World War I: Causes and Outbreak of the Conflict

Causes of World War I

The Armed Peace: Colonial Confrontations

Morocco experienced two crises:

• The first crisis occurred when France intended to make Morocco a protectorate. Germany supported the Sultan of Morocco to defend their independence. Ultimately, Morocco became a French-Spanish protectorate. The result was a Franco-British alliance (Entente Cordiale).
• The second crisis involved Germany sending a warship to a Moroccan port. The result was Germany extending its colony of Cameroon at the expense of France.

The Balkan Crisis

The causes of the Balkan crisis were:

• Rivalries between European powers (Austria-Hungary and Russia) to control the Balkans.
• The Ottoman Empire's eagerness to maintain its European dominions.
• Serbia's ambition to unify the Balkan peoples.
• The Balkan peoples' struggles for independence.

In the ensuing conflicts, Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia. During the Balkan Wars, Turkey faced the Balkan League (Serbia, Greece, and Bulgaria), followed by conflict between the Bulgarians against Serbs, Romanians, and Greeks.

The consequences were:

• Turkey lost all its European territories.
• Serbia failed to achieve the unification of all Slavs in the Balkans.
• Serbia failed to gain access to the Mediterranean Sea.
• Serbia became an enemy of Austria-Hungary due to the annexation of Bosnia.

Rivalry Between Great Powers

Territorially, France sought to recover Alsace and Lorraine (under German control), while Russia and Austria maintained their rivalry in the Balkans.

Economically, Germany and Great Britain competed in European markets.

Psychologically, the major powers engaged in an arms race. Germany's ambitions included economic dominance in Central Europe, stability against France and Russia, and a more favorable division of colonial Africa.

The Outbreak of the Conflict

World War I was characterized by its vast extension, long duration, the prevalence of new weapons and defensive tactics, military innovations, and the use of all available resources (human and financial).

The trigger of the conflict was the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. The assassin was a Serbian nationalist.

Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia with German support. Austria-Hungary then declared war, triggering the system of alliances.