied