First World War -who was to be blamed?

Question

There are different opinions who to blame for the outbreak of the first world war. Well, now I'm asking you, who (which country) do you think is most to blame for the war? And why do you think the way you do?

Answer 1

I don't think you can put the blame on just one country.

In my view there are three countries to blame.

The Austro-Hungarian empire wanted to throw their weight around in the Balkans and issued an ultimatum to Serbia that was so strong it was bound to be rebuffed and would lead to a declaration of war (as it did).

The Germans and the British had been in an arms race running through the tail end of the previous century (especially a build up of their respective sea power). Germany wanted to see an end to British domination, and Britain jealously guarded its position as "Ruler of the Waves". Both of these nations were spoiling for a fight and used the assassination in Sarajevo as a convenient trigger.

Answer 2

Firstly, the reason for WWI was not the murder of Franz Ferdinand. Germany and Austro-Hungary were the countries that had a developed industry, but they didn't have many colonies. Their hunger for territory and state wealth, along with a developed army; that was the reason. They were just waiting for a motivation to start the war. The murder was done by Gavrilo Princip, a member of political organization Mlada Bosna (Young Bosnia). The Austrians immediately pointed a finger at Serbia and sent them an ultimatum (the list of things Serbia needs to do not to enter a war). The only thing the authorities in Serbia didn't answer affirmatively is: The Austrian soldiers should enter Serbia and investigate the crime. The two great forces decraled war on Serbia one after another and put that as a reason. That's how the war began.
The question was: who to blame? I think that Germany and Austro-Hungary are to be blamed. But, maybe somebody thinks different.

Answer 3

I would split the blame between serbia who failed to protect franz ferdinand and germany who used the events between austria-hungary and serbia as an excuse to declare war on half of europe. So I would answer germany 65% at fault and serbia 30% and the other countries 5% this is a purely intuitive conclusion. I don't think you could ever place all the blame squarely on one nation though. The whole region was a powderkeg waiting to explode due to all of the agreements where each country had chosen a side before anything had even happened. Anything could have set it off.

Answer 4

The ruling and gouverning persons thought that the great war was to come sooner or later. So it remained as important point to chose the right moment and circumstances. Then, most people thought war a legitimate means of politics. To the events of June/July 1914: When Austria would have been humiliated by Serbia, she would soon have gone downhill (nationality problems, several wars lost, old emperor). So Germany backed up Austria. But Russia backed up Serbia, because they wanted to protect their friends in order to hold influence in the world. If one asks who is to be blamed: Austria was more important to Germany (great power, last reliable ally) than Serbia was to Russia. France was keen on the war to regain eventually the lost provinces. Only Britain showed a responsable attitude.

Answer 5

Erm, well you could sort of suggest that it might have been in a very roundabout way. (About as roundabout as that sentence) In 1931, a bomb went off on the Japanese owned Manchurian Railway in Manchuria, China. The Japanese gov. blamed the Chinese army (who it was later proved were all in their barracks at the time). Anyway, the Japanese army invaded Manchuria and the Chinese appealed to the League of Nations. The League sent Lord Lytton to decide who was the aggressor, but it took him a YEAR to get there and back by sea. When he did get back (September 1932), he announced that Japan WAS the aggressor. However, Japan was a Permanent Member of the League and had the power of veto, so couls stop any sanctions being placed against them. Anyway, this incident really showed other countries that a League member could do whatever they wanted and get away with it. So, in 1935, Italy (another Permanent Member) invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). While France and Britain were distracted by the Abyssinia Crisis, Hitler was able to remilitarise the Rhineland (breaking the Treaty of Versailles) and wasn't stopped. So you could suggest that Japan invading China inspired Italy to invade Abyssinia/Ethiopia which allowed Hitler to get away with remilitarising the Rhineland, which was the first part of his route to eventual war. But to be honest, I would just say no.

Answer 6

Germany.

World War I (abbreviated WWI), also known as the First World War, the Great War and "The War to End All Wars" was a global military conflict that took place mostly in Europe between 1914 and 1918. It was a total war which left millions dead and helped to shape the modern world.

The Allied Powers, led by France, Russia, the British Empire, and later Italy and the United States, defeated the Central Powers: Austria-Hungary, the German Empire, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire.

The war caused the disintegration of four empires: the Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, and Russian. Germany lost its overseas empire, and new states such as Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were created, or recreated, as was Poland.

World War I created a decisive break with the old world order that had emerged after the Napoleonic Wars, which was modified by the mid-19th century’s nationalistic revolutions. The results of World War I would be important factors in the development of World War II 21 years later.

Answer 7

Germany gave full support to Austria-Hungary to invade Serbia after the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand. Serbia was supported by Russia who had a limited call up. France supported Russia who had a full military call up and was wanting revenge on the loss of the Franco-Prussian War. Thinking the best way to knock France out of any war Germany invaded France by way of neutral Belgium which caused The United Kingdom to enter the war. It was all a European Diplomated blunder. The Ironic thing is Arch Duke Ferdinand was not like by his Uncle Franz Joseph the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, in fact he did not attend the funeral of Arch Duke Ferdinand. He was hardly missed because he married a woman that no else liked, Sophie, the Duchess of Hohenberg. She would die with her husband by the same assassin, Gavrilo Princip. A stalemate grew into the first few months of the war that lasted for over 4 years.

Answer 8

The royal families were to blame. Before the first world war all royal families in Europe were closely related. For example, the emperor of Germany was a nephew of the Queen of England.

Several countries had protection agreement with each other and once Austria-Hungary acted in a foolish way they all were stubborn and proud and nobody wanted to give in.

Answer 9

Germany. It had been waiting for a chance to become a super power and control the European continent. The Austrian-Serbian conflict served as an excuse for a wider war they thought would be beneficial for Germany. "Pan-Germanism" did not begin and end with Adolf Hitler (in WWII). Hitler merely used his own tactics for essentially the same territorial war aims that Imperial Germany had in World War I.

Answer 10

The whole of Europe was to blame for not quelling growing militarism in their country's and agreeing to convoluted mutual defense pacts that made war inevitable. The only thing that is truly remarkable was how long it took to actually happen. There was simply no one country at fault or even most to blame; It was a systemic politcal failure among all European combattants.