Militarism was one of the first things to create tension between nations. Britain felt that they were superior to all other countries. France wanted what the British had and Germany wanted what the French had. This provoked fierce competition and each country worked to build up the strongest military. This led to an arms race between these three powers. Both Germany’s and France’s armies doubled in size between 1870 and 1914. The increase of military and naval rivalry led to the belief that a war was coming. Germany felt that through war, they could become a world power. As a result of the arms race, European powers were fully prepared for war when 1814 arrived.
Militarism was one of the first things to create tension between nations. Britain felt that they were superior to all other countries. France wanted what the British had and Germany wanted what the French had. This provoked fierce competition and each country worked to build up the strongest military. This led to an arms race between these three powers. Both Germany’s and France’s armies doubled in size between 1870 and 1914. The increase of military and naval rivalry led to the belief that a war was coming. Germany felt that through war, they could become a world power. As a result of the arms race, European powers were fully prepared for war when 1814 arrived.
After the Franco-Prussian war all the European nations adopted the German plan for universal military conscription. Thus by 1914 there were approximately three and a half million men in the standing armies and millions more in the trained reserves. Each nation, of course, claimed that its preparations were merely for defensive purposes. Statesmen, too, were less willing to negotiate in good faith as long as they felt they had some military might back of them. But perhaps the most dangerous effect was the frame of mind this building up of armaments developed. Militarism tends to impart an attitude of approval of war as an elevating, ennobling occupation. In each country the aim was carefully to prepare the population, physically and mentally, for the eventuality of war. Thus, when Serbia angered Austria, Austria determined to punish Serbia, but then Russia backed Serbia, thus seemingly threatening Austria. Austria sought German support, while Russia, in turn, invoked French aid, and finally Great Britain came to the support of France. The wheels were turning and the world slipped mindlessly into war, without regard to the awful consequences.
Someone killed someone, making someone angry, then someone helped someone by stopping someone attacking them, and then someone killed someone else, told someone who told someone, who then made someone get angry and declare war on someone. Hope I helped someone
