Raghav, Karthik, Priya, Paola IB1 History Mr.

Daugherty September 09, 2013

Written Case When asked about who caused the Great war, the first country that comes to mind is Germany. Many historians have blamed Germany completely for bringing about World War One, failing to take into consideration the actions of other nations in the years leading up to the war. We, as representatives of Germany, cannot be blamed completely for causing the Great War.We did not take action prior to the war with the intent of causing a widespread European war. Our main goals in the years just before the war were to improve our economy and defend our allies, not attack other nations. Many of the arguments against us include the so called Belgian Invasion. We did not intend on invading Belgium; our intentions were to get to France through the quickest route possible. Kaiser Wilhelm made sure that troops went around the walled city of Brussels. Tensions in the Balkans and the vacuum of power left by the decay of the Ottoman empire led to a situation in which war was inevitable so that the balance of power in Europe could be maintained. The Serbian government specifically was ineffective in controlling the radical nationalist groups in its country, as seen in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. We fully support Austria-Hungary and find that their ultimatum to Serbia, although harsh, was necessary in order to prevent future attacks like the one on Franz Ferdinand.

Lastly, we would like to clarify that the Schlieffen plan was a defensive action, not an

offensive one. The purpose of using military forces against France was to prevent a two front war that would be catastrophic for Germany. We did not have the intent of involving more nations in the conflict nor of bringing about a general war.