World War I, " the Great War," involved all of the great powers of Europe and killed more than eight million soldiers. Discuss the reasons which led to the rising international tensions that sparked World War I.
World War I, also known as the Great War, was a major result of all the international tensions that had been rising during the 19th century. The great powers of Europe, such as Germany; England; Russia; and France, finally met in a war that affected the rest of Europe. Despite all these world powers being involved, smaller countries were the reason for the war. World War I is often thought of as war between the great world powers, however; the war was actually started because of fighting going on between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, which was caused, by the grouping together of all Slavs and Austrians during the revolutions of 1848.
Tensions between Austria Hungary and Serbia had been arising since the early 19th century. During the early 19th century, Austria Hungary and Serbia were both part of the German principalities. Therefore, all types of people, Serbians; Bosnians; Czechoslovakians; and Austrians, were all forced together in one area. All these types of different people had to live together. The Slavs, Serbians; Bosnians; and Czechoslovakians, made up the majority of area, but they were still oppressed. The Austrians and Germans in the area, however, are the minority but they are receiving better treatment. So around 1848 the Slavs try to revolt against the government, but are shut down. The Slavs are oppressed until Germany finally unifies in 1870, in which Austria becomes its own separate nation, as does Serbia. All Slavs are finally able to unite in Serbia (doc. 6). However, the reader must take into consideration that doc. 6 was written by members of the Black Hand, a secret Serbian society, therefore, not all Serbians might have felt as extremely as these members did. However, the tension between Austrians and Serbians does not go away. Each nation feels very differently and wants to get revenge on the other (doc. 5). This document was written by a historian looking back at the tensions that led to World War I, and therefore are not completely accurate. These tensions are the cause of World War I.
The tensions caused before and during the revolutions of 1848 between Serbia and Austria-Hungary continued to escalate once the two countries were separate nations. Serbia brought the tensions to a new level when one Serbian assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife of Austria-Hungary (doc. 8). This information was sent in a telegram between Germany and Russia and therefore, Germany being allied with Austria-Hungary was more bias towards defending one country over another. After this event, Austria confirmed its alliance with Germany and threatened to declare war on Serbia. Serbia also checked its alliance with Russia and prepared for war. On July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary officially declared war on Serbia (doc. 7). Document 7 is not very biased since it is a telegram in which it discusses Austria declaring war on Serbia. The only biased part of the telegram is the part that talks about why Austria declared war on Serbia. Germany soon followed Austria-Hungary and declared war on Russia (doc. 9). Germany knew war was inevitable and hurried along the process of starting the war.
Austria-Hungary and Serbia were the main cause of World War I. These two countries hated each other and, therefore, started a fight that resulted in a major war. Serbia was allied with Russia who was allied with France so when the war began Serbia had two world powers on it's side (doc. 2). This document is the treaty between the countries of the Triple Entente and is therefore biased against countries of the Central Powers. This became known as the Triple Entente. Later on, England joined the side of France and Russia, because England was allied with Belgium, whom Germany had declared war on. Eventually, the United States also joined the war on the side of the Triple Entente. Austria-Hungary was allied with Germany, who inevitably began the war (doc. 1). This document is the treaty between the Central Powers and is therefore biased against the countries of the Triple Entente. Once the war involved all these major powers, the tensions escalated. The war became more of a war between Germany and the rest of the world. The Germans believed they were superior to all other types of people; racism was a big issue during World War I (doc. 3). This document is an excerpt from a German writer's book, who is biased because he agrees that Germans are superior. Also, the Germans wanted to expand their empire to all parts of the world. The Germans believed that since they were superior, their empire should be the largest (doc. 4). This document is written by a historian looking back on World War I, so he was not there first hand to experience the events.
World War I was a long war which was caused by tensions and racism across the continent. Austria-Hungary and Serbia were the main reason for the war, and they brought major powers into their conflict. If it was not for these two countries the war might not have happened or it might have just been put off longer. This war and the reasons for it is a good example of how little tensions can arise into big problems.
No comments:
Post a Comment