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Essay on Germany Did Not Start World War I
World War I developed from two complex causes. One cause was the fact that all European countries had developed conscript armies. All adult male citizens of a nation were required to take military training and could be called into combat at any time. Each nation had a military mobilization plan, a process for getting troops and equipment ready for combat with an enemy. Germany and France could complete their mobilizations in about 2 days. Italy and Austria-Hungary took 4 or 5 days. Russia took about 15 days. Each country had a separate war plan for every possible enemy. If one nation began mobilization, all others mobilized, too.
The second basic cause of the war was a gradual breakdown of agreements among the European nations, accompanied by changes in the balance of power among them. This was due to a lack of strong political leadership in Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary. The governments of these nations were being run by incompetent civilian ministers. Nations could no longer depend on each other and so became suspicious of each other. New alliances were made. In particular, France and Russia pledged to help each other in case of war with Germany. About 1904, Kaiser (emperor) Wilhelm II decided to make Germany into a great naval power and began building battleships.
Britain began getting nervous. In 1907, the Triple Entente was formed between Great Britain, France, and Russia in opposition to the Triple Alliance that had been formed between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. These two alliances divided Europe into two opposing military camps. In case of war, Germany was depending on the use of theSchlieffen Plan, sending 90 percent of the German forces immediately against France. According to the plan, French troops would be crushed within four or five days. Then full German forces could be sent against Russia in the east......
