Why did the great powers of Europe go to war in 1914?
Because of a vicious system of automatic military support between Allies of both sides…The Austro-Hungarian Empire wanted to “teach Serbia a lesson” after the Sarajevo killing of the Archiduke,and thought it was going to be a “nice little war” in the Balkans. But the Czar decided it was worth a war to defend fellow Slav-orthodox Serbia ( see Panslavism )….France had an automatic alliance with Russia since 1898 ( would any country go to war in Europe, the other would too …) …Likewise, the German Kaiser Wilhelm IId reassured Austria-Hungary of his support in any case ( see Pangermanism ) , thinking the might of the German Army would shy away the Russians. But there were deeper reasons for this enthusiastic and stubborn support for an all-out European war…The empires and aristocracies still ruling in Germany, Austria, Russia and somehow in Britain thought war could be a counter-fire against the rise of socialists movements and parties all over Europe…They chose the war to avoi
