World War 1: Who Was to Blame?

Abstract

World War I broke out when diplomacy among the Great Powers failed to resolve Archduke Franz Ferdinand's murder by Gavrilo Princip, a Serb terrorist, on June 28(superscript th), 1914 in Sarajevo. The Great Powers, at this time, had formed into two camps, and had much confidence in their respective allies through defence agreements. For example, Austria Hungary, Germany and Italy had signed the Triple Alliance Treaty in 1882, while Russia, France and Britain had signed the Triple Entente in 1907. The situation became increasingly critical when Russia and Germany rigidly supported their respective allies. A war was inevitable, into which the Great Powers were dragged. The objectives of this paper are to study how far the European Great Powers strove to prevent World War I in Europe and what factors brought the involvement of the Great Powers in war. This study is based on the analysis of unpublished British documents at the Public Records Office in London and the compilation of British documents entitled The Origins of The War, 1894-1914. This study finds that, in the year 1914, the Great Powers were prepared for war because of their own interests, which included expanding their colonies and strengthening their economies and power in and outside of Europe.