MAIIN Causes of World War I

I. MilitarismA. Countries increased size of their armies

1. Most doubled in size during late 19th century

B. Conscription 1. military draft – men must join military2. In all European countries except Great Britain

C. Large armies in Europe1. Russia had largest army 1,300,000 men2. French and German armies 900,000 each3. Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies 500,000 each4. British army 250,000 men

D. Militarism – aggressive preparation for war1. As armies grew, so did influence of military leaders2. Because of large armies, could not change military plans

or it would cause chaos

II. Alliance System

A. Countries grouped for “defensive” purposes

B. Triple Alliance formed in 1882

1. Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany, Italy

C. Triple Entente formed in 1907

1. France, Great Britain,

Russia

III. Industrialization

A. Industrial Revolution allowed countries to

build more destructive weapons

1. Airplanes, tanks, chemical weapons (gas), bombs

IV. Imperialism

A. New effort to gain more territory - 1800s

1. Extension of nation’s power over other lands

2. Into Asia and Africa for raw materials

3. Led to competition among countries

B. Created tensions among countries

V. Nationalism

A. Increased during 1800s

B. People willing to go to war for their nation’s

power or sovereignty

C. Ethnic groups (Serbs, Romanians, Greeks) fought

for territory

1. Slavic minorities in the Balkans and Austria-Hungary

wanted their own country