A Serbian revolutionary killing an Austrian, "bang" doesn't have to turn into a World War. Even though he is an archduke. But what, then, was the reason the great powers of Europe got involved in a conflict that originated in the Balkans? In this episode, we will discuss the causes of World War I! In the peace negotiations after World War 1, the victors decided that Germany, with their allies, must take all the blame for both the outbreak of the war, and its casualties. The reasoning was that the Central Powers had pursued an aggressive foreign policy, which forced the other European great powers to get involved in the war. But, was Germany, with its allies, as guilty for the war as the Treaty of Versailles claimed? In this episode, we will look at the causes for WWI and how the rivalry between the European great powers escalated throughout the 19th century. In light of this development, we will discuss whether Germany, with its allies, can be given all the blame for the outbreak of war, or whether all the great powers share some responsibility. About 100 years before WWI, the victor of the Napoleonic Wars gathered in Vienna to discuss how to prevent another great power war from breaking out in the future. European borders were changed and a new balance of power was created. Great Britain(UK), France, Russia, Prussia and Austria-Hungary made up the core of this new system. By making sure that no European great power became TOO powerful one hoped that no great power would go to war against another. This balance of power lasted for a long time but it became unbalanced and started breaking down by the creation of two new states. Italy was unified in the 1860's, and in 1871, the German state of Prussia defeated France in war and created Germany. The Italian and German regions had for centuries been divided into many, relatively small and weak, states. A unitied Germany, however, was a military and economic powerhouse and therefore a great cause of worry for the already established great powers: France, Great Britain(UK) and Russia. A tense atmosphere pervaded Europe after the unification of Italy and Germany. The Great powers started preparing for the possibility of war by increasing conscription, producing more weapons. Especially Germany armed up heavily. And they created a large and modern army. Just between 1910 and 1913, the army budget doubled. None of the other Great Powers came even close to such an increase even though their increase was substantial as well. Everyone was preparing for the coming war. In addition to investments into the army, Germany wanted to create a fleet that could compete with the British Royal Navy. A large fleet was seen as necessary to secure military- and economic interests on the high seas. Britain saw this fleet build-up as a threat to their overseas empire and their position as the world's greatest naval power. A naval arms race had begun. This became a downward spiral where great powers countered arms build up by arming up themselves. The whole situation had turned into one giant arms race. The ever growing rivalry, and changing balance of power started to affect all international relations and treaties. For fear of being traped in a two-fronts war, Germany and Austria-Hungary made an alliance that would go into effect if either was attacked by France or Russia. Three years later, Italy joined, and together they became known as The Tripple Alliance. The aggressive Germany foreign policy lead to the old rivals, Russia and France creating their own alliance. Great Britain did not want to enter into a formal alliance with anyone but did enter into an informal agreement with the Franco-Russian alliance. This agreement between Great Britain, France and Russia is called The Triple Entente. Even though the Great Powers signed treaties of mutual defense, they continued to compete to be the strongest. Since the 1870s, there had been an intense race for colonies in Africa. Many of the Great Powers subdued huge areas and exploited them for resources to strengthen their own country. Imperialism became a way for the European powers to expand without coming into direct conflict with each other. It turned into a race as no power wanted to give one of the other a strategic or economic advantage. For example, Great Britain and France were already established colonial powers and they actively tried to keep Germany away. At the same time as some Great Powers competed for colonies in Africa, others fought for influence in the Balkans. The Balkan peninsula had been under the control of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. But multiple nationalistic uprisings and wars in the 19th century forced the Turks out of Europe and small multicultural kingdoms were created in their stead. It didn't take long for disagreement to arise about the borders between these new states and soon, they were at war with each other. Serbia was one of the states that wanted to expand their territories and create a so called "Greater Serbia". They got support from Russia who saw this as an opportunity to gain more influence in the Balkans as part of a power-struggle between them and Austria-Hungary. The ambitions for a "Greater Serbia" created a volatile situation in the start of the summer of 1914. Bosnia was under the controll of Austria-Hungary but had a large Serbian minority. There was a large opposition to