Causes of Great War Essay Example

30 million lives perished or were left wounded during the event of the Great War in 1914. Do you believe lives should perish because of the friction between countries? The Great war began on July 28th, 1914 when Austria vowed war on Serbia, involving not only the Triple alliance but also the Triple Entente to also participate. Before the war however, there were already many frictions between the European countries as Austria and Russia were trying to expand their power. The Triple Alliance’s establishment included Germany, Austria, and Italy. On the other hand, the Triple Entente was formed going against the alliance established by Russia, Great Britain, and France. These 6 countries clashed one another as the war sparked in 1914. What ignited the Great War? There were at least three underlying causes for World War 1 including Colonialism, Militarism, and Alliances. 

The first and least impacting underlying cause that ignited the Great War was Colonialism. In the document E, Britain’s colony itself was over 12.7 million sq. miles, nearly 10x the size of the entire triple alliance combined (Doc E).  Not just the sheer massive control that Britain had, German propaganda appeared, showcasing a cartoon in which shown how Britain was sucking all the resources out of those countries that they called colonies. The German propaganda was formed in 1917, to inform the public and the world about the actions of Great Britain, spreading anti-Britishism along. The map on the cartoon shows the vastness of lands owned by the British Empire, showing exactly how large their empire was and the massive amounts of resources from all around the world they’re receiving (Doc E). In addition, document F shows the sizes of each country’s colonies and colonial empires. The Triple Entente had a total of 17+ million sq. miles of land and the population of 450 million people in those colonies. On the other hand, the Triple Alliance only had 13.6 million people and only a land of about 1.3 million sq. miles (Doc F).The table shows the vast and large powers that each alliance and empire behilds. The Triple Entente is nearly 15x the size of the Alliance and a little over 3000% of the population of the Alliance. This can show not only the power that each alliance has but also the amount of resources one alliance has incoming compared to the other. Therefore the size and population of each colony within one’s alliance may have determined the outcome of the war by not only in power and quantity but also by resources gathered and imported to the mother colony. 

Another underlying cause of the Great war may be due to militarism. Within document C, it states the expenses of each European country’s military which includes both navy and army. For example, Germany's expenses from 1890 - 1914 was from 30 million pounds to 115 million pounds. Meanwhile Russia’s expenses went from 30 million pounds to 90 million pounds in military assets. The growth of military expenses grew rapidly as the years continued, as if Europe was planning some sort of up-coming threat. Another idea was because of internal conflict between the European states. The Triple Alliance quadrupled their military expenses from 1890 - 1914 while the Triple Entente doubled their expenses. Within document D, the speech of the German secretary states the advancements of Germans’ enemies. Later within the document, German’s secretary of state then brings up the idea of being either the hammer that slams the anvil or to be the anvil that gets slammed by the hammer. Meaning German and the Triple Alliance is going to win against the Triple Entente in war, or to become the Triple Entente’s ecomonic slave like their other colonies. Continuing on, because of the rapid growth in power in the form of militarism, Germany had taken to account the rapid investment and expenses the Triple Entente was making. With the realization of the large expenses of the Triple Entente and their countries’ advancement accomplishments, Germany then established of becoming a hammer to smash the Triple Entente than to be the anvil and become economical slaves of the Entente. Therefore, the growth in militarism was an underlying cause of the Great war by its preparation and growth of military power.

The last underlying cause of the Great war was due to Alliances. Within document A, The document showed the map of Europe and their alliances. The alliances were the Triple alliance which consisted of Germany, Austria, and Italy who were up against the Triple Entente who consisted of Russia, Great Britain, and France. Within the map on document A, the Triple alliance were all connected in the center of Europe. Meanwhile the Triple Entente and their colonies surrounded the alliance. The formation of the Entente was as if something was about to spark, and if something ignited between the two alliances, the Triple alliance would be trapped and surrounded ¾ of the geographical sides. Within document B, there lies the cartoon of corruption of “Peace of Europe”. Within the cartoon, every country was pointing at their enemies. There was also a hand to the left, which represented America, pointing at the board which said “Peace of Europe '' destroyed. Because of the alliances made beforehand, this cartoon shows how countries view the war. The Triple Entente (Russia, Great Britain, and France + Serbia) pointing at Austria and Germany. By then, Italy leaves the Alliance and joins the Entente, making Italy bystanding within the corner of the cartoon. This showcased the destruction of peace in Europe, not knowing how and who started the war, and who was pulling the strings behind it. Therefore, the most impactful underlying cause of the Great war was alliances because of the major roles they played within and before the Great war. 

There were at least 3 underlying causes of World War 1, colonialism, militarism, and alliances. Colonialism was the least impactful underlying cause of the ignition of the Great war because it may help outsiders understand the sheer power of each country and their colonies and resources they’re allowed to receive  but it doesn’t tell how and what helped cause the war to spark. Militarism was the moderate underlying cause of the ignition of the Great war because it helped show the preparation of a small part of the war. Militarism showcased the growth of every countries’ military power and the advancement of preparation because of the heated conflicts that European states were having internally. Lasly, the most impactful underlying cause of the ignition of the Great war was because of alliances. Ever since the creation of both alliances, massive conflicts began to occur. Indicating that the major cause of the Great war was because of alliances. Not only did Austria declare war on Serbia but also on the Triple Entente because of their alliance, sparking the Great war on July 28th 1914.