The Great War of 1914 was not due to any single cause, but due to accumulation of explosive material for many years. Describe the factors that widened the rift between the rival powers with reference to the following:

(a) Intense Nationalism

(b) Race for Armaments

(a) An important cause of the war was intense nationalism or "competitive patriotism".

1. Germany had Kaiser Wilhelm II as her new Emperor.
2. He went about proclaiming that "Germany was going to be the leader of the world."
3. He wanted to establish a vast German Empire and gain important position in the international sphere.
4. France and Germany were old rivals.
5. After defeating France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) Germany had seized the province of Alsace and most parts of Lorraine, which were rich in minerals and industrial products.
6. The French dreamed of revenge and of taking back their lost provinces.
7. The Italians desired to get back Trentino and the Port of Trieste which were inhabited by Italians but were still the part of Austria-Hungary.
8. Then there was the "unsatisfied national spirit of the Balkan States—Serbia and Bulgaria, of Poland and of the people of Austria-Hungary."
9. The political leaders were successful in fanning hatred and passion under the cover of nationalism.

(b) It was the intense nationalism which turned Europe into an assembly of vast armed camps.

1. Each country went on preparing for war and arming itself to the teeth.
2. Germany had acquired colonies in Africa and a few islands in the Pacific.
3. In order to protect her colonies Germany began to build a powerful navy.
4. The Germans dug the Kiel Canal deeper so that battle ships could find shelter in its waters.
5. England requested Germany not to make such naval preparations, but she did not pay any heed, which increased the hostilities between these nations.
6. Britain and France were concerned about Germany's growing military strength.
7. 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.
8. For every battleship built by Germany, two such ships were built by England.
9. Such a race for armaments could end only in a war.
10. 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.