ESSAY PLAN - The Outbreak of WWI

• INTRODUCTION

  • The view that the outbreak of general war in Europe was due to Germany’s mobilisation is partially valid.
  • Although the mobilisation of Germany’s army acted as a trigger point for further military action by other nations, it is hard to pinpoint it as a singular cause for war as by 1914, there had been a series of events that set the global stage for war.
• Firstly, the view that the outbreak of general war in Europe was due to Germany’s mobilisation does have some validity due to the offensive nature of Germany’s organisation of troops.
• While it is true that Russia was the first to mobilise, Germany was the only one to fully enact their aggressive Schlieffen Plan, which intended to fight on Russia and France on two fronts.
• The Schlieffen Plan also disregarded the Treaty of London, by invading Belgium. This means that Britain would be brought in by default, despite them wanting to keep Belgium neutral, amping the outbreak of war.
• This shows the dire impact of Germany’s mobilisation as it had the power to involve other nations, leading to conflict.
• Furthermore, the mobilisation of the German army not only brought in Britain but actively triggered the alliance systems such as the Triple Alliance and Triple Entente.
• Germany encouraged Austria to prepare against Russia, aware that France would support Russia, ultimately leading to a general war.
• Before mobilisation, there was a general understanding of where each nation’s loyalties stood, but German mobilisation pushed alliances to their full extent, which in turn led to war breaking out.
• This shows that even countries such as Britain, who were initially hesitant to commit to war felt pressured due to Germany’s mobilisation.
• Being militaristic in nature, German leaders would have been fully aware of the time-sensitive and action-provoking nature of mobilisation plans, therefore knew that further declarations of war from other nations would have aroused.
• From this standpoint, it’s clear that Germany’s use of mobilisation acted as a catalyst for war.
• The mobilisation of one power was often viewed as an aggressive act by others, creating a chain reaction among the Great Powers.