Factors in Europe Leading to the First World War

Like other wars, the First World War did not arise from nothing, a solitary blight on the face of world history. The events that led to the war had already begun at the start of the 20th century '" events that would set the Great Powers at odds and create a war unlike any that ha come before.

Ostensibly, WWI began when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Habsburg throne in Austria, was assassinated while vacationing in Serbia. In fact, this event was just the spark that set the tinder aflame. Because of wars, revolutions and new ideologies, and the complex alliances between European powers that had developed over the preceding decades, the conflict soon spread to most of Europe.

Between 1870 and 1914, a number of relatively small wars broke out. These included the Boer war between the British in South Africa and the Dutch Boers (1899); the Franco-Prussian War ( 1870-1871); conflicts between the Italians and Ethiopians in Africa (1896); and the Russo-Japanese War (1904). The first and third were colonial wars, while the other two were between Great Powers (Japan was not officially a Great Power, but it was well on its way). Colonialism was diminishing '" although Britain defeated the Boers, Italy was unable to prevail against the Ethiopians. The Great Power wars led to unanticipated ends, at least unanticipated by the countries who lost. France did not even consider the possibility that it might be defeated by Prussia, even though the enemy was supported by other Germanic states including the North German Federation, Württemberg, and Bavaria. In the end, France lost Alsace-Lorraine and Germany became a united nation.

Similarly, the unexpected defeat of Russian by Japan was primarily due to lack of adequate transportation and supplies on Russia's coast. Both countries desired expansion into Manchuria; Russia was the more desperate since it lacked a warm water port that could be used year round. Negotiations began in 1903 to find a fair settlement concerning Manchuria and Korea. In 1904 both sides sent agreements to the other side for ratification, but the Russians did not reply to the Japanese requests. As a result, Japan declared war on Russia on 8 February 1904. The lack of response on Russia's part seemed outside of the spirit of negotiations, and in fact Tsar Nicholas II hoped to use a war against Japan to revive patriotism in his country. He underestimated the power of Japan, however, and lost the war.

Other crises, not substantial enough to be called wars but nevertheless significant, broke out between two or more of the Great Powers. The first Moroccan Crisis (1905) resulted when Germany demanded an International Congress to determine the fate of Morocco, which was considered to be in France's sphere of influence. The Germans were sure that they would be able to demonstrate French impotence at the Congress, but instead they found that every Great Power except Austria was against them. As a result, the Germans gave in and France continued to dominate Morocco.

In 1911, Germany again tried to press the issue regarding French dominance in Morocco, and once again was defeated through diplomacy. In addition, Germany had attempted to use a gunboat sent to Morocco to show their willingness towards violence; this turned against them, however, because the other powers viewed this as aggression and worked even more to put a lid on German capabilities.

The Bosnian Crisis (1908-1909) occurred when Russia sought to open the Dardenelles Strait (formerly known as Hellespont) to access by Russian warships. The Russian foreign minister, Izvolski, began travelling to all the capitals of Europe, seeking their permission. Apparently, the first visit was to Austria, where he met Aerenthal, a clever diplomat who pretended Austria would approve Russian access, while looking for a way to use his knowledge of Russian plans in order to further Austria. While diplomacy continued, Austria declared its annexation of Bosnia and Herzogovina. Bulgaria declared its independence at the same time. Russia helped Serbia with military preparations against Austria, but the German government backed Austria, and eventually Russia backed down. This was a very similar case to what happened in 1914, but at that time Russia refused to acquiesce.

Another important factor in the climb towards world war was the range of ideologies, evidenced by social unrest, that sought to gain power in European countries. The Industrial Revolution proceeded at a different pace in each country, but the first stages of industrialization always resulted in poor working conditions, very low wages, famine and misery. Over time workers began to organize into trade unions and to employ the strike as a means of getting concessions from industrialists. Some of the workers went on to advocate and form political parties based on socialism. At the beginning of this period (1870), Britain and Germany were more industrialized, while France, Russia, and Italy lagged behind. In some cases workers rioted and violence ensued (Bloody Sunday in Russia; Tragic Week of Barcelona in Spain). Some countries (such as Great Britain) already had functioning parliamentary governments, while in other the parliamentary system was too weak (France) or irrelevant (Austria-Hungary). The seeds of socialism and communism had been planted and occasionally surfaced before being put back down by the government. This resulted in an atmosphere of chaos and social unrest throughout early twentieth century Europe.

The establishment of complicated alliances between countries was another fundamental cause of WWI. Austria made sure that it would be supported by Germany before declaring war on Serbia. The Central Powers, or Triple Alliance, also included Italy. In 1912, the Great Powers held meetings in London to determine the disposition of Macedonia and Albania. Macedonia was desired by Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia in order to achieve control of the Aegean Sea. Serbia also wanted part of Albania so it would have direct access to the Adriatic. During the meetings, Russia backed Serbia while Austria-Hungary and Italy supported Bulgaria. Great Britain and Germany did not provide very much aid to their respective friends, and the leaders of both countries pledged to give more support in the next crisis, in order to retain their alliances. Since the next crisis was the assassination of Francis Ferdinand in Serbia, the Great Powers of Europe felt that they had little choice but to join the conflict.

The war that began in 1914, a war that involved most of Europe and produced an unprecedented number of casualties, was the final boiling over of a pot that had begun to stew in the latter half of the nineteenth century. War was not inevitable, but in many ways it seemed inevitable to the warring nations due to previous wars, social unrest, and complicated alliances between the Great Powers.