The First Total War

World War I is different from most other wars in that it was not a direct result of aggression by one entity towards another, notwithstanding the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Serbian elements. Instead, it was a consequence of a number of forces amidst a disruption of the tenuous balance of power in Europe. What were these forces and how did they contribute to the outbreak of WWI

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THE FIRST TOTAL WAR

Besides the assassination of Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand, there are other factors that led to the outburst of the first World War. Countries were compelled to forge alliances to protect their land as soon as big armies become potential threats to them this resulted in Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism, (Taylor, 2013). Nationalism was the greatest cause of the war. Countries became greedy and every country wanted to show that they were best. Some countries such as Austria-Hungary wanted independence while France demanded the return of Alsace Lorraine who was lost in Germany in the Franco-Prussian war.

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