Question

Europe was sitting on a tinderbox waiting to be lit with the flames of war. Explain the statement through causes leading to world war I.

Answer 1

Solution: The First World fought between 1914 till 1919 was one of the most devastating wars fought anywhere in the world. It is also referred to as the Great War. There were certain reasons that led to its outbreak in industrialised Europe

1. Militarism- This was a belief that was steadily gaining popularity in 20th Century Europe. It meant that industrial countries were banking on building and upgrading their standing armies to a point where all conflict could be resolved through military mediation. Diplomacy was seen as getting replaced by military force.
2. Imperialism- European countries were also fighting for more colonies and control over trade routes as colonies were seen as sources of raw material and profits by the European nations. This race for colonies increased tensions between different European countries.
3. Secret Alliances- Due to increasing mistrust between different countries, secret treaties and alliances were formed to support nations in case conflict broke out.
4. Aggressive Nationalism- People were encouraged to not only support their country’s armies but even to join. This was a time when nationalism meant expanding one's own country's pride by occupying new territory and resulted in deep hostilities arising in neighbouring countries across Europe. Italian Fascism from 1923 and National Socialism of German Nazis were forms of aggressive nationalism
5. The trigger point for the war was the assasination of the Austrian heir to the crown, Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a serbian national. This led to Germany entering the war on the Austrian side against the British, French and Russian armies and the first world war was triggered as such.