There are many theories behind the beginning of World War One. I happen to have created my own theory. To show this theory I have created a write up as well as a small presentation I will share.

Thesis

The leading cause of WW1 was the major powers becoming prisoners to their own alliances

Intro

All the major powers, such as; Great Britain, Russia, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were building up their arsenals as a show of strength to deter other nations from attacking, however, once an attack was made, they where prisoners to their own military’s alliances and where forced to use their amassed arsenals for war.

 

Alliances

The Triple Alliance

The first German Chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck, strove to prevent an alliance between Russia and France. To do this he laid the foundation for the Triple Alliance in 1882. This would be an alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy meaning that the countries would pledge mutual support to each other in the event of a war.

French Russia Agreement

The German Emperor Wilhelm II, who came into power six years later, discarded Bismarck’s plan for The Triple Alliance, but it was renewed in 1891 and resulted in forcing Russia into a treaty with the French. A secret military agreement between France and Russia was created in 1893.

The Triple Entente

England and France became allied in 1904 due to the Germans gaining favour in Morocco. This was completely against the wishes of France and Britain. Not only that but the British feared the growing German navy, which came about because of Germany’s industrial expansion. Germany then generated even more influence by using its railway concessions through Asia. Germany’s actions worked counter to British and Russian interests. In 1907 France, Great Britain, and Russia signed the Triple Entente.

The Arms Race

German Steel Industry

Near the end 19th century, German industrialization, particularly steal, developed rapidly. The German Empire became one of the biggest economic powers in the world. It even rivalled the long-time industrial giant Great Britain. Germany became the most powerful and largest steel producer in Europe. The income generated by this industry helped to fund Germany’s ever growing arsenal.

The Daily Mail Map

In the early 1900’s, close to the start of World War One, the company George Philip & Son Ltd created a map for the Daily Mail based in London. The map depicted Europe and country’s allied to each other. It also depicted the number of troops each country had available to fight. The Triple Alliance and The Triple Entente were quite even at 9,500,000 and 9,300,000 soldiers respectively. The map also referenced how much war funds each country estimated they would have available in the event of a war. The difference between the funds of the two alliances are actually quite incredible. The funds available to The Triple Alliance was around £182,032,000 however the funds for The Triple Entente was nearly three times that at £397,207,000. The amount of money the powers had at their disposal aided them in building their arsenals and positioned them in the event of a war.

 

Prisoners Of The Domino Effect

The Over View Of Alliances

Because of all the alliances, the war grew to a whole new proportion then the world had ever seen. For example, due to the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, duchess Sofia, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Serbia was allied to Russia, so Russia needed to join the war. Due to The Triple Entente, Britain and France joined Russia and by extension Serbia. However, if you look on the other side of the war, Germany and Italy were being pulled into the war as well. This war could be considered a domino effect because of how the conflict of two nations causes a war all over Europe by bringing in more and more country’s in to fight.

Below I have two videos to explain me thesis better.