Why did WW I break out in 1914?

EYA
Alliance system is an amplifying cause of WW I. The alliance system was formed
under insecurity. In 1879, Germany formed a dual alliance with A-H to protect
itself against a possible Russia attack. Italy joined them to form the Triple Alliance
in 1882. France and Russia both feared an attack from the powerful alliance so
they too formed a Franco-Russian alliance to ensure their safety. Britain also
started to worry about the rising threat of Germany and abandoned its "splendid
isolation" policy. In 1907, it formed the Triple Entente with France and Russia.
Hence, by that time, the European powers had been divided into two hostile
groups, which inevitably increased the possibility of a world war. In 1914, war
broke out between A-H and Russia over the rivalry of Balkans. Both looked their
alliance for help. Almost all countries in the alliance system were drugged into the
war under the obligation of alliance. They had to fulfill their promise to their allies
by joining the war to preserve their national pride and prestige. Hence, the Alliance
system was an amplifying cause as it magnified a war between two countries into a
large-scale world war.
Arms race is another long-term cause of WW I. It started with the advancement of
technology in the second industrial revolution in 1870s. Due to their insecurity, all
powers rivaled to build up the strength of their armed forces. Most major powers
doubled their military expenditure. They began to compete with each other who
had the most and best weapons. Guns, shells, bullets and other weapons had been
stockpiled in case of war. More destructive weapons were also developed and
improved, such as the machine-gun and huge field guns. The arms race increased
suspicion and insecurity because one country did not know how strong it
opponent's armed force was. So it continued to build even stronger armed force,
which only led to more tension. Moreover, arms race created a war atmosphere.
People were convinced that a war would happen since all countries were so
intensely making war preparations. Each country was more willing to test out their
strengthened armed force and more confident of their success. So a war was more
likely to happen. The armed race had been on for a long time and gradually
contributed to the outbreak of WW I, so it is a long-term cause.
Anglo-Germany naval race was another long-term cause of WW I. Britain was
completely surrounded by the sea. So it has a much stronger navy than army to
prevent invasion and protect its oversea empire and sea trade. In 1900s, British
Royal Navy was the most powerful

one in the world. To preseve Britian's dominant position achieved under Queen
Victoria, Britain certainly did not want any threat to its great navy force. However,
Germany, with its rising economic and military strength, was jealous of Britain's
dominance in sea. They wanted to get more colonies and sea trades and to
challenge Britian's dominance, both required a stronger navy than Britain's. So
Germany started to compete with Britain in navy force from 1898. In 1906, the
launch of the super-battleship Dreadnought quickly aggravated the naval race.
Dreadnought's extreme power made all previous battleship powerless, which
means Britain lost all its advantage before. Germany and Britain were competing
the number of Dreadnoughts, while Britain only had one more. The intense naval
race made the two countries become bitter enemies. Similar to the arms race,
Anglo-Germany naval race increased tension and the possibility of war over a long
time, so it is a long-term cause of the outbreak of WW I.
The rivalry over Balkans between Russia and A-H is another long-term cause of
WW I. Most native Balkans and Russians were both Slavs. Belonging to the same
ethnicity, Russia sympathized with the Slavs and regarded itself as the protector of
Balkan. Also, Balkan had a crucial location between Russia, A-H and the sea.
Russia was greatly interested to control this area to ensure its own safety, and also
to get ports on the Mediterranean to facilitate its trades. However, at that time,
most parts of Balkan was under A-H empire. A-H emperor wanted to keep his
empire united. So his also wanted to preserve his control over this area. Therefore,
Russia and A-H was bitterly hostile toward each other over the Balkans. In
addition, the native Slavs, especially the Serbs, wanted to fight for independence.
There were several war in Balkans in 1912-1913, which made the situation more
intense. In 1914, Balkan had already became the power-keg in Europe, waiting for
its last spark to explode, which came as the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.
In July 1914, A-H declared war on Serbia and Russia soon joined the war due to
the rivalry. In addition of the alliance system, it developed into a world war.
Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the immediate cause of WW I. A secret
society "Black Hand" was formed in 1911 in Serbia, which aim was to unite all
slav people in Balkans into a single country through the use of terrorism. They
were angered by the Austrians who had separated the Slavs by taking over Bosnia
in 1908. However, the A-H emperor made a foolish decision to appease the
Bosnians by letting his heir, Archduke Ferdinand visit Bosnia's capital Sarajevo on
June 28. The Black Hand quickly seized their chance. Gavrilo Princip and six

other assassinators went to Sarajevo and on June 28, he successfully killed the
Archduke and his wife. The A-H emperor was extremely grief and angry with the
assassination. He expected to gain full control over Balkans immediately. So he
sent the King of Serbia an ultimatum a month later with demands that Serbia could
never agree. One day after Serbia's unsatisfactory reply, A-H declared war on
Serbia and quickly drugged Russia into war. In addition of the alliance system, the
war developed into a world war. The assassination lighted the powder-keg in the
Balkans and directly provoked the outbreak of war. Hence, the assassination was
the trigger of WW I.
Germany's ambition was an underlying cause of WW I. Britain under Queen
Victoria was once the most powerful and prosperous empire in the world.
However, near the turn of the century, Germany became a rising power, although it
was a young country only born in 1870. The ruler of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm
was ambitious in getting a "world-wide power". However, despite its increasing
economic and military power, Germany had very limited colonies, especially so
when compared with British empire. So Germany felt jealous. They wanted to
acquire "a place in the sun", which means large oversea market for its industrial
goods. To achieve this, they had to compete with the existing colonial powers like
Britain and France. However, more land could hardly be achieve peacefully. The
only way to redivide the colonies was to start a war. By 1914, Germany's industrial
output and military force had already preceded all other European power, which
made Germans even more ambitious to start a war. The assassination of Archduke
Ferdinand gave Germany an perfect excuse to start a world war to establish itself
as the greatest empire in the new world order. Hence, Germany willingly joined the
war and drugged most countries into WW I.
In conclusion, I think the most important cause of WW I is Germany's ambition
because it has the greatest impact of causing the tension. WW I broke out because
of the tension among the powers could not be solved in any other way. Germany's
rise caused threat for the other great powers, and thus, led to increasing insecurity
and suspicion in Europe. The insecurity caused the arms race and the formation of
alliance system, which brought tension increased the possibility of a world war. It
was Germany's ambition resulted in the various amplifying causes of the tension,
such as the arms race and alliance system. Hence, Germany's ambition was the root
cause, therefore, I think it is the most important cause.