Causes of WW1

Causes of WW1 Introduction

The First World War, also known as The Great War, The War to End All Wars, and World War I (abbreviated WWI) was a global military conflict that took place between 1914 and 1918. It was a total war, which left ten million dead and shaped the modern world.

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A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Europe in 1914 was a dangerous place. The five Great Powers were divided into two strong and powerful alliances. They were about to fight each other in the most awful war the world has ever known. To understand how this happened, we must go back to 1879.

In 1879 Germany quarrelled with Russia. Germany was worried that Russia would attack, and so agreed with Austria that the tow countries would help each other if either were attacked. Three years later, Italy joined them, and the Triple Alliance was formed.

The alliance upset France and Russia. In 1892, they agreed to help each other if either was attacked. Great Britain was worried about the situation in Europe and began to look for an ally. In 1904 Britain signed, an agreement with France called the �Entente Cordiale�. Three years later Britain made similar agreement with Russia. The alliance between Britain, France and Russia was known as the Triple Entente.

By 1907 Europe was divided into two sets of alliances, the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. The countries in both alliances were well armed and powerful. It only needed one flashpoint for the war to break out. This flashpoint happened in the Balkans.

Much of the fighting in World War I took place along the Western Front, running from the North Sea to the border of Switzerland. On the Eastern Front, the vast eastern plains and limited rail network prevented a trench warfare stalemate from developing, although the scale of the conflict was just as large.

Hostilities also occurred on and under the sea and � for the first time � from the air. More than 9 million soldiers died on the various battlefields, and nearly that many more in the participating countries' home fronts because of food shortages and genocide committed under the cover of various civil wars and internal conflicts. In-fact, more people died after the war than during the war.