Austrian-Hungarian suzerainty and many had a dream of liberating Serbian-populated Bosnian areas and unite them with Serbia. This would lead to those fateful shots in Sarajevo. that we covered in our video about the war itself. When Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia the whole system of alliances was set into motion. The dominos started falling. An important point, however, is that the war was NOT inevitable. One didn't have to honor the alliances, but there was so much prestige at stake that most of them did. One example to the contrary, however, is Italy. When war broke out, Italy chose to leave the Triple Alliance, which they argued was pure defensive treaty. The Great Power rivalry had turned Europe into an explosive barrel and the shots in Sarajevo was the match that lit the fuse and made the word descend into war. We will now have a deeper look at the thesis we presented at the start. Is Germany, with its allies, responsible for World War One? The causes we have examined are: European balance of power, Military build-up, The naval arms race, The alliance system The scramble for Africa, The conflicts in the Balkans and the Shots in Sarajevo. The changing balance of power and the aggressive German foreign policy increased the tension in Europe. To uphold the balance of power the European great powers had to agree to not become "too strong" compared to the others. The German unification changed this balance of power. The military build-up could be said to be initiated by Germany as there is no denying they were the one focusing the most on their military and that they had clear offensive ambitions. But, when Germany expanded their military France and Russia reacted by doing the same. However, French and Russian war preparations must not be seen merely as a reaction to German build-up. France wanted to retake the border areas of Alsace-Lorraine from Germany which they had lost in the French-Prussian war of 1871. Russia on the other hand, had ambitions of gaining more influence in the Balkans. Thereby, we see that, in general, all sides were arming up. Germany did, however, have a lot of responsibility for the naval arms-race. Their goal was to be able to challenge the British and thereby keep them out of an eventual conflict. But, the German naval ambitions made apparent how much of a threat they were to the British and was therefore counterproductive as it pushed the British into an agreement with France and Russia. However, the British were also arming-up to be able to keep their dominant position on the seas. The system of alliances as a cause for World War One can hardly be blamed solely on Germany. The rivalry between the great powers meant that most of them made agreements and alliances to avoid having to face an eventual war alone. Still, it is clear that both Germany and Austria-Hungary lead an aggressive foreign policy that could seem threatening to the Triple Entente. Even though the alliance system explains why so many nations were dragged into the war, it is still important to point out that each country had a choice about whether to uphold the treaties or not. The outbreak of war was not inevitable. It was a result of multiple bad choices When it comes to the European imperialism there's a limit to how much blame one can give Germany and Austria-Hungary. Both France and Great Britain were old and established colonial powers and were already competing for colonies in Africa. Germany was late to the "colonial game" but their entry did make the competition more intense. As a cause for World War One, the "scramble for Africa" cannot therefore, be seen as ONLY Germany's fault. The blame is shared with other great powers like France and Great Britain. Who to blame for the outbreak of the war itself, is complicated. Gavrilo Princip was affiliated with Serbia but it was Austria-Hungary who declared the war Germany and Russia, by supporting opposing sides and dragging their allies with them, must also take some of the blame. Especially when explaining why the war became a world war. But who, then, was really responsible for making a conflict on the Balkans escalate into a world war? Traditionally, Germany and Austria-Hungary have been given all of the blame for starting the First World War. As we have seen in this episode, Germany constantly challenged the other great powers with their aggressive foreign policy and military build-up. At the same time, the countries of the Triple Entente also contributed to the growing tension by competing for control in both Africa and the Balkans. And by working to isolate Germany politically. One could therefore claim, that all the great powers were, to some degree, responsible for the situation becoming so tense and charged that a war had to break out sooner or later. The question about who's most to blame for the war does not have a clear answer. Whether Germany can be seen as responsible or not depends heavily on one's point of view and how one analyzes the events and weighs the causes leading up to the war. Historians have been arguing about who's responsible ever since the war ended and they still don't agree. Perhaps they will never come to agreement. That's all for today. We hope have shed light on some interesting and important aspects on the causes of World War One. If you enjoyed our video and want to see more then subscribe to us here, on Youtube.