Causes of World War I Hi this is _______, ________, and _______, and today we are going to discuss the causes of World War I. World War I began in Europe in 1914 and ended in 1918. At the time European nations had been engaging in Imperialism; they had been traveling around the world and dominating other territories in order to obtain natural resources for the factories and industry back in Europe. This Imperialism turned into a kind of competition, as European nations tried to outdo each other in the game of Global Imperialism. The strongest European nations such as Germany, England, France, Russia and Austria began to use their wealth, industry and resources to make weapons and arm themselves. This is called "Militarism"; and European nations engaged in Militarism as they built up large armies and began to flex their military muscles. Nationalism also came into play here as the leaders and citizens of these nations each thought they were the superior nation and were entitled to more and more power, territory and military might. So in the years leading up to WW I - things were getting pretty tense in Europe. Nations began to look to other nations to back them up in case of any trouble. Friendships and alliances began to form. Germany, Austria and Italy formed the Triple Alliance. England, France and Russia formed the Triple Entente. As you can see - the Triple Alliance was surrounded by the Triple Entente - you can probably guess who won the war. All these European Alliances formed a "Balance of Power". Military power was pretty even between the two sides; nobody wanted to fight anyone else because of this "Balance of Power". But all this changed when a Serbian citizen assassinated Franz Ferdinand - the Archduke of Austria. Austria declared war on Serbia - but then Russia backed up Serbia and declared war on Austria. Then everyone got involved; Germany, France, England, etc. all declared war. The "Balance of Power" was broken and World War I began. World War I was known for its reliance on Trench Warfare - where each side would dig themselves into trenches to avoid being shot. World War I also caused many deaths, as modern weapons such as machine guns, bombs and tanks came into use. The war devastated Europe and killed nearly an entire generation of young men. Eventually France and England, with the help of the United States, defeated Germany and Austria. The war ended in 1918 and the Treaty of Versailles was signed. This treaty really punished Germany and blamed them for the entire war. As we will see soon - Germany was so devastated by the terms of this treaty - that they eventually sought revenge and started WW II. So to review, the main causes of World War I were: Imperialistic Competition, Nationalism, Militarism, and the Assassination of the Austrian Archduke. This assassination broke up Europe's delicate "Balance of Power" and caused the two alliances to declare war on each other.