To what extent was Germany to blame for the start of World War 1?
During the beginning of the 19th Century Europe was crossing a period characterized by great technological advancements and scientific optimism, but it was also subject to hostile relations between many of its main powers. These hostilities transformed into war on the 28th of June 1914,when a 19 year old terrorist, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, creating the cause of war that one month later brought Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia and officially start World War 1. At the end of the war, during the treaty of Versailles, the "war guilt clause" was written and it stated that Germany was to blame as the cause of World War 1, but as
There was also a massive increase in armaments and new technologies led to the creation of innovative and more effective weapons, such as heavy machine guns, more powerful and precise artillery, chemical weapons and the new Dreadnought class battleships. Germany in particular put great importance in developing a powerful military. Between the Franco-Prussian war and WW1, it increased its military spending by almost 350 percent, more than any other country at the time, and the growth of its army alarmed France, that increased the numbers of its army in response. Also, Germany entered in a naval race with Britain, aiming to challenge its fleet, and this caused an increase in tension between the two countries. All these points show that militarism was an important aspect that affected the start of WW1 because it led to an arms race between the European powers that massively increased their military expenditures and the size of armies, resulting in an increase in hostilities between countries that feared a military attack from their enemies.
Alliances, however, were what transformed a conflict in Europe into what has later been remembered as the first World war. After the Franco-Prussian war, an intricate web of public and secret alliances were made between the major European countries, and this led to the formation of two main groups of allied nations. By using diplomacy, Bismarck managed to isolate France while also limiting the