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• In 1914, the most powerful countries in Europe went to war with each other.
• World War One lasted for four years, from 1914 – 1918, and resulted in the deaths of millions of people.
• Some of the causes of the war dated back to the 1800s and long-term tensions.

Learn more about some of the causes of World War One with this activity.

In 1900, the UK had the largest empire in the world, ruling over 400 million people spread across the UK, Africa and Asia. While people around the world had different experiences of the empire, it brought the UK huge amounts of wealth and power. France also had a large empire, making them a powerful European rival for the UK.

Germany was a relatively new country, formed in 1871. They had ambitions to grow an empire to compete with France and the UK. Kaiser Wilhelm II made a famous speech in Hamburg in 1901, saying he wanted Germany to have ‘a place in the sun.’

Germany’s ambition concerned the UK and France, as they started to see them as a potential threat. Germany interfered in French attempts to colonise Morocco in 1911, sending a gunboat called The Panther to Agadir, on the Moroccan coast. Germany was eventually forced to back down, but they had shown their intent to challenge the UK and France.

In 1882, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy entered into an agreement known as the Triple Alliance. Germany had been at war with France in 1871 and feared further conflict. The Triple Alliance meant the three countries promised to defend each other if one of them was attacked.

The Triple Alliance created suspicion in other European countries. In 1894, France and Russia signed an agreement to support each other, forming the Franco-Russian Alliance, as they feared the strength of the Triple Alliance.

In 1904, the UK and France signed the Entente Cordiale. This was important as they had been rivals for centuries. The fact that the UK and France were willing to put aside their differences shows how concerned they were about the ambition of Germany.

The Triple Entente was formed in 1907, including the UK, France and Russia. It was a friendly agreement, and the three members did not necessarily guarantee to go to war to support each other. This was significant when Germany made the Schlieffen Plan, as they did not believe the UK would go to war if France was attacked. The Triple Entente was strategically in a better position, as they encircled the countries in the Triple Alliance. This caused a problem for Germany and led to them creating the Schlieffen Plan to try and deal with this threat.

In order to build an empire, Germany needed to expand their navy to be able to travel across the seas to other countries.

This was a threat to the UK, who at the time had the biggest navy in the world. They had adopted a ‘two-power’ standard, meaning they wanted their navy to be at least as big as the second and third biggest navies combined. Because the UK is an island, a navy was more important than an army for defence. They had a small standing army, compared to the size of France, Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary, but their navy was significantly more powerful.

This led to a naval race, with countries across Europe building up bigger and more powerful weapons and ships. The UK launched HMS Dreadnought in 1906, which was seen as the first modern battleship, and sparked a naval race with Germany, who wanted to challenge the UK’s navy. Future ships built in this style were referred to as Dreadnoughts.

In 1908, Austria-Hungary had annexed Bosnia. This angered many Bosnian people, who had wanted to join with Serbia, which was also a Slavic country.

In 1914, a group was formed called the Black Hand. The Black Hand was a group of Serbians who wanted Austria-Hungary to leave Bosnia and planned to assassinate the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the nephew of Austria-Hungary’s emperor Franz Joseph.

On 28 June, Ferdinand was visiting Sarajevo in Bosnia. The Black Hand’s first attempt at assassination failed when their bomb exploded and missed the car he was travelling in.

When Ferdinand ordered his car to take him to visit the injured in hospital, it drove back past one of the assassins, Gavrilo Princip. He fired two bullets, killing both Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie.

Austria-Hungary’s emperor, Franz Joseph, was furious at the assassination of his nephew and heir to the throne. He issued a ten-point ultimatum to Serbia, holding them responsible for the murder. Serbia only agreed to nine of the points, so Austria-Hungary declared war.

The German Kaiser Wilhelm promised Austria-Hungary he would support them in whatever they decided to do, as part of their commitment in the Triple Alliance. This has become known as the ‘blank cheque’ and could be interpreted as encouraging Franz Joseph to declare war, as he was certain of German support.

Russia entered the war on Serbia’s side. Germany followed the Schlieffen Plan which involved invading France by going through Belgium. The UK went to war to protect Belgium, because it had promised to do so in the 1839 Treaty of London, and World War One began. You can find out more about life on the front line in World War One in this guide.

Looking for more resources to help your students learn about history? This collection of resources and articles dives deep into the stories of World War One and how the war transformed millions of people's lives.

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