Cause Of World War I

World War I was a gruesome war in which millions of people lost their lives. Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated on June 28 1914, setting the war into motion. The slaughter didn’t cease until November 11, 1918 . The war took place in Europe but had an impact on European colonies throughout the world. Aside from the Archduke’s assassination, there were four main causes of the war: a rising sense of nationalism in the warring countries, tensions between countries because of imperialism, mobilization caused by militarism, and the forming of alliances between European nations.
Nationalism unified countries and motivated them to defend their homes. German Chancellor Bernhard von Bulow encouraged the German Congress to go to war. He stated,
“In the coming century the German people will be a hammer or an anvil”. Chancellor von Bulow meant that Germany will be a victim of the war unless they are the ones to attack first. This heightened nationalism is what prepared …show more content…
Military commanders did not make the right decisions when doing this. In Origins of the World War, Sidney Bradshaw Fay describes that, “In each country [of Europe] political and military leaders did certain things which lead to the mobilization [of their armies for war]”. Fay blames the war on the leaders of militaries for failing to attempt to negotiate peace. Instead of doing this, they immediately gathered troops and supplies instead of trying to work things through. Countries spent more money on military supplies in right before the war in 1914 than they did in 1870. Great Britain spent $3.54, France spent $2.92, and Germany spent $1.28 per capita on ammunition in 1870. Each aforementioned nation spent $8.23, $7.07, and $3.44 respectively in 1914 (Craig). The reason for the spike in ammunition purchases was the preparation for the war. Militaries began spending more money on supplies for war instead of attempting to resolve