The first war the world went to took place in 1914. This event was seen as a political endeavor that would realign the powers of the Great Nations at the time and assert their influence and power in global politics. The war was featured by alliances of ally nations in Europe as each side sought to protect its individual interests and authority. All major powers such as Germany, Russia, Britain, and France went to war with the auspices that they were defending their national honor. At this time, these countries called for the need for presentation of a united front by their citizens by putting away internal rivalries and petty politics for the purpose of winning the war.
Also, these countries invoked their efforts in avoidance of war by using other alternative measures such as diplomacy to save their countries from going to war. This approach was used to present a positive outlook for their people and seek their support for their decision to wage war. Also, Europe being a continent that was deeply entrenched in religious beliefs invoked references to spiritual guidance as they strode forward to war. The nations referenced their alliances as factors that supported their involvement in the upcoming war to assist the countries they had collaboration with.
The coming to rise in arms among the nations involved in World War 1 was primarily caused by the assassination of Austria-Hungary's Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. The duo was murdered in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. The assassination was identified as instigated and led by its neighbor, Serbia. From this event, Serbia launched a harsh ultimatum that involved three main points. Firstly, Serbia was to denounce all its separatist activities (Sondhaus, 33). This demand was influenced by the fact that Austria-Hungary's population was comprised of two-fifths of native Serbians. Therefore, there was fear that separatist activities led by Serbia would lead to a Pan-Slav movement. Austria-Hungary's concerns were legitimate as there were concerns from these groups of their call to their independence. Also, some organizations that were carrying out these activities such as the Black Hand were based in Serbia. Austria-Hungary feared the disintegration of its nation.
Secondly, Austria-Hungary called for the banishment of these separatist organizations by Serbia as well as publications which were considered hostile to Austria-Hungary, in defense of the nation's unity. Lastly, Austria-Hungary demanded a joint coordination effort comprised of both Serbian and Habsburg officials that sought to undermine separatist activities through the establishment of a judicial inquiry.
In spite of the hard stance taken by Austria-Hungary, Serbia agreed to all three demands, the only caveat being that the judicial inquiry being subject to Serbian law. This proposed arrangement was widely disputed by Austrians and as such, mobilized their troops on July 28, 1914, in the Balkans. In light of these developments, Austrians felt the time was opportune as Serbia had long since threatened the stability of their nation owing to its separatist efforts. Besides, the ruling emperor, Franz Joseph risked going to war against Serbia and its ally Russia, as he had the full support of its ally in Germany.
Austria-Hungary presented their proposal to Germany as a strategy to rid the political power of Serbia and eliminate it as a factor in global politics. According to Martel (66), at this point in time, Germany was at the peak of its power. It had expanded its territory, and it was identified as having one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. Therefore, its involvement in the war would lead to the country losing more than it could gain. However, Kaiser Wilhelm II instigated the start of the arms race against Britain through the World Policy, a race that Germany could not win. As a result, Britain formed an alliance with France and Russia in retaliation. As such, Germany feared the immense military ability Russia had amassed could compromise Germany's strategy of avoiding war on both fronts by first attacking France and followed by Russia. Therefore, German generals supported the idea of going to war as soon as possible to avert this crisis.
As a result, Germany supported Austria-Hungary in a local Balkan war which neutered Serbia. This move was made to call Russia to war. In spite of Russia not gaining an economic advantage from its support of Serbia, it had a strategic interest in trade through the Straits of Constantinople which was only possible with a strong and independent Serbia. Also, the Russian public was in full support of Russia going to war against Germany in the wake of defense of national pride and honor. As such, Tsar Nicholas II responded by mobilizing its troops in readiness for war. The calls by Germany to cease its mobilization efforts were unheeded by Russia and the latter declared war on August 1.
France, a member of the Triple Entente, a union comprised of Russia, Britain and itself, sought to support Russia in the destined war against Germany. This decision was driven by the fact that France considered the protection of the Triple Entente as a greater reason for the involvement of war than the avoidance of it. This observation was driven by the concept that for France to remain a dominant power in Europe, it would have to protect the union as it feared that losing Russia as an ally would make France subject to German aggression. For this reason, France mobilized its troops in the same way as Russia and supported their ally. As such, Germany declared war on France on August 3, 1914.
The other Entente member, Britain was influenced greatly by the actions of its Foreign Affairs Minister, Sir Edward Grey. Being diplomatic in nature, he sought to encourage mediation between the warring powers, Germany and Russia. The indication of Grey's non-committal to the Entente agreement drove Germany to believe in Britain's neutrality. To enforce this view, Germany sought to agree with Britain of its need to remain neutral by proposing the lack of intervention in France and Belgium. Grey initially accepted this deal, only to come to the realization later that France would not support this direction by abandoning its allies, Russia and Serbia.
The conviction was further reinforced by Germany's action of the attempt to force Belgium to give Germany a right of way of passage of its military troops through its borders lest it faced the consequences. Angered by the breaking of the neutrality agreement, Britain waged war against Germany on August 4. This decision was also influenced by Britain's view of the disruption of order and power in Europe if Germany would win the impending war against Russia, France and Serbia, as well as the protection of the Britain Empire from German aggression.
Works Cited
Martel, Gordon. Month That Changed the World: July 1914. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Print.
Sondhaus, Lawrence. World war one: The global revolution. London: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Print.
