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The Origins of World War One

Early signs in Europe

In Blackadder Goes Forth, Baldrick opined that the war
began when 'Archie Duke shot an ostrich because he was hungry'. His
garbled version of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of
Austria-Hungary reflects popular opinion: that the issues were not
worth the ensuing bloodbath. Most modern scholars would not agree.
Germany and Austria-Hungary (the Central Powers) are seen, at the very
least, as creating the conditions for conflict. Some go much further,
blaming Germany for planning and waging a deliberate war of aggression.

'Europe was divided into two armed camps: the Entente Powers and the Central Powers...'

Under Kaiser Wilhelm II, Germany moved from a policy of maintaining
the status quo to a more aggressive stance. He decided against renewing
a treaty with Russia, effectively opting for the Austrian alliance.
Germany's western and eastern neighbours, France and Russia, signed an
alliance in 1894 united by fear and resentment of Berlin. In 1898,
Germany began to build up its navy, although this could only alarm the
world's most powerful maritime nation, Britain. Recognis