The Great European War: Reckless Destruction and Bloodshed

presence of multiple nationalities, particularly large Slavic groups. Serbia, with support from Russia, encouraged Slavs in Austria-Hungary to seek independence, which posed a threat to its unity and resulted in aggressive foreign policy towards Serbia leading to the Balkan crisis. Meanwhile, concerns over potential threats to their overseas empires troubled Great Britain and France.

Historians believe that nationalism paved the way for imperialism during the "classic age of imperialism" spanning from early 19th century up until early 20th century. This era saw existing empires like Britain, France and Russia expand significantly territorially while new empires emerged from nations such as Germany, United States and Japan.

In 1900, many believed that a nation needed to expand its colonies to enhance its reputation and maintain its position. This was driven by economic advantages, territorial acquisition, and the belief that owning multiple colonies was prestigious. As Europe had reached stability and could no longer extend borders within the continent, attention turned to other areas such as Africa and China. This led to competition among European powers for colonial territories, ultimately straining relations between major players like Britain, France and Russia.

Back in 1884, a conference took place in Berlin as an effort to prevent any further colonial conflicts. This was due to the fact that France and Britain have already risked war over their competing claims in the upper Nile regions. Apart from that, Russia's attempt to penetrate China posed a threat to Britain's economic and commercial interests in the said country.

The said conference set out several principles regarding colonization, with one of them being that each power must inform others about their colonies to prevent clashes. Additionally, a large central

belt of Africa was made into a free trade zone, which eventually led to what is now known as the "scramble for Africa". This saw European powers racing against each other to acquire as many colonies as possible.

Prior to the Berlin conference, the Western perception of Africa was that it contained "undeveloped estates" that were being neglected by "uncivilised" Africans. Despite the conference, colonial competition persisted and intensified. This rivalry was particularly evident during the "scramble for Africa" period, which saw conflicts between nations, such as Britain and France's dispute over West Nigeria in 1897. Germany and Italy, who began colonial expansion later than others, recognized that imperialism would enhance nationalistic pride.

Between 1908 and 1911, Germany got into conflicts with France and Britain over Morocco. Some argue that imperialist competitiveness triggered such disputes, which further deteriorated their poor relationship and potentially forced their leaders to engage in a political showdown. However, after 1905, the colonial issues became less significant as both countries turned their attention back to Europe, the centre of their rivalry. The British entente with France (1904) and Russia (1907) aided in diminishing colonial competitive pressures as these countries felt threatened by the powerful and unpredictable Germany that pursued aggressive territorial expansion. By 1914, disagreements over colonies considerably reduced and were not a major underlying cause of the war outbreak.

During the era of imperialism and weapon technology advancements, an upsurge in militarism ensued as a means of preserving colonial interests. In fear that their own interests were at risk, the European nations maintained a sizable permanent army and increased their naval power, triggering a naval arms race between nations to achieve naval superiority.

As the nation with the largest and strongest navy in the world, Britain earned great acclaim. In 1890, Kaiser Wilhelm II expressed admiration for the magnitude of the British navy and proposed an alliance with Britain. He believed that Germany could earn British support by showing strength, making it an essential ally. Admiral Von Tirpitz was appointed head of the German navy in 1897.

During the leadership of Tirpitz, the German navy underwent significant expansion starting from 1898. Tirpitz's ideology was focused on constructing a navy sizable enough to deliver an impactful blow to impede the possibility of war. Germany's ambition was to earn recognition as a naval force and prove their worthiness to Britain. Nevertheless, this expansion of Germany's navy posed a threat to Britain's naval superiority, thus hindering Germany's anticipated ally in Britain. In response, Britain increased the size of its navy and developed its inaugural Dreadnought battleship, rendering earlier models useless.

