The Great War

Militarism One way for countries to express their strength is through their military. In the 19 th century, the nations of Europe tried to build the largest armies they could. To help recruit troops, they glorified their armies and navies with fancy uniforms. The army and navy were career options for second and third sons of aristocrats and gave a chance for social mobility to poor young men.

Alliances The Congress of Vienna had established a ‘balance of power’ in Europe. No nation could hope to attack another and be certain of victory. What would you do if you thought you might have to fight someone you couldn’t beat? Bring a friend. The nations of Europe formed alliances, agreeing to protect one another if attacked. In 1882, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the Triple Alliance. To protect themselves Britain, France and Russia formed the Triple Entente

Imperialism The great powers of Europe all sought to increase the size of their empires. But this was a zero-sum game. For one country to gain, another had to lose.

Nationalism A nation is a group of people with the same language and culture. It was not always a synonym for country. In the 19 th and early 20 th centuries, many nationalities might be found within a large empire. As the Ottoman Empire declined, some of the nations it had conquered began declaring independence.

The MAIN Causes of World War I M ilitarism A lliances I mperialism N ationalism By 1914, Europe was a powder keg, waiting for a spark.

The Spark In 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Franz-Ferdinand visited the city of Sarajevo with his wife, Countess Sophie. Sarajevo was part of Austria- Hungary, but many Serbs lived there and many of them thought it should be part of Serbia. On 28 June, a group of six Bosnian Serbs assassinated Franz-Ferdinand and Sophie.

War Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the attack and declared war on 28 July Serbia had an alliance with Russia. Russia declares war on Austria-Hungary Italy and Germany have alliances with Austria- Hungary, they declare war on Russia. Russia is allied with Britain and France, they declare war on the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy).