The document summarizes the key causes that led to the outbreak of World War 1 in 1914, including militarism, imperialism, alliances and nationalism. Militarism involved Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II seeking to strengthen his army and navy to rival other European powers. Complex alliances bound the major European countries, which exacerbated tensions when the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by Serbian nationalists led Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia, drawing the other countries into war. Nationalism also fueled tensions as countries sought to expand their power.

1. Causes of the War.

2. L.O:- To be able to explain and analyse the
causes of the First World War
Key Words:
Militarism
Imperialism
Alliances
Nationalism
In today’s lesson we will look at:
• What lead to the start of the
First World War in 1914
•The countries which were
involved in start of the war.

3. Starter
Watch the following clip and make notes on the
reasons given for war breaking out.
Clip:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z7sw6sg

4. Feedback:-
 What 4 reasons did the clip give for the outbreak of the
war?
 Which countries were Germany in an Arms and Naval
Race with?

5. Militarism
 Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted to make Germany a great
country again, he wanted to do this by:
o Improving his Navy to rival Britain’s which had
dominated the seas for over 100 years.
o Strengthening his Army to rival those of Russia and
France
Why would this lead to a war?

6. Alliances
 In 1904, Entente Cordiale signed between Britain and
France
 The Entente Cordiale did not however specifically
mention Britain’s involvement in military action.
 In 1907, Russia joined the Entente making it a Triple
Entente.

7. Alliances
 In 1879, Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-
Hungary.
 In 1881, Italy joined the alliance which made it a Triple
Alliance.

8. Alliances
 1839: Treaty of London. Britain and Belgium signed a
treaty in which Britain agreed to guard Belgium’s
neutrality if war broke out.
 This meant that when Germany invaded Belgium in
order to attack France, Britain had to act.

10. Imperialism
 Britain was at the helm of a great empire by 1914 with
lands in Africa, Canada and India.
 France also owned most of West Africa and Germany
owned 2 African States.
 The Kaiser wanted to expand his country but this
couldn’t be done without military action.
Why would this be a problem?

11. Nationalism
 Nationalism:- The desire of independent nations for
dominance and prestige.
 This meant that countries such as Italy, Germany and
Austria-Hungary took great pride in their country and
wanted to be the leading power in Europe.

12. 28th June 1914
 On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was in
Sarajevo, inspecting troops.
 Sarajevo is part of Bosnia which was under the control of
Austria Hungary, but Serbia didn’t like that.
 A group of young Bosnian Serbs had planned to kill the
Archduke on the way to his royal duties.
 One of group tried to kill the Archduke with a bomb but it
missed.
 The Royal Car then went down its planned route but the
driver had not be told of the change in route
 The car then stopped to turn around when it stopped near
Gavrilo Princip, one of the Bosnian Serbs.

13. The Assassination
 Princip then took this opportunity to kill the
Archduke.
 Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were both shot
and died.
 The group of Bosnian Serbs were supplied with the
equipment needed to kill the Archduke by a Serbian
Terrorist group called the Black Hand.
 Austria Hungary blamed Serbia for the
death of the heir to their throne.

14. Task:-
In your books, explain the factors which lead to the start of
the war and explain the factor you think was most
important in causing the first world war.
 Be able to give some reasons for the start of the war in
paragraphs (Level 4)
 Be able to identify causes of the war and show links
between them (level 5)
 Can identify the most important cause with reasoning
(Level 6)
 Show analysis of the causes in you answer (Level 7)