Who do you blame for WW1 ??

[martybegan]

And Russia knew they were backed by France, and France knew they were backed by Britain. And so on and so forth….

Britian would have had a harder choice if the Germans had gone East first and stayed on the defensive in the west.

The violation of Belgian Neutrality was what triggered Britian's entry into the war.

 

[Quasar44]

To me it was mostly German fears over the breakup of Austria Hungary, Russia's desire for Austria Hungary to break up, and French desire to regain Alsace and Lorraine.

Germany feared losing Austria Hungary as an ally and being far on the wrong side of the military balance.

Russia wanted the Slavic portions of the AH Empire to aid in their desire to take Constantinople and guarantee themselves a warm water port with ocean access. France wanted revenge for 1870 and wanted Alsace and Lorraine back.

Also Italy wanted parts of AH on their E border

Did French get this areas back after WW2

 

[Jarlaxle]

Yes-after WW1.

 

[martybegan]

Also Italy wanted parts of AH on their E border

Did French get this areas back after WW2

The French got it back after WWI, and then Germany took it back in June 1940, and then France got it permanently in 1945.

 

[S.S.]

France. lol

 

[Litwin]

I blame climate change.

cos you are a lover of Moscow empire

 

[Captain Caveman]

cos you are a lover of Moscow empire

Is it a slack day, Litwin

 

[mikegriffith1]

Too many people erroneously assume that Kaiser Germany was like Nazi Germany, and that the Kaiser was like Hitler. Both assumptions are flatly wrong.

Some 100,000 Jews served in the German military during WWI, as both officers and enlisted, and some of them won awards for bravery.

Unlike Hitler, Kaiser Wilhelm did not want war and tried hard to avoid it.

Yes, there was some anti-Semitism in Kaiser Germany, but it was no worse than the anti-Semitism in France, Italy, and Spain.

 

[Moonglow]

It was my understanding that it was Germany

However . It seems every major country involved wanted to expand their territories and influences !! Russia , France , Italy , Ottomans , UK all had goals of expansion and more power

Do you Blame Germany the most or does the Blame fall on all parties

Austria and Serbia.

 

[Litwin]

Some 100,000 Jews served in the German military during WWI,

you´d write more about it, 99% of forum members have no idea what are you talking about. I know the drill of cos.

ps

 

[mikegriffith1]

you´d write more about it, 99% of forum members have no idea what are you talking about. I know the drill of cos.

I watched that debate about England's involvement in WWI awhile back. I believe England should not have entered WWI. Without the draconian Versailles Treaty terms, there would have been no Nazi Germany. Russia and France wanted war, but the Kaiser did not want war. McMeekin's two books on WWI contain a lot of new material that was not used/available in previous books.

 

[riseabovethis]

Everyone. It was the world's mentality to conquer others from the beginning of recorded history and no one saw anything wrong with it especially the Conquerors.

 

[mikegriffith1]

Everyone. It was the world's mentality to conquer others from the beginning of recorded history and no one saw anything wrong with it especially the Conquerors.

Read McMeekin's two books on the conflict. Russia and France were itching for war. Germany was not. Austria-Hungary wanted nothing more than punitive action against Serbia for Franz Ferdinand's assassination. Released records make it clear that for the most part German officials were trying to avoid war but that key French and Russian officials were scheming to bring about war.

 

[Cassandro]

Read McMeekin's two books on the conflict. Russia and France were itching for war. Germany was not. Austria-Hungary wanted nothing more than punitive action against Serbia for Franz Ferdinand's assassination. Released records make it clear that for the most part German officials were trying to avoid war but that key French and Russian officials were scheming to bring about war.

I blame the British, who didn't want a German economic/military rival, and the French, who wanted revenge for losing the Franco-Prussian War. It took the British Cabinet three tries to cook up the "invasion" of Belgium as an excuse for declaring war on Germany.

An additional factor was the laborious need to double translate diplomatic communications between the countries, especially between Germany and Russia. They had to first be translated into French and then into the other country's language. This caused language misunderstandings and serious delays in transmission. The Kaiser and the Czar were first cousins who did not want war, but their telegrams to each other often overlapped and created false impressions, which the French were eager to exploit.

P.S. To which of McMeekin's books are you referring?

 

[martybegan]

Read McMeekin's two books on the conflict. Russia and France were itching for war. Germany was not. Austria-Hungary wanted nothing more than punitive action against Serbia for Franz Ferdinand's assassination. Released records make it clear that for the most part German officials were trying to avoid war but that key French and Russian officials were scheming to bring about war.

The German Army figured they would need to go to war with Russia before 1918 or so or the Russian reforms would swamp them, especially coupled with the decline of Austria Hungary as well as the risk of Russia being able to finally get to Constantinople and have an open water port.

 

[Litwin]

I believe England should not have entered WWI.

i do agree, the dirty Servs (so called "serbs") and Muscovite jihadi imperialists have always represented the pure evil . Germans ´d crash Moscow - Mongol ulus (easy) and liberate Central - Eastern Europe from Mongoloid, oriental slavery . Between France and Germany´d make peace, without much problem . Much like Trump Today, German state would not be able to make a real peace deal with Muscovite - Mongol imperialists (commies , Romanov´s gangs and fascists are all the same ), and we all together ´d fully dismantle 13c. Mongol Jochi project

 

[Litwin]

Austria and Serbia.

Serbia and Moscow expansionist empires

 

[mikegriffith1]

I blame the British, who didn't want a German economic/military rival, and the French, who wanted revenge for losing the Franco-Prussian War. It took the British Cabinet three tries to cook up the "invasion" of Belgium as an excuse for declaring war on Germany.

I agree. Russia played a major role in starting the war as well.

An additional factor was the laborious need to double translate diplomatic communications between the countries, especially between Germany and Russia. They had to first be translated into French and then into the other country's language. This caused language misunderstandings and serious delays in transmission. The Kaiser and the Czar were first cousins who did not want war, but their telegrams to each other often overlapped and created false impressions, which the French were eager to exploit.

Yes.

P.S. To which of McMeekin's books are you referring?

I'm referring to his books July 1914 and The Russian Origins of the First World War.

 

[riseabovethis]

Read McMeekin's two books on the conflict. Russia and France were itching for war. Germany was not. Austria-Hungary wanted nothing more than punitive action against Serbia for Franz Ferdinand's assassination. Released records make it clear that for the most part German officials were trying to avoid war but that key French and Russian officials were scheming to bring about war.

I know the history of World War 1. What I'm saying is that societal norms at the time led to that thinking and those norms came into being over hundreds of years. Well France definitely was itching for a fight after getting slaughtered in the Franco-Prussian war.

They were all looking for a fight and when Franz Ferdinand was assassinated everyone just honored their treaties.

 

[mikegriffith1]

I know the history of World War 1. What I'm saying is that societal norms at the time led to that thinking and those norms came into being over hundreds of years. Well France definitely was itching for a fight after getting slaughtered in the Franco-Prussian war.

They were all looking for a fight and when Franz Ferdinand was assassinated everyone just honored their treaties.

But Germany was not looking for a fight. And, Hungary-Austria had no intention of conquering Serbia, only punishing it. France and Russia took advantage of the Ferdinand assassination to manipulate events so they could "just honor their treaties."