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Europe avoided major wars in the 100 years before World War 1 began. In the 1800's, an idea swept across the continent that helped bring about the Great War.It was Nationalism - the belief that loyalty to a person's nation and its political and economic goals come before any other countrie's. During the 1800's nationalism became popular for the people who shared a common language, history, or culture. They began to view themselfes as supirieor. Nationalism led to the creation of two new powers:Italy and Germany. through the uniting of many small states. War had a major role in achieving nation strength in Italy and Germany. But also nationalism weakened the eastern European Countries of Austria,Hungary, Russia, and Turkey. They ruled many national groups that urged for independence. The Balkan Peninsula or the "Powder Keg of Europe" because tensions there threatened to start a major war. Rivalry for control of the Balkans added to the tensions that erupted into World War 1.
Building Military strength occurred among European countries before World War 1 broke out. Nationalism encouraged public support for military buildups and for a country's use of force to reach its goals. By the late 1800's, Germany had the best trained army in the world. In 1898 Germany began making a naval force that was big enough to challenge the British navy. In 1906, the British navy launched the Dreadnought, the first modern battleship. The Dreadnought had greater firepower that any other ship of its time. Germany rushed to construct on just like it. Advances in technology helped aid in making military forces stronger. Machine guns and other new weapons fired more accurately and more rapidly that earlier weapons. By the end of the 1800's, technology enabled countries to fight longer and bear greater losses that ever before.A Group of Alliances gave European powers
a sense of security before World War 1.They formed these alliances with eachother for protection and to guarente that other members of the alliance would come to the country's aid if attacked. Although alliances provided protection, the system also created certian dangers. If war came, the alliance system meant that a number of nations would fight, not only the two involved in a duspute. Alliances could force a counry to go to war against a nation it had no quarrel with. In addition, the terms of many alliances were kept secret. The secrecy also increased the chances that a county might guess wrong about the consequeneces of its actions. The Triple Alliance was made up of 3 countries, Germany, Italy, and Austria. They all agreed to go to war if attacked by Russia. Bismarck also brought Austria and Germany into alliance with Russia. The agreement was known as the "Three Emperor's League" and it was formed in 1881. They all agreed to remain neutral if any of them went to war with another country. In 1890 when Bismarck left office it gave a chance for Russia and France to form an alliance. In 1894, France and Russia agreed to call up troops if any naiton in the Triple Alliance mobilized. Russia and France also agreed to help eachother if either were attacked be Germany.Beginning of the War On June 28, 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian terrorist named Gavrilo Princip. The Archduke's assassination triggered the outbreak of World War 1. On July 28 Austria declard war on Serbia. Because of Austria's alliance with Germany, Serbia try to get help from Russia. In 1914 Russia vowed to stand behind Serbia, but first Russia gained support from France. Germany declared war on Russia on Aug. 1, 1914, in response to Russias mobilization. Two days later Germany declared war on France. The German Army swept into Belgium on its way to France. The invasion of Belgium caused Britian to declare war on Germany on August. Germanys plan for a quick defeat of France while Russia slowly mobilized was called the "Schlieffen Plan". This plan called for two wings of the German ar
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