Origins of WWI (Introduction):

World War I (also called the Great War) started in 1914 and ended in 1918. It involved all the great powers at the time. On the 28^th of June 1914, the archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated. This was the beginning of a series of events which triggered World War I. At that time, Europe was already split into 2 main rival groups: The Triple Alliance and The Triple Entente.

The Triple Alliance: The Triple Alliance was made up of Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy*.

The Triple Entente: The countries of Britain, France and Russia made up the Triple Entente.

In addition to the alliance system, there were also other factors which contributed to the start of World War I.

Imperialism:  

·         Germany wanted to have a larger empire

·         Conflicts between countries regarding Germany’s quest to expand their territory.

Nationalism:

·         When Bosnia and other Serbian states were annexed it fuelled Slav nationalism.

Alliance-System:

·         Europe was divided into 2 rivals camps (Triple Alliance/Triple Entente).

Militarism:

·         The division of Europe caused the ‘Arms Race’ and ‘Naval Race’ to begin.

·         War and a strong army were seen as a necessity to maintain or gain superiority.

·         The German invasion of Belgium led to Britain’s involvement in World War I.

*Italy actually sided with The Triple Entente during the war.





European Alliances on the Eve of World War I. Alliance systems divided Europe into two great blocks with few countries remaining neutral.
Sourced from: http://maps.unomaha.edu/peterson/funda/MapLinks/EuropeOverview/kiv28.gif