Which one was more important as a cause of WW1?
WW1 was caused by economic, empire and political rivalries within Europe. Germany was the rising power but had a small empire and desired a greater one to enable it to feed an expanding economy. Russia, Turkey and Austria were empires in decay and were trying to maintain their positions by allying with stronger powers or against their enemies. France and Britain were the two main colonial empires and had much to protect. All the above created alliances to strengthen themselves and weaken their enemies. The various empires began an arms race, to some extent it was naval as they knew this to be the key to empire. Armies grew in size and various countries recognised that potential rivals would become more powerful over time. Germany for example could see Russia’s army increasing in numbers and equipment at a rapid rate. They calculated that their smaller but far better trained and equipped army could be defeated by sheer waight of numbers within a few years time. So the war was more about
