First World War :-

The immediate causes of First World War were the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand Franz of Austria by a Serbian nationalist. But the seeds of the war were laid after the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. With the balance of power disturbed and Prussia emerging as the dominant power in Europe, there was a competition to balance the powers with Alliances between the continental powers.

Following were the alliances forged during the pre-war period that led to the rapid escalation of conflicts-

1)      Bismarck formed the alliance between Prussia, Austria and Russia in 1873 called league of three emperors.

2)      After retirement of Bismarck, Wilhelm II became the driver of Prussian foreign policy. Disagreement over Balkans led to fallout with Russia and Prussia backed Austria. In 1879 the dual alliance was formed between Austria and Prussia.

3)      In 1882 the alliance was expanded to include Italy, making it a triple alliance.

4)      Kaiser refused to renew reinsurance treaty in 1890 with Russia.

5)      France used the opportunity to form the Dual alliance with Russia in 1892.

6)      In 1904 France and Britain signed the Entente Cordiale.

7)      In 1907 Russia and Britain signed the Anglo Russian convention. 

  This formed the triple entente. It didn’t make Britain an ally but created possibility of its involvement in war on the side of France or Russia.

Franz Ferdinand in life had been the symbol of peaceful coexistence so it is only ironical that his death started the war. Austria emboldened by the support of Germany declared war on Serbia. Russia came in to support Serbia which pulled in Germany to declare war on France and Russia. Its advance in France through a neutral state Belgium got Britain involved as well. So most of the major powers in Continental Europe were locked in a war which will cause 9 million military and 12 million civilian casualties.

Italy despite its pre-war agreement with the central states allied itself with Allies (France, Russia and Britain).

Due to the German submarine warfare in the Atlantic and its sinking of private vessels, USA too was pulled into the war in 1917 despite its initial reluctance.

Due to the Russian revolution, the newly formed Bolshevik government withdrew from the war in Mar 1918.

The credit for making the European war a global war goes to Germany. To remove pressure from its front lines, it tried to threaten the British colonies. In doing so, he spread the war to Asia, Africa and America.

The war was a huge strain to the economies of all the beleaguered nations. German defeat after the involvement of USA was eminent and it agreed to unconditional surrender.

After the war a number of treaties were signed the most important of which was the treaty of Versailles. USA’s president Woodrow Wilson tried to handle the settlement with idealism in his 14 points, which was however neglected by British and French leaders. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were very harsh and pushed Germany into recession, which in turn led to the second world war.