World War One: Germany
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
"Was World War 1 Germany's fault?
This is a widely debated topic and at first sight it can seem like Germany caused the war. It is said that Germany purposefully triggered World War One by escalating the crisis by several historians by propaganda and nationalism.
However I think Germany was not the sole responsibility of the war; even today people debate about which nation has the burden of this. In the months leading up to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand there was a lot of built up tension between countries. Thus, outbreak of war was inevitable.
The blame could be shared between several countries. Austria Hungary, for example, had refused to give Bosnia independence which had previously been Serbia's land. This had stirred nationalist movement in Serbia, which included the Serbian terrorist group, the Black Hand. A member of this organisation, 19 year old Gavrilo Princip shot the heir to the Austrian- Hungarian throne along with his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenburg. Austria retaliated and declared war on Serbia which triggered World War 1. Therefore blame could also be put onto Serbia and Austria.
Germany had already provoked anti-German sentiment in Britain and France.
In Britain, Germany had already overtaken Britain as the main producer of iron and steel; the central industrial country. Its army was far larger than Britain's, although Britain compensated by having a large navy. Preceding the war, Germany and Britain had
"competed" against each other to get the larger navy. In accordance with the Kaiser's wishes, Germany began to expand its navy in order to keep ahead of Britain. Britain reacted by embarking on their own expansion in order to maintain their naval supremacy. There were also disputes about colonies which contributed.
France was also provoked by the Franco-Prussian war in which Germany had conquered Alsace Lorraine and created a rivalry between the two countries. However both countries had
"Was World War 1 Germany's fault?
This is a widely debated topic and at first sight it can seem like Germany caused the war. It is said that Germany purposefully triggered World War One by escalating the crisis by several historians by propaganda and nationalism.
However I think Germany was not the sole responsibility of the war; even today people debate about which nation has the burden of this. In the months leading up to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand there was a lot of built up tension between countries. Thus, outbreak of war was inevitable.
The blame could be shared between several countries. Austria Hungary, for example, had refused to give Bosnia independence which had previously been Serbia's land. This had stirred nationalist movement in Serbia, which included the Serbian terrorist group, the Black Hand. A member of this organisation, 19 year old Gavrilo Princip shot the heir to the Austrian- Hungarian throne along with his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenburg. Austria retaliated and declared war on Serbia which triggered World War 1. Therefore blame could also be put onto Serbia and Austria.
Germany had already provoked anti-German sentiment in Britain and France.
In Britain, Germany had already overtaken Britain as the main producer of iron and steel; the central industrial country. Its army was far larger than Britain's, although Britain compensated by having a large navy. Preceding the war, Germany and Britain had
"competed" against each other to get the larger navy. In accordance with the Kaiser's wishes, Germany began to expand its navy in order to keep ahead of Britain. Britain reacted by embarking on their own expansion in order to maintain their naval supremacy. There were also disputes about colonies which contributed.
France was also provoked by the Franco-Prussian war in which Germany had conquered Alsace Lorraine and created a rivalry between the two countries. However both countries had