World War I (1914–1919): The Road to War

German Motives

Though Germany had little interest in Austria’s problems with Serbia, it had significant ambitions regarding its other neighbors. In recent years, Russia had become increasingly involved in European affairs, while simultaneously modernizing and expanding its military. German military leaders felt that war with Russia was inevitable at some point. Therefore, they argued, it would be far better to fight Russia now, while its army was still poorly armed and untrained, rather than to wait until it could pose a greater threat. Some historians claim that Germany deliberately encouraged Austria to go to war with Serbia in order to set off a war with Russia.

Furthermore, German military leaders believed there was a good chance that Britain would remain neutral and that France also might stay at arm’s length, despite its treaty with Russia. This wishful thinking helped the German military leaders convince themselves that the war would be winnable and also helped them to sell their plan to the kaiser.

British Motives

For centuries, Britain had been the greatest naval power in the world and also had the largest collection of colonies. In the first years of the twentieth century, however, Germany made a massive and costly effort to build up a comparable naval fleet of its own, with the specific goal of matching Britain on the high seas. Germany also had recently shown a stronger interest than before in acquiring new colonies. Britain, seeing these developments as a dangerous threat to the balance of power in Europe, argued to Germany (through diplomatic channels) that the country had no need for a large navy or a large number of colonies. Germany ignored Britain’s rebuffs and continued as before. Just as some German leaders favored an “anticipatory” war against Russia, some British leaders felt similarly about Germany.

French Motives

In 1871, France had lost the territories of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany in a war—a bitterly humiliating blow that left France desperate to regain these lands. While fearful of an all-out German invasion, some French leaders felt that if Germany were distracted by a war with Russia, France might have a chance to seize Alsace and Lorraine.

Russian Motives

Russia’s motives for entering the war are less clear-cut. The period just prior to the war was a time of great instability in Russia: never before in the nation’s history had the tsar’s grip on power been so fragile. On the other hand, there was support in Russia for the Serbian cause, and a military victory would likely help the tsar politically. Nevertheless, war was a risky proposition given the poor state of the Russian military at the time. Tsar Nicholas II, who was personally hesitant about joining the war, briefly flip-flopped over ordering mobilization. Ultimately, however, he caved under pressure from overly optimistic Russian military leaders and advisers who had strong nationalistic leanings.