Essay on Causes of World War One - 612 Words

Causes of World War One There were many reasons as to why WWI began. The long term causes were imperial and economic rivalry between Britain and Germany. Britain was jealous of Germany because Germanys strength was growing- it was producing more iron and steel than Britain. Germanys navy was growing and its empire was expanding. Germany was jealous of Britains empire and wealth. It also feared the fact that unfriendly countries (France and Russia) were on its eastern and western borders. Because of all this rivalry, Britain decided to make an alliance with France and Russia. This was called the triple entente. This meant that if any country tried to attack them, the rest of the entente†¦show more content†¦It was ordered to leave Britain by Britain so when Germany refused, Britain declared war on Germany. To complete the picture, Austria-Hungary then declared war on Russia. This is how it became a European war. It became a world war because Germany and Britain had many other countries in their empires that werent necessarily in Europe. These countries also used ww1 as an opportunity to fight for their own reasons and to clear things up once and for all. This meant that the casualties would be worldwide. In order to try and win, Germany came up with a plan called the SCHLIEFFEN PLAN. This meant that they would invade France via neutral Belgium. This plan failed which resulted in the start of trench warfare. Trenches provided excellent protection from enemy fire. The food in the trenches was unhealthy because it was open to mud and dirty water. Also there were no facilities to cook the food. The downfall of the trenches was that it wasnt good for attacking which meant better weapons were needed to try and win the war. Weapon destruction had increases dramatically during ww1 with the introduction of new and more powerful weapons. machine guns, aero planes long range artillery, tanks, poison gases and grenades designed to explode with splintering metal flying everywhere were some of the weapons used in combat. The enthusiasm of which soldiers had joined up with had dies downShow MoreRelatedThe Causes of World War One1993 Words   |  8 Pagesï » ¿ World War One or ‘The Great War’ and its causes are still a hotly debated subject till today. There are many important causes and reasons for the war, some more important than others. Not only did the war cause a lot of disruption, chaos and death, it also set the scene for other wars to take place, which is one main reason why it was so significant in History. 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