What were the main causes responsible for the outbreak of World War I?

Although the immediate cause of World War I was the murder of Archduke Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne, the real causes of the war lay much deeper. The chief causes responsible for the out-break of the war were as follows:

1. System of Secret Alliances:

According to Prof. Fay, the system of ‘secret alliances’ which developed after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 was the greatest cause of the First World War. On the eve of war Europe was divided into the armed camps-Triple Alliance and Triple Entente.

The former consisted of Germany, Austria, Hungary, Turkey and Italy and the later was composed of England, France, Russia and Japan. The first step towards the formation of the Triple Alliance was taken when Germany entered into an alliance with Austria Hungary. In 1882 even Italy joined this alliance and it came to be known as the Triple Alliance. The beginning of the Triple Entente was made in 1894 when France concluded an Alliance with Russia. With the dawn of the present century England, who was following a policy of splendid isolation, also started looking for allies.

She entered into a treaty with Japan in 1902 and in 1904 with France (Entente Cordiale). When England concluded a treaty with Russia in 1907. The Triple Entente came into existence. Thus on the eve of war the whole of Europe was divided into two camps bound by various secret alliances. These secret alliances naturally gave rise to suspicion.

According to Prof. Fay, “The system of secret alliances made it inevitable that if war did come it would involve all the Great Powers of Europe. The members of each group felt bound to support each other in order to strengthen the solidarity of the group.

2. Race for Armaments:

Another cause of the war was the mad race for armaments between the powers. This race for armaments started soon after the Franco-Prussian War. As a result the armaments of all the Great powers began to grow year after year.

The armaments were meant for defence and preservation of peace but they created fear, suspicion and hatred among the various nations. This race for armaments was bound to end only in a war. Another impact of this armament race was that the military staff in almost all the countries came to yield more power, which was not conducive to peace.

3. Narrow Nationalism:

Narrow nationalism or competitive patriot­ism was another cause of war. It was this intense and narrow nationalism in Serbia which led to the murder of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria Hungary. Similarly the French and Germans had immense hatred for each other.

4. Economic Imperialism:

By the end of the nineteenth century England, France and Russia each had built up a huge colonial empire and Germany was left with the smallest share of extra-European possessions. Germany was left with the smallest share of extra-European possessions. Germany believed herself to be the greatest nation in the world and was not willing to accept the subordinate place which fortune had assigned to her in the imperial sphere.

She was keen to acquire a world empire worthy of her position. Consequently when Germany tried to capture the markets which were already in the hands of Britain, it led to bitterness between the two. Great Britain was not prepared to give up her colonies,
protectorates, spheres of influence and markets, and Germany was bent upon getting them at any cost. Under the circumstances the war became inevitable.

5. Germany’s desire to be world power:

Germany’s desire to built a world empire also added to the world unrest. As long as Bismarck was at the helm of affairs Germany was on the whole a satiated power and was interested in maintaining the status quo based upon her supremacy in Europe.

After Bismarck’s fall in 1890 Germany’s ambitions began to soar high and she set her ambition at world-dominance. This sentiment is evident from the following statement of Treitschke, the eminent historian of Germany:

“Just as the greatness of Germany is to be found in the governance of j Germany by Prussia, so the greatness and good of the world is to be found in the predominance of all German culture, of the German mind-in a world, of the German character.”

6. French desire to recover Alsace and Lorraine:

The snatching away of Alsace-Lorraine from France by Germany in 1871 and the consequent determination of the French people to get them back was another cause of world war. The Government of the Third Republic in France left no stone unturned to keep the spirit of revenge and the hope for the restoration of the two provinces alive. France was keen to get back these two areas because they were very rich in iron ores.

The French felt that the German industrial prosperity was mainly due to these areas. It is felt in certain quarters that if Germany had not interfered in Morocco, the Frenchmen might have found some compensation for the loss of Alsace-Lorraine and forgotten their revenge against Germany. But the German interference in the affairs of Morocco further added to the bitterness between the two countries.

7. Italy’s desire for irredentism:

Another cause of the war was the desire of the people of Italy to recover Trentino and the areas around the port of Trieste which were inhabited by the Italians but were still under the control of the Austria-Hungary.

As these areas once formed part of the Roman Empire the Italian leaders raised the slogans of Italia Irredenta or ‘Unredeemed Italy’.

