THECAUSESOFWORLDWARONE-MarkNicholsHistory.docVIP

THE CAUSES OF WORLD WAR ONE (1914-1918) IDEAS OLD AND NEW GCE LEVEL HISTORY, BWIC MR. NICHOLS, 2007-8 WHO STARTED THE WAR? History (and even pre-history) is one, almost continuous, story of confrontation and invasion. The current state of the world shows this only too well. Since WWII alone, there have been well over a thousand wars: some have lasted days, others years. Discussion Point What contemporary conflicts are taking place? Why do people fight wars? What made the First World War, the so-called ‘Great War’, in the minds of contemporaries, at least, was that it was the first truly global conflagration in history (given the extent of the participants’ empires). However, in other ways, it was arguably not unique, especially, in terms of its basic causes. A combination of circumstances at the time and Mankind’s innate, inherent failings, led to a conflict that would eventually see the deaths of over 9 million human beings. It was a war, in other words, that cost over 6000 lives (or two 9/11’s) a day - for four and a quarter years. Contemporaries, however, regarded the possibility of a long war unlikely. The German Crown Prince looked forward to a ‘bright and jolly war’. The British foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey argued that the War would not last long and be over by Christmas, on the logic that a war between the Great Powers would be too ruinous to continue long. Wars are rarely, if ever, ideological. Wars are fought for far baser ideals than their participants are prepared to admit. In my opinion, the ‘just war’ concept has always been something of a myth. WWI was never a ‘just war’, despite each side proclaiming that it was. Cynicism is something that is unavoidable when studying the causes of wars, and is an especially useful state of mind to take when looking at the reasons for the First World War. But while WWI was, in many ways, not unique, it does have its peculiar causes. Even so, it is still v