Four Dominant European Nations Of Great Britain example essay topic

The number of casualties was 37,508,686 (Gilbert 4). The cost was over $125,690,477,000.00 (Gilbert 4). The very first line of Sidney Bradshaw Fay Thesis states, "None of the Powers wanted a European War". Why was so much money spent and why were so many lives sacrificed for a war that no nation anticipated or wanted? Who would start a war like this? Some people say Germany is to blame for the outbreak of World War I. Germany itself and its political leaders are a significant reason, but not the main reason for the outbreak of the Great War.

Some of the major reasons for World War I include: greed on the part of numerous countries, alliance systems, competition among nations including imperialism, the arms race, the chain reaction of technology, and nationalism. For years it seemed as though everyone in Europe was holding his or her breath. They all knew it was just a matter of time before Europe broke into all out war. They did not know when it would start or what the trigger would be, but every nation wanted to be prepared.

It turned out that the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand would be the catalyst Europe needed to begin "the war to end all wars". There are a number of reasons why more than just one European country is to blame for the outbreak of World War I. Greed on every nation's part must have been a major motivating force for the outbreak of World War I. Nations are similar to people in that their nature is to do something only if it will be unquestionably beneficial to them. The intent of every nation entering World War I was gain some desired end. Germany could intimidate the rest of Europe while at the same time acquiring economic improvements. Serbia could unite her people as one. France could gain back the lost territory of Alsace-Lorraine.

England could overcome the German navy it had been competing with and suppress her military. Austria could cease threats to her land and people. Even Russia could assert herself as a great power and possibly gain a warm water port (The Sidney Bradshaw Fay Thesis). Beginning in 1879, European nations were continuously making treaties and non-aggression pacts with one another. This, no doubt lead to tensions with other countries who felt threatened and would, in turn make agreements of her own with other countries. This meant that when war broke out, it would involve more than just a few countries.

In 1907, The Hague International Peace Conference was held along with other peace conferences before the actual outbreak of the war, all of which failed (encyclopedia. com). Most of the countries that attended peace conferences worried that if they backed down and began to disarm themselves, someone would see them as vulnerable and take advantage of the opportunity. Before the outbreak of World War I, The Age of Imperialism was at its peak. European nations competed with one another to gain the most colonies. First France and Great Britain gathered colonies in Africa and Asia (Dehaven 12). Great Britain would boast, "the sun never sets on the British Empire". (classnotes).

Jealously over having the benefit of foreign lands led to tension between European nations. After that, other European nations wanted the advantages of imperialism. These included raw materials and cheap labor (Dehaven 12-13). The Dreadnought Race was from 1905 to 1914 when the British constructed a battleship named Dreadnought (encyclopedia. com). After this, military leaders began to think with their weapons rather than with their minds when they realized a world war was becoming a possibility. Two of the world's greatest powers, Great Britain and Germany became locked in a naval race.

Tirpitz plan became Germany's attempt to make their navy into a "High Seas Fleet" (Gilbert 23). As a result of Germany's navy and it's invasion of neutral Belgium, Great Britain entered the war (The Sidney Bradshaw Fay Thesis). At this time in history, technology was progressing rapidly in all the major European nations. U-boats were introduced and battleships were improved. Every nation watched everyone else prepare for war and attempted to be first to not look vulnerable. The four dominant European nations of Great Britain, France, Germany and Russia had entered various contests amongst each other in order to see who could build the best and most destructive weapons.

The only thing the military and arms race really accomplished was to make the tension on all sides greater. Some people may say that Germany is to blame for World War I because of the "blank check" which they gave to Austria-Hungry encouraging them to declare war on Serbia. However, Russia basically did the same thing for Serbia, promising her assistance when needed. The Sidney Bradshaw Fay Thesis states, "Austria was more responsible for the immediate origin of the war than any other power".

The ultimatum which they delivered to Serbia was impossible for Serbia to meet and inevitably would lead to war. In fact, Germany attempted to prevent war when the Kaiser Will heim asked Russia not to mobilize. However, this attempt also failed. Bethmann and the Kaiser "felt bound to accede to Berchtold's request for support". (The Sidney Bradshaw Fay Thesis 68). For the reason of fear on the part of Germany, they declared war in 1914 so Russia wouldn't have the time it needed to arm itself.

Then the mobilization could not be stopped. It was like a chain reaction. It started with Russia who was followed by Germany and finally France (Gilbert 24). Growing nationalism had been building up even before World War I. By the time the war started, many Europeans had become patriotic and many historians believe that without this nationalistic sentiment, World War I wouldn't have began (Gilbert 64). And no war could take place without the manpower and feeling of purpose. The people were always trying to prove their nation's superiority.

Similar to the "white man's burden", it could have been possible that a nation or ethnicity felt hostile toward another and wanted to rule its own people (classnotes). "Many Germans on the other hand, including politicians, intellectuals and Kaiser Wilhelm II, believed their German culture and nation to be superior". (Gilbert 65). The Germans have always been considered a militaristic people and that could be the reason why they are blamed for the war's outbreak.