How did the First world War start? Which countries initiated it?
80511
The underlying causes of World War I were the intense nationalism that permeated Europe throughout the 19th and into the 20th century, the political and economic rivalry among nations, and the military buildup that occurred after 1871, when Germany emerged as a great world power.\nThe assasination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand was just a match to the powder keg.
421906
The rise of nationalism.\n\nEurope avoided major wars in the 100 years before World War 1 began. In the 1800's, a force swept across the continent that helped bring about the Great War. The force was nationalism - the belief that loyalty to a person's nation and its political and economic goals comes before any other public loyalty. During the 1800's nationalism took hold among people who shared a common language, history, or culture. Such people began to view themselves as members a national group or nation. Nationalism led to the creation of two new powers - Italy and Germany - through the uniting of many small states. War had a major role in achieving nation unification in Italy and Germany. On the other hand, nationalism weakened the eastern European empires of Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Ottoman Turkey. Those empires ruled many national groups that clamored for independence. The Balkan Peninsula or the "Powder Keg of Europe" caused tensions and therefore threatened to ignite a major war. Rivalry for control of the Balkans added to the tensions that erupted into World War 1.\n\n\nA build-up of military might occurred among European countries before World War 1 broke out. Nationalism encouraged public support for military build-ups and for a country's use of force to achieve its goals. By the late 1800's, Germany had the best-trained army in the world. In 1898 Germany began developing a naval force that was big enough to challenge the British navy. In 1906, the British navy launched the Dreadnought, the first modern battleship. The Dreadnought had greater firepower that any other ship of its time. Germany rushed to construct on just like it. Advances in technology helped aid in making military forces stronger. Machine guns and other new arms fired more accurately and more rapidly than earlier weapons. By the end of the 1800's, technology enabled countries to fight longer and bear greater losses that ever before.\n\n\nA system of military alliances gave European powers a sense of security before World War 1. They formed these alliances with each other for protection and guarantee that other members of the alliance would come to the country's aid if attacked. Although alliances provided protection, the system also created certain dangers. If war came, the alliance system meant that a number of nations would fight, not only the two involved in a dispute. Alliances could force a country to go to war against a nation it had no quarrel with. In addition, the terms of many alliances were kept secret. The secrecy also increased the chances that a county might guess wrong about the consequences of its actions. The Triple Alliance was made up of 3 countries, Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. They all agreed to go to war if attacked by Russia. Bismarck also brought Austria-Hungary and Germany into alliance with Russia. The agreement was known as the Three Emperor's League and was formed in 1881. They all agreed to remain neutral if any of them went to war with another country. In 1890 when Bismarck left office it gave a chance for Russia and France to form an alliance. In 1894, France and Russia agreed to call up troops if any nation in the Triple Alliance mobilized. Russia and France also agreed to help each other if either were attacked be Germany. \n\nBeginning of the War\n\nOn June 28, 1914 a Serbian terrorist named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand.  The Archduke's assassination triggered the outbreak of World War 1. On July 28 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Because of Austria-Hungary's alliance with Germany, Serbia sought help from Russia. In 1914 Russia vowed to stand behind Serbia, but first Russia gained support from France. Germany declared war on Russia on Aug. 1, 1914, in response to Russia’s mobilization. Two days later Germany declared war on France. The German Army swept into Belgium on its way to France. The invasion of Belgium cause
437510
The United Nations was founded in 1945. It began to resolve WWI, and as a way nations could talk, before declaring war on each other.\n\nI believe the founding nations included Great Britain, the US and Germany and France (not sure about the last two). But anyhow, it started with lofty ideals of providing a forum where nations could meet in a neutral environment and talk problems through. And since it was founded during times of war, concerns over Human Rights were brought to the fore.\n\nCurrently, there is alot of politics going on with the UN, but the main purpose is still to provide that open communication between nations of the world.\n\nThere is tons more out there on the United Nations, and all you have to do is Google it.
376929
It already did start -- over 60 years ago!\n\nVery, very generally, I suppose most would say that it began when hitler invaded Poland in September 1939.  It isn't quite that simple, and many factors occurred that led up to that act, but that's the accepted answer for when it actually began.
886669
World War I\n\nWEB LINKS\n\nPRIMARY SOURCE DOCUMENTS.\n\nFantastic Resources.\n\nhttp://www.historyteacher.net/APEuroCourse/WebLinks/WebLinks-WorldWar1.htm\n\nWorld War I\n\nhttp://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWusaG.htm\n\nAlthough the USA had strong ties with Britain, Wilson was concerned about the large number of people in the country who had been born in Germany and Austria. Other influential political leaders argued strongly in favour of the USA maintaining its isolationist policy. This included the pacifist pressure group, the American Union Against Militarism.\n\nhttp://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWW.htm\n\nhttp://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook38.html\n\nRead and listen to stories of the War from the people who lived it. Explore diaries, letters, scrapbooks, newspaper cuttings, photos and keepsakes.\n\nhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/\n\nhttp://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/\n\nhttp://www.wfa-usa.org/new/links.cfm\n\nAn Internet History of The Great War\n\nhttp://www.worldwar1.com/\n\nhttp://www.wfa-usa.org/new/lcav.htm\n\nhttp://www.theaerodrome.com/\n\nGood luck\n\nKevin, Liverpool, England.
