History & Civics
How did race for armaments lead to the First World War?
1ˢᵗ World War
3 Likes
Answer
It was the intense nationalism which turned Europe into an assembly of vast armed camps.
- Each country went on preparing for war and arming itself to the teeth.
- Germany had acquired colonies in Africa and a few islands in the Pacific.
- In order to protect her colonies Germany began to build a powerful navy.
- The Germans dug the Kiel Canal deeper so that battle ships could find shelter in its waters.
- England requested Germany not to make such naval preparations, but she did not pay any heed, which increased the hostilities between these nations.
- Britain and France were concerned about Germany's growing military strength.
- There was an arms race and the peculiar feature of such a race is that if one country increases its armaments, other countries are compelled to do the same.
- For every battleship built by Germany, two such ships were built by England.
- Such a race for armaments could end only in a war.
- The Krupps in Germany, Vicker Armstrong in England and Schneiders in France owned high-profit armament industries. The defence spending had increased irrationally between 1908 and 1914.
Answered By
1 Like
Related Questions
The Peace Terms of which Treaty is being referred to in the cartoon given below? Who had to swallow the bitter pills and why?

Look at the newspaper excerpt given on the right and answer the questions that follow:

(a) Who summarily rejected British ultimatum? Why?
(b) Why did Great Britain declare war on Germany?
(c) What was the final outcome of the war that began after Great Britain declared war on Germany? How did it affect both the countries?
With reference to the causes of the First World War, explain the following :
(a) Armament race
(b) militant nationalism
Name any one single nation-state and one imperial state before 1914.