Between 1909 and 1911, Germany constructed nine Dreadnoughts as a response to Britain's reaction towards their naval expansion. This rivalry between the two powers intensified the naval race, ultimately leading to a belief that war was imminent. Military leaders may have encouraged war to display their nation's strength. The rivalry not only affected the possibility of war, but it also ensured that by 1914, European powers were prepared for it. Furthermore, Germany's naval expansion caused Britain to seek alliances with France and Russia in the Triple Entente due to alienation. This, coupled with colonial motives, resulted in a solidification of the intricate alliance system.

France, following the Franco-German war of 1870-71, nurtured a nationalistic desire for revenge and the recovery of Alsace and Lorraine.

Germany, led by Chancellor Bismarck, established a network of treaties over several years to isolate France and prevent possible aggression. The Dual alliance formed in 1879 between Germany and Austria-Hungary was a binding defensive agreement, where Germany committed itself to Austria-Hungary. Italy joined in 1882 with a secret treaty that bound it to Austria-Hungary and Germany, leading to the formation of the Triple alliance.

In Europe, two powerful blocs emerged causing concern among the Great Powers. The first alliance was formed by several nations and resulted in the creation of the second bloc as a response. The Triple Entente, initially a mutual defensive agreement between France and Russia in 1892 when Russia requested financial support from France, grew to include Great Britain after their efforts to establish a bilateral alliance with Germany failed.

The year 1907 saw Britain, France, and Russia strike a deal to counterbalance Germany's growing might. The outcome was the establishment of a less binding coalition called the Triple Entente, which resolved disputes related to colonial pursuits. Consequently, by 1914, Europe had split into two opposing blocs with formidable armies. As secrecy shrouded these alliances, distrust and suspicion spread among the continent's powers.

The suspicion of the diplomats involved in pre-war crises prevented them from finding a viable solution. The formation of the Triple Entente made Germany feel surrounded by enemies, prompting William II to pursue a more aggressive foreign policy. This resulted in international crises between 1905 and 1914. The alliances also meant that even minor disputes could escalate into full-scale wars involving all powers, creating a domino effect.

There is a general consensus that the war was sparked by the alliance system due to

the Balkans being seen as a potential source of conflict, which ultimately resulted in war in 1914. The mishandling of the Balkan situation by all parties played an important role in causing the war. To comprehend the dispute between Austria-Hungary and Serbia in this region, it is necessary to analyze those who made decisions. The statesmen can be blamed for their failure to anticipate how the conflict would escalate and their inability to act swiftly and effectively towards preserving peace.

The Balkan conflicts from 1912 to 1913 led to Serbia's expansion and a stronger desire to unify national Slavs. This increased Austria-Hungary's resolve to attack Serbia. The assassination of Austrian Prince Franz Ferdinand in June 1914 provided the pretext for the attack, but Austria's response was not proportional to the offense. Had the Powers made more effort to intervene and manage the crisis, war could have been avoided. Instead, leaders simply reacted to events as they unfolded.

Germany knew that involvement in the conflict would lead to a war throughout Europe, but instead of preventing it by intervening in the Balkan crisis, Germany chose to support its dependable ally Austro-Hungary. Austria wouldn't have launched their attack without Germany's total support. Russia refused to be humiliated again as it had been during the Bosnian crisis and joined the war to restore its prestige. France entered the war with hopes of retaliation and regaining Alsace and Lorraine.

The outbreak of World War I was driven by a convoluted network of factors, including England's involvement due to the threat posed to her security by the invasion of Belgium. The mismanagement of the Balkans contributed significantly but was not the sole catalyst

for escalation. A long-standing history of rivalries and growing nationalism compounded matters, as did the perilous system of Alliances. While the assassination of Franz Ferdinand acted as a trigger event leading to the Balkan crisis, Europe faced too many concurrent issues, and if not for this crisis, war would have erupted over another matter. Ultimately, deep-seated European problems made war inevitable.

The leaders' lack of foresight about the war led them to believe it would be brief and over by Christmas. They did not anticipate its four-year duration nor that no power would emerge as a clear winner. Had they considered the consequences, the war might have been avoidable.