Further, the economic bankruptcy and rapidly growing population of Italy also compelled her to look around for more land and economic resources.

This brought Italy closer to Germany (an other dissatisfied power) which was equally keen to challenge the status quo and establish empire abroad.

8. Contest over control of Balkan Peninsula:

The contest for the control of Balkan Peninsula between Austria-Hungary and Russia also ” contributed the World War I. After the fall of the Turkish Empire a number of small countries emerged in the Balkan Peninsula. Three of these countries-Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia began to clash with each other for the control of fertile Macedonia.

Russia was keenly interested in the Balkan politics and backed Serbia in her demand for ‘bigger Serbia’, because she saw in it an opportunity of getting control of Constantinople- a warm water port in the south, and the Straits of Dardanelles and Bosporus-approaches to the Mediterranean sea, the attainment of which had always been the objective of Russian foreign policy.

During the Bosinian crisis of 1908 Russia adopted sympathetic attitude towards Serbia and threatened to take steps against Austrian aggression. But Germany’s declaration to stand by Austria and promise of full military support to her, forced Russia to retreat. This increased bitterness between Austria, Serbia and Russia. In 1912-13 another crisis occurred in Balkan and Austria did her best to thwart the ambitions of Serbia.

Austria forced Serbia to evacuate various Adriatic towns which the Serbs had conquered. She also raised Albania as an autonomous state to prevent Serbia from obtaining any outlet to the Sea. Austria wanted to go to war but was restrained by Germany. Austrian attitude was greatly resented by both England and Russia. The Austro-Serbian feud greatly intensified the tension and ultimately precipitated the war.

9. Lack of machinery to Regulate International Relations:

The lack of machinery to regulate the affairs of the States also contributed to the war. The States were following strict secrecy in their diplomacy and certain States were not made known even to the members of the ministry.

As a result the issues were clouded with mystery. Again, though by the end of the nineteenth century certain principles of international law and morality had been evolved through the Hague Conferences, the States’ paid scant regard to them in the absence of a power to enforce these rules.

Further, the States considered themselves as Sovereign and did not consider these rules of international morality binding on them. The absence of an enforcing power created anarchy in the international rela­tions. In this atmosphere of anarchy every nation could do: “What is pleased or what is dared, because there was no international government to make laws for the nations and compel all nations to respect such laws.”

10. Negative Role of Press:

The negative role played by the press also greatly contributed to the world war. During the period preceding the war, the newspapers of various countries indulged in regular warfare against each other. They took up certain issues, exaggerated them and indulged in attacks and counter-attacks till a regular newspaper war was engendered. They poisoned the public opinion and thus prepared a fertile soil where the seeds of real war could easily germinate.

11. Murder of Archduke Ferdinand:

The immediate cause for the out-break of World War I was the murder of Archduke Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne, by a Serbian. The murderer was a member of the Black Hand, a secret society of the Serbian terrorists.

The Archduke went to Sarajevo, a city of Bosina on 28th June, 1914. After completing the formalities at the Town Hall, the Archduke was proceeding to the City Museum when he was killed along with his wife.

Austrians were full of indignation and held Serbia responsible for the crime and wanted to crush Serbia. Even Germany promised to support Austria-Hungary. Consequently Austria served Serbia with an ultimatum which she refused to comply with because of Russian backing. An effort at mediation was made by the powers but without any avail. On 28th July 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Serbia welcomed this war.

Great Britain and Germany tried to localize the war but it soon became evident that the matters had gone out of their hands. In July 1914 Poincare of France visited Russia and promised her all help against Austria. As a result Russia ordered general mobilization. Germany sent an ultimatum to Russia asking her to demobilize.

As Russia refused to comply with the ultimatum Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914. Four days later Austria also declared war on Russia. When the German troops entered Belgium territory in violation of her neutrality, England and France also joined the war. While fixing the responsibility for the outbreak of war Prof. Fay in his book, The Origins of the First . World War observes:

“It was primarily Russian general mobilization when Germany was trying to bring that capital Austria to a settlement, which precipitated the final catastrophe, causing Germany to mobilize and declare war.”

In the war that followed, Serbia was supported by Russia, France, England and Japan. Although Italy was not a member of the Triple Alliance she remained neutral till 1915, when she also declared war against Austria-Hungary and Germany. Turkey, however, fought on the side of the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary and Germany).