Who started World War1 and World War2?

Question

I was watching a movie last night and the british soldiers were in German Trenchers during WW1 I thought we were fighting the Germans in WW2.

Answer 1

The physical catalyst for the start of World War I was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, in the summer of 1914. Austria immediately accused Serbia of instigating the murders and issued an ultimatum, whereupon Russia declared her support of Serbia. Once the Russians ordered general mobilization, the Austrian, French, and German mobilization orders followed in quick succession, each triggered by the other in a domino effect. So it really started because of the conflicting national Interests; when the expansionist policy of Austria-Hungary conflicted with Serbian nationalism.

For a more detailed explanation go to:
http://members.aol.com/TeacherNet/WWIFAQ.html#Q1
And select the question:
#1: What factors were involved in starting the Great War?


The causes of World War II were many, however, in the six years preceding World War II, Adolf Hitler, leading the Nazi Party, took power in Germany and eliminated its democratic government, the Weimar Republic. As stated in Mein Kampf, an autobiographical book outlining his plans for the future written when Hitler was in jail, Hitler's goal was to invade and conquer lands around Germany, and to make them German. He railed against Communists and ethnic minorities, such as Jews. After taking power, he prepared Germany for another war with large political rallies and speeches.

For additional details go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II#Cause_of_war_in_Europe

There are many sources which provide the answers you are seeking but these two will get you started.

Answer 2

Well, trenchers are something from which one eats, so I assume you mean trenches. WWI started when Austria/Hungary declared war on Serbia and Germany joined in. Then England and France and Russia declared war on them. After WWI had been going on for over three years America joined in on the side of England, et al.

WWII started when Hitler/Germany invaded Poland and England and France declared war on Germany. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor which brought them and America into the war and made it a truly worldwide conflict.

In the movie you saw it could have been one of two things.
1. During the first xmas of WWI before things had gotten really ugly there was an impromptu xmas truce among the enlisted men from both sides. They met in the middle of the trenches, exchanged drinks and smokes and food, had football games, etc. Possibly the British soldiers in the German trenches were there during one of these. As soon as the higher officers became aware of what was going on it was stopped and soldiers were threatened with execution if they fraternized with the enemy.
2. The British soldiers had captured the trench and taken it over, or maybe they were prisoners.

I don't understand why you couldn't figure out the reason by the action or dialogue. Did you fall asleep?

Answer 3

Here's the break-down for WWI:

It all started because the European powers at the time had all formed various alliances with each other, with some countries swearing to protect others in the event of a war, and it was done in such a way as to establish a "balance of power" on the continent. i.e. all of the factions were of equal power and influence (in theory). Think of the Cold War, with the US and NATO, and the USSR and the Warsaw Pact. It was similar to that, but only in the European continent. The alliances were good in the sense that they did manage to maintain the peace for 50 years or so, but they were bad in the sense that they were inflexible.

So when an Austrian Prince by the name of Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo Yugoslavia, the Austrians decide to take retribution on the Russians. . . . Ordinarily that wouldn't make sense. . . . But in this case, the Russians and the Yugoslavians had a treaty with each other (and they're both Slavic peoples), and Russia was a bigger threat, so the Austrians attacked them first. France and Russia have a treaty with each other, so when Russia is attacked, the French attack the Germans (big mistake) because they were a bigger threat than the Austrians. . . . Needless to say, it was a convoluted mess, and I'm not entirely sure I haven't oversimplified or misrepresented something here.

Yes, Germany and Britain were on opposite sides in this conflict. And yes, there were occasions when they crossed no-mans land, fraternized and swapped goods with each other as well. The soldiers in that day and age did not necessarily see the opposing side as their mortal enemies, or anything like that. Basically they saw themselves, and each other, as professional soldiers in service to different nations who just so happened to be opposed to each other at that point in time. i.e. They were just doing their job. While it may have been frowned upon and discouraged, they did occasionally call a cease fire at night so they could cross to the other side and swap goods (food, tobacco, ect), and resume fighting again when the sun came up. It sounds strange to us, but it was a different place and time.

Answer 4

Franz Ferdinand of Austria was executed in 1914 and that started World War 1 with Austria invading Serbia. France Russia and the British entered the action when Germany invaded France and Belgium.

WW2 began in 1939 with the Italians, Japanese and Germans serving as the Axis powers. The allies were the Soviets, United States, Britain and a few other countries.

Answer 5

The Archduke of Austria was assassinated which was a jump start to world war 1
The Germans were embarrassed after a terrifying loss in the first world war so Adolf Hitler sent a full scale invasion in poland which started World War 2. Britain and France declared war the next day.

Answer 6

British and German soldiers were opponents in both wars.
The first began with the Austro-Hungarian declaration against Serbia, with Russia allied to the latter, Germany coming in on the side of the former, France following Russia's lead, and Britain finding an obscure excuse to become involved.
The second is generally considered to have begun when Poland, which had mutual aid treaties with Britain and France, was invaded by Germany.

Answer 7

Austria-Hungary started WWI!!!!!!!!! Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian terrorist group, the Black Hand. Germany only backed it up. A-H truly began the war! Great Britain, US, France and Russia were in an alliance against Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy in WWI.

Germany started WWI by invading Poland and Belgium against the pacts made with other nations. Hitler took advantage of England's appeasement policy and wanted world domination. Great Britain, France, US, and the USSR were in alliance together against Germany, Italy and Japan in WWII.

They are called World Wars because basically the whole world fought against each other, so when you saw it in a movie with the British fighting Germans it was right.

Answer 8

Who? Who is a personal pronoun. It asks: What person?

Who started the World Wars? Two kaput's: Kaiser Willie started "the one" and Adolf Hitler started "the two."

Both wars occurred because the Germans were dissatisfied with their "place" in the World Order and wanted to improve it at the expense of others. The British (and the French) fought against Germany in both conflicts.

Answer 9

Yes, the British "Tommies" fought the German "Huns" from 1914 - 1918 in the Great War. Most of the blame for starting the Great War lies with Austria-Hungary, and their ally Germany. Others my have their own interpretations.
The British (and French) also fought the Germans "Jerry" once again from 1939-1945 in the Second World War. Once again, the blame lies with Germany for its invasion of Poland (and also its annexation of Czechoslovakia).
I have left out the Pacific Theatre (Asia), since you did not ask about it.

Answer 10

for WW1, remember the MAIN causes (MAIN is an acronym)
Militarism
Alliances
Isolationism
Nationalism

you may need to check me on those, because it was two years ago i learned them and i haven't used them since that test

and for WW2, i'm hoping you know how we got involved in that... cuz if not that's just sad

and yes the German fought the British in both wars, but the first war was the trench warfare... we wised up after having a war where both sides were on defense and months would go by with no progress on either side