Free preview
This is the free notes preview
You're reading the free notes. In My Learning the same topic also comes with:
- FlashcardsLock in vocabulary and key terms with spaced repetition.
- Practice questionsAnswer exam-style questions and get instant AI marking.
- Mock exams & past-paper vaultSit full mocks and see exactly how examiners award marks.
- Personalised study planA daily plan built around your exam date and weak areas.
The big idea: By 1914 Europe was a powder keg. The murder of one man in Sarajevo was only the spark.
The real explosive had been building for decades: rival armies, tangled alliances, empires competing for land, and fierce national pride.
Historians use a famous shorthand for the long-term causes: M-A-I-N — Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism and Nationalism. No single one caused the war.
They fed each other, so a local quarrel in the Balkans could pull in the whole continent.
- Militarism — Europe's powers glorified their armies and navies, and generals had detailed war plans ready to launch
- Alliances — two armed camps meant a war between two states could drag in six
- Imperialism — colonial rivalry over Africa and Asia bred distrust
- Nationalism — pride in one's nation, and the dream of Slavic peoples uniting, set the Balkans alight
Spot it: M-A-I-N: Militarism · Alliances · Imperialism · Nationalism.
Almost every long-term cause of WWI fits one of these four letters. Learn the word and you carry the essay plan in your head.
It helps to picture Europe split into two rival blocs. On one side stood the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.
Facing them was the Triple Entente of France, Russia and Britain — three powers drawn together mainly by their shared fear of a rising Germany.
Let's turn the M-A-I-N letters into real quarrels between real countries. Each rivalry left one great power resentful and another nervous.
Together they meant that by 1914 the powers half-expected war — and had prepared for it.
Franco-German rivalry
In 1871 Germany beat France and seized the provinces of Alsace-Lorraine. France never forgave this and dreamed of revenge (revanche), poisoning relations for over 40 years.
The naval arms race
Germany's new battleships — the Dreadnoughts — threatened Britain's control of the seas. Britain built even faster, and the two nations raced to out-build each other.
Balkan competition
In the Balkans, Austria-Hungary and Russia each wanted influence as the old Ottoman Empire crumbled. Neither would back down, and each backed rival local states.
Imperial rivalry
The powers scrambled for colonies in Africa and Asia. Clashes such as the crises over Morocco left Germany feeling encircled and denied its 'place in the sun'.
Alsace-Lorraine · Dreadnoughts · the Balkans · the colonies — four fault lines waiting to crack.
Nationalism and Pan-Slavism: Nationalism was the most dangerous force of all. In the Balkans, Serbia wanted to unite all South Slavs into one nation — which meant tearing Slav lands away from Austria-Hungary.
Russia encouraged this through Pan-Slavism, seeing itself as protector of the Slavs. Austria-Hungary, a patchwork empire of many peoples, feared Serbian nationalism could tear it apart.
Triple Alliance (Central Powers)
- Germany — ambitious, industrial, feeling encircled
- Austria-Hungary — fragile multi-ethnic empire fearing Slav nationalism
- Italy — a reluctant partner that would switch sides in 1915
Triple Entente
- France — seeking revenge for Alsace-Lorraine
- Russia — protector of the Slavs, rival to Austria in the Balkans
- Britain — guarding its navy, empire and the balance of power
How economics fed the fire: This was also a race for money and factories. Germany's industry had rocketed past Britain's in steel and chemicals, and the two competed fiercely for world trade and markets.
Economic muscle paid for the armies and navies — so commercial rivalry and militarism reinforced each other.
| Rivalry | Who vs who | The grievance |
|---|---|---|
| Alsace-Lorraine | France vs Germany | France wants back the land lost in 1871 |
| Naval race | Britain vs Germany | Germany's Dreadnoughts threaten British sea power |
| The Balkans | Austria vs Russia | Both want influence as Ottoman power fades |
| Pan-Slavism | Serbia/Russia vs Austria | Slav unity threatens the Austrian empire |
Learn what examiners really want
See exactly what to write to score full marks. Our AI shows you model answers and the key phrases examiners look for.
The spark: On 28 June 1914, in Sarajevo, a young Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip shot dead Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife.
One local murder set off a five-week chain reaction that ended in world war.
Princip belonged to a group wanting Bosnia freed from Austria and joined to Serbia. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia and saw a chance to crush its troublesome neighbour for good.
What followed is called the July Crisis — a step-by-step slide into war.
The blank cheque
Austria asked Germany for backing. Germany gave a 'blank cheque' — unconditional support for whatever Austria decided to do to Serbia.
The ultimatum
On 23 July Austria sent Serbia a harsh ultimatum — a list of demands so extreme it was designed to be refused, giving Austria an excuse for war.
Russia mobilises
When Austria declared war on Serbia (28 July), Russia began mobilising its huge army to protect its fellow Slavs, alarming Germany.
The declarations cascade
Germany declared war on Russia (1 Aug) and France (3 Aug). The alliance system now pulled the great powers in one after another.
Blank cheque → ultimatum → Russian mobilisation → declarations of war.
The Schlieffen Plan brings in Britain: Germany feared a war on two fronts, so it followed the Schlieffen Plan: knock out France fast by attacking through neutral Belgium, then turn east against Russia.
But Britain had promised in 1839 to protect Belgian neutrality. When German troops invaded Belgium on 4 August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany — and a European war became a world war.
How this is tested (Paper 2): Paper 2 is essay-based. A classic prompt asks you to weigh the long-term causes against the short-term trigger — for example, 'To what extent did the alliance system cause the First World War?'
Don't just tell the Sarajevo story. Argue how the deep causes turned one murder into a continental war, and reach a clear judgement.
Common mistakes: Don't treat the assassination as 'the cause' of the war — it was the trigger that lit an already-loaded situation.
And avoid pure narrative. Marks come from explaining how causes connect, not from retelling the timeline.