The Great War

There was fear between the european powers – France allied with Britain as its army is large and its navy small whereas Britain’s navy was large and army small. Germany shared a natural alliance with Austria-Hungary as they spoke the same language and shared a similar culture. Countries allied with each other because of various reasons such as these and formed the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance. The Triple Entente included France, Britain and Russia. The Triple Alliance included Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.

There was fear between countries - both France and Britain were suspicious of Germany as Germany was building up a navy. Germany feared the huge British Empire – Germany wished for more lands also as they believed this was a sign of power. Tensions between countries were tight.  

The spark that set off a chain of events leading toward The Great War was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand – Austria gave Serbia an ultimatum that Serbia rejected, sparking internal war. However, Russia had long ties with the Serbs and became involved in the war also. Then of course Germany became involved because of their alliance.

The european powers held large empires across the world. The alliances ensured that if one country was ever attacked, then all the other countries in the alliance would also be mobilised and the many countries under the global empires would also be involved, effectively starting the First World War.

Image: http://castinet.castilleja.org/private/faculty/peggy_mckee/20thcenturymaps/20thcmaps.html