121703
There weren't just three - there were dozens of factors that contributed to "The Great War".  Three of the main ones that I can think of are:\n\nColonialism - the Germans wanted to build a colonial empire to match the British.  This required military buildup threatening it's neighbors.\n\nMilitary Alliances - Because of all the complex alliances among the European powers, the Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand triggered a series of declarations of war, starting with Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia.\n\nFranco-German tension - France and Germany had hotly contested the Alsace-Lorraine region bordering the two countries, and had fought several wars over it's occupation for many years.  The region exchanged hands several times but was considered part of France at the outbreak of WWI fueling more of Germany's hatred for France.
1035245
It was a knock on affect. If one country on one side went to war with one on the other they would ALL go to war. Sebian nationalist kills Austro-Hungarian Prince, AustroHungary demands nationalist. Serbia refuses to hand him over, Austria Hungary declares war on Serbia, so Serbia's ally Russia declared war on Austria Hungary so AustriaHungary's ally Germany declares war on Russia so Russia's ally France declares war on Germany and England joins in coz they'd finished their Splendid Isolation and didn't wanna be left out and declred war on Germany. So the Alliance(Germany&co) and the Entente(France &co.) were at War-WW1!
671096
The First World War, or (before 1939) the Great War, was a world conflict lasting from August 1914 to the final Armistice on November 11, 1918. The Allied Powers (led by the United Kingdom, France and until 1917 Russia, and, after 1917, the United States) defeated the Central Powers (led by the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire). The war caused the collapse of four empires and a radical change in the map of Europe and the Middle East.
824868
I am not going to answer that question for you because that seems like a homework question - but as I normally do I will give you websites so that you can read find out the answers for yourself (I am sure that is what your teacher would want you to do - answer this question yourself - plus you wont learn the answer well if I just tell you it).\n\nFor WWI go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_war_one#Causes\n\nFor WWII go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Two#Causes\n\nNeutrality Acts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrality_Acts\n\nGood Luck!!!
225287
Entangling alliances triggered by the assassination.  Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia because of the assassination.  Serbia was allied with Russia, so Russia was dragged into the war.  Germany mobilized to attack Russia, but Russia was allied with France so France came to Russia's defense.  Germany and France had been at war before and had plans for invading each other.  France's entry into the war led Germany to use one of their old plans for invading France which required them to march through Belgium.  Britain was allied with Belgium and had pledged to help Belgium in the event of an attack by Germany, so Britain was pulled in on the side of the French and Russians.  Since Britain was involved, that meant all of her colonies were involved as well.  \n\nThe book The Guns of August has lots of details on the causes of the war.\n\nAlso, check out the Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_World_War_I
69244
The Allies in the First World War were Russia, France, and the United Kingdom.  Italy was initially part of the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire) but it switched sides when it realized that this would be an opportunity to incorporate the "Tyrol" and the city of Trieste, areas controlled before the war by the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  Russia experienced Revolution in 1917 to overthrow the Czas with the result that Russia quit fighting Germany.  The United States then joined the Allies and sent troops to France in the knick of time, because Germany had just started to shift its troops westward from the Russian front.  So the Four great powers at the end of the war were the US, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom.
788604
It has everything to do with the Treaty of Versailles. As it's name points out, this is a treaty signed in the Hall of Mirrors in the French city of Versailles. It was the peace treaty that officially ended World War I and unofficially started World War II.\n\nOne of the terms of this treaty was the creation of the League of Nations, whose goal would be to prevent another world war. Other parts of the treaty stated that Germany was to be fully blamed for World War I and because of this, Germany was demanded to pay up all damages calculated of WWI. Also, Germany was denied having an airforce, a navy and was only allowed to have a limited land army. It's colonies were taken away and other damages were also imposed. In a nutshell, Germany was brought to it's knees and into a depression.\n\nThis helped bring about the rise of Hitler who promised to tear up the hated treaty. Of course, Germans supported him and once he arranged for virtually limitless power, it was too late. Nations part of the League of Nations were also fooled by Hitler. They allowed Hitler to take over Austria-Hungary, which belong to Germany prior to WWI. The League of Nations did not disagree much with Hitler's request to undo the Treaty of Versailles. They agreed with him that the terms were much too harsh.\n\nIt was only until Hitler marched into Poland that everyone realized what was happening. But of course, that set foot into a much bloodier World War.\n\nReally, the League of Nations failed to prevent WWII by allowing a genius psychopath to manipulate them. (This is my opinion.)\n\nHope this novel of mine answers your question.
131405
Well, let's say country a and country b decide to go to war with each other. Let's also pretend that coutry a has an alliance with coutries c, d, and e and that country b has an alliance with coutries f, g, and h. Since countries a and b are at war, coutries c-h have to help their respective allies to keep the alliance intact. (This is actually how WWI got started.) Does that make sense?
256229
World War I: 1914-1918\nWorld War II: 1939-1945
523272
Russia entered WWI against Germany and Germany snuck Lenin back into Russia after he had been exiled.  This allowed Lenin to start the Bolshevik revolution.  Is that what you wanted?
32368
The WWI(1914-1918) began as a clash between two coalitions of European countries. The first coalition, known as the Allied Powers, included the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro, and the Russian Empire, japan, and Italy\nThe Central Powers, which opposed them, consisted of the empires of Germany and Austria-Hungary, The Ottoman Empire and  Bulgaria .\nAlthough the United States initially remained neutral, it joined the Allies in 1917.
654469
Just read this:  http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm\n\nThe war started out as a dispute between Austria-Hungary and Serbia over the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but escalated as other countries entered the melee.\n\nHistory can fault Germany because they lost.