World War I

World War I showed the world how horrible a war could be when so many countries were involved. Although the actual war started when Serbia assassinated Franz Fernandez, the true cause of the war was Germany's aggressive behavior and cruel tactics. Germany was responsible for wrongfully invading Belgium, forming the Triple Alliance, and carelessly testing the relationship between France and Britain.

Although Britain did start the naval race shortly before World War I, Britain was the least to blame out of the major European powers. Throughout this war, Britain tried to avoid confrontations. Britain's involvement in the war came from a need to become allies with other countries for protection, and when Britain's allies, like France, were attacked, Britain was dragged into the war with them. Britain's only aggressive move in this war was their creation of the HMS Dreadnought, a large, powerful battleship which rendered all other ships obsolete. Germany created their own version of a super-naval ship, launching the two countries into a naval race, which, according to the pamphlet "The End of Old Europe" by Josh Brooman, was won by Britain when they built the HMS Queen Elizabeth. As an island nation, a strong national border protection was very important to Britain's defense. Germany had a much smaller coastline, and their navy was less important, especially since Germany borders France and Russia. Germany's naval aggression was unnecessary and was another reason why Germany was at fault for World War I.

Much of the bloodshed of World War I was the result of the large alliances that dragged uninvolved countries, like Britain, into the war. The alliance system began over thirty years before the war started when Germany asked Austria-Hungary to form an alliance. This treaty was extended to Italy in 1882, forming the Triple Alliance. This alliance scared France and Russia, who became allies. With Europe squaring off against each other, Britain was forced to become become allies with France to protect themselves. Ultimately, all the major powers in Europe had taken sides and were ready for battle, all because of Germany's initial alliance.

In 1897, Germany had a thriving economy and a strong army, but the German government decided that was not enough. This was why, that year, they announced Germany's new "World Policy". This policy established that Germany would try to become more imperialistic and capture new territories. This new policy was not easily accomplished, and Germany made many enemies along the way. Their objective was to take over countries that could be an asset to their empire, mainly in rural Africa and the middle east. Germany's path to imperialism demonstrated how they strived to become a world power without regard to who they hurt along the way.


When France and Britain signed an alliance, Germany was doubtful that the two former enemies would really defend each other in battle. Germany decided to test their relationship, and almost started a war in the process. In 1905, Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm visited Morocco, a country France was trying to make one of their colonies. He told the Moroccan people that it was important that Morocco remain an independent country. At a conference, all the European powers except for Germany's ally Austria-Hungary and Morocco voted against Germany's idea of an independent Morocco and France took over Morocco. Once again, Germany tried to test the waters in Morocco when they sent a gunboat to Morocco to "protect German interests", which was interesting because the packet "Background: Power Politics and the Coming of War" states that German interests in this region were already protected by a special treaty. Soon after the boat arrived, a German foreign minister demanded that France hand over the French Congo to Germany. France, not wanting to start a war with Germany, handed this territory over, avoiding a confrontation. Twice Germany had tested France's readiness for battle, which showed that Germany was eager to start fighting.

When Germany was preparing for war, they saw that they would probably be faced with fighting on two fronts; both Russia and France were enemies of Germany. Count Alfre Von Schlieffen, a general of the German army, created a plan that would allow Germany to fight France and Russia without splitting their army. Schlieffen realized that Russia had a slow train system, so if Germany invaded France, then quickly turned towards their Russian border, they could avoid splitting their army. However, the plan also called for Germany to attack France through Belgium, which had declared themselves neutral. A letter to Belgium from Germany in the book "What Were the Causes of World War I?" states that Germany expected Belgium to let them use their "railways, roads, tunnels, or other similar works." This cruel invasion was the reason that Britain declared war on Germany, to help protect Belgium from the radical German powers. Germany's invasion of Belgium was a perfect example of their raw aggression and hostility that started this war.

World War I became one of the worst wars in human history, and this all could have been avoided had Germany not take the actions that they did. Germany needs to pay for their crimes, and we need to make sure that a country like Germany never starts such a horrific war again.