The Events During The World War I - 1662 Words

Introduction The First World War went down in history as one of the worst wars ever to be fought, owing to the magnitude of destruction and loss of life it left in its wake. The war started in 1914 ending in 1919, and has been described variously as the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Great Warà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½the War of Nationsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½War to End All Warsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. (Dwight E, 1966) It was fought by many nations around the world, with Europeans being the main players, and is very significant for the way it shaped the continents years after it ended. Many explanations for the possible causes of the war have been given, some of which have been accepted while others have been disputed. The war was fought in a series of battles fought at different locations at different times†¦show more content†¦(Dwight E, 1966) Secondly, at about the same time, the Scramble for Africa was taking place, and there was a myriad of conflicts among the various colonial powers. The rush to acquire new territories led to enmity between the colonists over disputed regions. To make matters worse, the 1870 to 1871 war between the French and the Germans in which Germany won helped to foster distrust between the two nations. (Dwight E, 1966) Furthermore, the feelings of nationalism among the nations were at their peak especially in Bismarckà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s Germany. People were very eager to prove how strong or important their country was and each felt superior in comparison to other countries. This nurtured hatred among the countries and made them eager to go to war to prove their might. Another significant cause of the war is a set of alliance systems that had been put in place to prevent war. After the Franco-Prussian war, a system of tangled alliances between European nations emerged. Some of the most famous alliances include Bismarckà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s Greater Germany, Britainà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s Splendid Isolation, The Three Emperors League and Dual Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia, The Triple Alliance consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. There was a secret Franco-Italian Alliance, whereby in event of war, and Germany attacked France, Italy would remain neutral. Other alliances included the Reinsurance Treaty between Germany and