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Causes of War

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Causes of the First World War
This document was written by Stephen Tonge. I am most grateful to have his kind permission to include it on the web site.

Europe Before 1914: the Main Powers Triple Entente | Name | Head of State | Allies | Disputes | Britain | King George V (1901-1936)
Constitutional Monarchy | France, Russia | Naval arms race economic rivalry with Germany | France | President Raymond Poincaire
Parliamentary Democracy | Britain, Russia | Wanted the return of the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine from Germany | Russia | Tsar Nicholas II (1894-1917)
Monarchy | Britain, France | Rivals with Austria for control of the Balkans
Strained relations with Britain. | Triple Alliance | Germany | Kaiser William II (1888-1918)
Constitutional Monarchy | Italy, Austria- Hungary. | Rivals with France over Alsace, Britain over her navy. | Austria- Hungary | Kaiser Franz Joseph (1848-1916)
Constitutional Monarchy | Italy, Germany | Rivalry with Russia over the Balkans, Territorial disputes with her ally, Italy | Italy | King Victor Emmanuel III (1900-1946)
Constitutional Monarchy | Austria, Germany | Disputes with France in North Africa large Italian communities lived in the Austrian Empire. |
The direct cause of WWI was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. However historians feel that a number of factors contributed to the rivalry between the Great powers that allowed war on such a wide-scale to break out.
A major historical debate still rages about who has the ultimate responsibility for the outbreak of war. Germany and Austria are usually regarded as the main culprits. However unlike World War Two there is no one easily identifiable bad guy!
Below are some of the main long-term causes that are identified by historians:-
The System of Alliances / rivalry between the powers
Militarism
Nationalism

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