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Explaining the Start of the War
Some accounts of World War I treat it as though it was almost an accident. Because of some mistakes by a few political and military leaders and a web of alliances and treaties, declarations of war seemed to be triggered automatically between countries with little reason to go to war. While these causes were important, other factors were involved. After all, most of the countries that came to be involved in World War I had enjoyed relatively friendly interrelations right up to the start of the war. For the most part, they shared strong economic interdependencies, and trade between them was brisk, making the prospect of a large-scale war highly unattractive.
Moreover, though several treaties in force at the time did compel certain countries to join the war, it is a mistake to assume that any of them joined the war “automatically.” Leaders in each country debated whether to enter the war and generally made their decisions only after evaluating their own concrete interests and risks. Many of these countries had hidden motives and mistakenly assumed that others would stay out of the conflict.
German Motives
Though Germany had little interest in Austria’s problems with Serbia, it had significant ambitions regarding its other neighbors. In recent years, Russia had become increasingly involved in European affairs, while simultaneously modernizing and expanding its military. German military leaders felt that a future war with Russia was inevitable. Therefore, they argued, it would be far better to fight Russia now, while its army was still poorly armed and untrained, rather than to wait until it could pose a greater threat.
Furthermore, German military leaders believed there was a good chance that Britain would remain neutral, and that France might also stay at arm’s length, despite its treaty with Russia. This wishful thinking helped the German military leaders convince themselves that the war would be winnable and helped them to sell their plan to the kaiser.
British Motives
For centuries, Britain had been the greatest naval power in the world and also had the largest collection of colonies. In the first years of the twentieth century, however, Germany made a massive and costly effort to build up a comparable navy of its own with the specific goal of matching Britain on the high seas. Germany also had recently shown a stronger interest than before in acquiring new colonies. Britain, seeing these developments as a dangerous threat to the balance of power in Europe, tried to convince Germany through diplomatic channels that the country had no need for a large navy or many colonies. Germany was unpersuaded and continued as before. Just as some German leaders favored an “anticipatory” war against Russia, some British leaders felt similarly about Germany.
French Motives
In 1871, France had lost the territories of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany in a war. Even 40 years later this was still felt as a bitterly humiliating blow, and France was desperate to regain these lands. While fearful of an all-out German invasion, some French leaders felt that, if Germany were distracted by a war with Russia, France might have a chance to seize Alsace and Lorraine.
Russian Motives
Russia’s motives for entering the war are less clear-cut. The period just prior to the war was a time of great instability in Russia. Never had the tsar’s grip on power been so fragile. On the other hand, there was support in Russia for the Serbian cause, and a military victory would likely help the tsar politically. Nevertheless, war was a risky proposition given the poor state of the Russian military at the time. Tsar Nicholas II, who was personally hesitant about joining the war, briefly flip-flopped over ordering mobilization. Ultimately, however, he caved under pressure from overly optimistic Russian military leaders and advisers who had strong nationalistic leanings.
