Was Germany to Blame for World War 1

No, Germany was not to blame causing World War 1. Alliances were the main reason to blame, leading up to World War 1 there were two extremely powerful and strong Alliances, the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. When Austria-Hungary's heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia Austria-Hungary's government blamed Serbia and declared war on Serbia and then country after country declaring war on each other because they were attacking each other's allies and that's how World War turned from an internal affair in to a war between Alliances. Germany was not solely responsible for the start of WWI and the other countries who were involved in the war also contributed to starting it. However, Germany definitely played a role in building up the tensions in Europe. Germany displayed an aggressive expansionist attitude throughout the years leading up to the war and this attitude contributed to making the “spark”. This was the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria which burst into a “flame”. The Naval Crisis, the Berlin-Baghdad Railway, the Moroccan Crises, Germany’s involvement with Austria-Hungary, and the Schlieffen Plan all demonstrate Germany’s aggressive foreign policy and how it contributed to the start of the war. However, the Industrial Revolution, the attitudes of France and Russia, the pre-existing alliance systems in Europe, and the Balkan Wars also played a part in instigating the Great War. In addition, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Germany offered a “blank cheque” of support to Austria-Hungary, encouraging Austria-Hungary to start a war against Serbia. Germany advised Austria-Hungary to issue unacceptable demands to Serbia in order to start a local war in the Balkans. Involving Serbia (a Slavic country) in a war also dragged Russia (a mainly Slavic country) into the war since Russia saw itself as the protector of other Slavs. This was done in order to bring the Russians in as the aggressors and so that Germany would have a greater reason to get involved in what may have seemed like a regional conflict. Once this war had been started, Germany issued an ultimatum to France, giving France only 16 hours to establish neutrality or enter the war. This ultimatum rushed France into the war and escalated the dispute to larger proportions. Therefore, Germany’s pushy actions and aggressive involvement in the dispute undeniably contributed to the start of WWI.