The Cause of the Great War World War I - 2062 Words

World War I was a conflict that claimed over 10 million peoples’ lives, ravaged all of Europe and engineered modern warfare, as it is know today. The Great War has been scrutinized and examined through many complex theories in order to understand how such a conflict escalated to one of the most epic wars in history. This essay, like many works before it, looks to examine WWI and determine its causes through two distinct levels of analysis, individual and systemic. The individual level of analysis locates the cause of conflicts in individual leaders or decision makers within a particular country, focusing on the characteristics of human decision-making. The systemic level of analysis explains the causation of a conflict from a system wide†¦show more content†¦In consequence, The Schlieffen Plan offered German planners an offensive strategy that struck quickly in order to fight a war on two fronts. Wilhelm’s perceptions that the offense was the strongest course o f action was misguided and built with bias that only led to a glorious German victory. Diplomatically, Wilhelm perceived that he would not be accused of instigating the global conflict. His sly maneuvers to use Serbia as a scapegoat in order to mobilize Russia and then mobilize in retaliation stands as a strong indicator that he personally wanted to be the aggressor, but seen as the reactionary actor. Lastly, Wilhelm perceived that his conquest would be achievable relatively quickly. He thought that he would be able to defeat France and then focus on Russia, before Russia was finished mobilizing their military. These three significant events before the war reinforce Wilhelm’s status conscious and aggressive personality, which largely drove policy towards the war in 1914. The other head of this conundrum is Czar Nicolas II. Nicolas was a cousin of Wilhelm and the Russian Tsar until 1917 with his abdication of the throne. Nicolas took the throne through divine right. Nicolas ha d never wanted to be tsar; he had feared that job and absolute monarchy was forced on him through his family. Nicolas was devoted to his wife, children, and religion. He was shy, less assertive, and was often encouraged by his wife to defendShow MoreRelatedThe Great War Was A Cause Of World War I979 Words   |  4 PagesThe Great War was a result of our leader’s aggression towards other countries which brought about and supported the rising of nationalism of the different nations. Imperial competition and the fear of war prompted our military alliances to get ready for war. Nationalism was a cause of World War I. Nationalism could have been explained as an extreme form of patriotism and loyalty to your county, nationalism placed the all of their interested above all the other countries and thought that somehow theyRead MoreWwi Causes Essay906 Words   |  4 PagesAaron Carlson Period 2 – History III 3/29/10 WWI Essay – Causes of War Even today, the causes of World War one is still being debated and the great war started 96 years ago and ended 92 years ago. Yet today after so much time the main cause of the war still remains unexposed to this day. What triggered the whole war was the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie of Austria-Hungary on June 28th 1914 by The Black Hand. The assassination happened because of feelingsRead MoreWoodrow Wilsons Fourteen Points on the Paris Peace Settlement931 Words   |  4 Pageswas held on January 1919 in Versailles just right outside of Paris. 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