There Were Many Causes Of The First World War But The Most P

There Were Many Causes Of The First World War But The Most Prominent

There were many causes of the First World War, but the most prominent was the assassination of Austria’s new leader, Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian Socialist. That is when Austria declared war on Serbia, according to Shubert & Goldstein (2012). Empire and Imperialism played huge roles in this war because each country was trying to gain power over other regions. It wasn’t until the Treaty of Versailles that all of this came to be seen. British Prime Minister David Lloyd George wanted some of Germany’s territory for his own gain and agreed with the mandates the League of Nations proposed.

Rosenberg (2014) raised an interesting view of Wilsonianism. During World War I, Wilson ordered the invasion of Mexico to control the Port of Veracruz. She wrote that this “ …consolidated U.S. domination over the Caribbean and Central America—an area in which the United States held one colony in Puerto Rico; possession of the Virgin Islands; two protectorates, Cuba and Panama, over which strict controls were expanded; and dependencies in Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and Haiti that were held through ever-tightening regimes of economic control and, in the case of the latter two, by U.S. military governments and armies of occupation” (p. 853). But to Wilson, this was not Empire or Imperialism where he was just trying to spread “enlightenment and civilization.”

Life for soldiers in the trenches was terrible. According to Argentine journalist Juan Jose de Soiza Reilly, he wrote: “It is simply awful to live for months and months underground, bent, twisted, buried, eyes strained, always watching to see if a head pops up from the enemy trenches…” (A Discordant Voice from the Trenches, p. 6). He also called them “open graves” because cholera and tuberculosis were breeding within these confined places. Shubert and Goldstein (2012) write: “Living and sleeping in trenches was often a dirty and disgusting experience, as they flooded during rainy weather, were typically infested with rats and lice, and were all too often partly choked with human bodies or body parts.” One difference between the trenches on the Western Front and the ones on the Eastern Front is that the Western Front’s trenches “filled with water and planks called duckboards had to be laid in the bottom to keep soldiers’ feet from getting wet” (The Western Front in World War I, 2018).

Both sides faced trench warfare, enduring bombs, snipers, and gas attacks. Studies about soldiers' perseverance indicate that religious motivation could inspire soldiers to continue fighting rather than surrendering or deserting. As some research suggests, “If soldiers know that they are fulfilling a mission sanctioned and at least partially sanctified by God, religion might be a highly motivating factor for single soldiers” (Kallhoff & Schulte-Umberg, 2015, p. 435). Women contributed significantly by becoming telephone operators, nurses, and filling in at warehouses making war equipment. The war concluded with the Treaty of Versailles, which served as a peace treaty among all parties involved.

The European nations suffered immense casualties, and soldiers endured psychological trauma from the horrors of war. The conflict fundamentally reshaped international relations and had profound social impacts across societies.

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The outbreak of the First World War was driven by a complex web of political, military, economic, and social factors, with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand serving as the immediate catalyst. Ferdinand’s assassination by a Serbian Socialist in Sarajevo ignited a cascade of diplomatic crises, ultimately leading Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia (Shubert & Goldstein, 2012). This event was embedded in the broader context of imperial rivalries and nationalistic fervor that characterized early 20th-century Europe. Major powers pursued expansionist policies, seeking to elevate their status and secure resources, which fostered an environment ripe for conflict when diplomatic resolutions failed. The proliferation of alliances, such as the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance, further complicated matters, making a localized conflict more likely to escalate into a full-scale war (MacMillan, 2013).

The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 marked the formal end of the war and reconfigured Europe's political landscape. British Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s pursuit of territorial gains for Britain exemplified the imperialistic ambitions that fueled wartime tensions. The League of Nations' mandates system aimed to oversee colonial territories, but these arrangements often increased rivalry among imperial powers rather than fostering genuine peace (Rosenberg, 2014). Wilsonianism, though ostensibly rooted in ideals of democracy and self-determination, also manifested in military interventions aimed at maintaining American influence abroad. Wilson's invasion of Veracruz and interventions in the Caribbean exemplify the United States’ expanding sphere of influence, which critics argue was a form of early imperialism disguised under the guise of spreading civilization (Rosenberg, 2014).

As soldiers faced the horrors of trench warfare, conditions in the trenches became symbols of the war's brutality. Reilly (2017) vividly describes the trenches as “open graves,” infiltrated by disease and rats, with soldiers living in unimaginable filth and danger. The Western Front trenches often flooded, with duckboards laid to prevent wet feet, further exemplifying the harsh and hazardous environment soldiers endured (The Western Front in World War I, 2018). Gas attacks, sniper fire, and artillery bombardments inflicted devastating casualties, while the psychological toll—post-traumatic stress disorder—became a profound legacy of the conflict.

Motivational factors played a crucial role in sustaining soldiers’ morale. Religious motivation, in particular, provided a sense of purpose, with some soldiers believing their participation fulfilled a divine mission (Kallhoff & Schulte-Umberg, 2015). Women’s contributions on the home front also proved vital; they took on roles traditionally held by men—operating communications, providing medical support, and manufacturing war supplies—thus transforming the societal landscape amidst the upheaval.

Overall, the First World War exemplifies a destructive culmination of imperial rivalries, nationalistic fervor, and complex alliances, which collectively propelled the world into one of its deadliest conflicts. Its aftermath reshaped international diplomacy, heralded changes in warfare technology, and ushered in a new era of socio-political shifts across continents, influencing global history profoundly.

References

• Kallhoff, A., & Schulte-Umberg, T. (2015). The committed soldier: Religion as a necessary supplement to a moral theory of warfare. Politics, Religion & Ideology, 16(4), 434–448.
• MacMillan, M. (2013). The war that ended peace: The road to 1914. HarperCollins.
• Reilly, J. J. de Soiza. (2017). A discordant voice from the trenches: Juan José de Soiza Reilly’s war chronicles. North American: New Prairie Press.
• Rosenberg, E. S. (2014). World War I, Wilsonianism, and challenges to U.S. empire. Diplomatic History, 38(4), 852–863.
• Shubert, A., & Goldstein, R. J. (2012). Twentieth-century Europe. Retrieved from [source]
• The Western Front in World War I. (2018). The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide. Retrieved from [source]