the causes of the first world war

[Enter Post Title Here] In 1914, Europe was armed to the teeth. This was the age of railways, when millions of guns and men could be moved suddenly to strike a blow. So everything had to be prepared in advance: men, horses, planes, railway timetables and the rest of it all. Everybody knew that a war could be won or lost in the first battle, so if one or two countries got ready like this, others had to follow suit. As well armies, navies, a country making war needed allies, because after an attack had begun it will too late to look for friends. Since the 1890s, there has been two important allies in Europe. 1. The triple alliance of Germany, Austria and Italy 2. The dual alliance of France and Russia For instance France and Russia had agreed that if Germany were to strike France from the west, Russians would strike Germany in the east. So if one country decided to get in the first blow quickly, the news is flashed to all the others, and soldiers of five countries would charge into action. Around this time in the history of the world, Europe was sitting on the top of gunpowder. A little tip=off or push will trigger an attack. The European powers. In 1870s Germany had defeated France and seized the French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. Ever since then the French had talked of a possible war of revenge to get back their territory. The Russians had little problems at home. Tsar Nicholas 11 badly needed a success at home to make him more popular. Perhaps he could achieve this by increasing Russia’s power in the Balkans in South –East Europe. Russians had wanted this for years and centuries past, but unfortunately for Nicholas, the Germans and the AUSTRIANS had the same IDEA. The Germans were very proud of their increasing power and wealth. Their Army had helped to make Germany a strong Nation, and very popular and 1890 they began to build up a navy too. Like Britain they traded all over the world and also had growing empire. Germany was a world power like Great Britain and needed to defend her territory. Like Russia, Austria had serious problem at home also. The Austrian empire consists of eleven different nationalities, who mostly want to belong to a country of their own. For instance, the many of the 2 million Serbs in the Austrian empire wanted instead to be citizens of Serbia, an independent country to the south. In the Balkans, Serbia had gained