Was Anglo-German naval rivalry the real cause of World War I?

Answer 1

Anglo-German naval rivlary was one of the underlying causes of tension, but it was not 'the real cause' of World War 1. == == As Germany lost the war, it fell to the winners to write the history. Was Germany the complete cause of war? Were the allies really forced in to this war? In this essay, while using phrases of famous politicians, I shall explore the cause and responsibility of World War One (WW 1), including the roles of the Treaty of Versailles, the British Empire, and the Great Sea Powers. My introduction to this essay is Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles. As quoted above, this says that the Germans must bear full responsibility for the outbreak of war. It states that Germany and her allies were the aggressors and should not put forward that it was not. It also says that all damage is the responsibility of them. This not only puts Germany into huge debt, having to rebuild the enemy's buildings, but it also gives them a bad reputation for generations to come. However, that Germany deserves this reputation is the subject of this essay and is what shall be discussed. The next proposal is that the vastly supreme British Empire, consisting of India, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, Hong Kong, Gibraltar, several islands in the West Indies and various colonies on the African coast, with the French empire, consisting of Madagascar, several West African countries including the Congo, Vietnam, part of Guiana, some of the Caribbean, and a few islands in Oceania, against the German empire of Prussia and with Russia, war was inevitable. There must be a break in the stalemate. It could be compared to an elastic band, being hung by its middle. On either side, heavier and heavier weights are put on it. Eventually, one end must snap, and one weight must hit the floor. In this case it was Germany. However, after Germany hits the floor, there is nothing to support the allies, so they go crashing down in the Great Depression. Also, my next point, the two naval powers, Germany and Britain, were building up such great forces that the rest of the world thought that a war in the sea would be the main battle. The heat and competitiveness of the opposing navies would be too much, and a huge conflict rising in the ocean with the British and German opposing fleets. In the past year, Britain alone spent over 53 million Pounds Sterling on ships, and in the last seven years, nearly 250 million Pounds Sterling had been used up on the British fleet. At the time of the war, 19 battleships had been launched, the largest being 3 ships displacing 23,000-tons of water; King George V (launched 1912), Audacious, and Centurion, which were both launched 1913. It also included 9 battle cruisers, the largest displacing 27,000-tons of water, the Queen Mary, launched in 1913. The Germans, on the other hand, had 13 battleships, the largest displacing 24,310 tons; the ships Kaiser, Friedrich der Grosse (launched 1912), Kaiserin, Prinzregent Luitpold, and Konig Albert, (all launched in 1913). They also only had 5 cruisers, the largest being Seydlitz (1913), displacing 24,988 tons of water. As you can see, the "great" sea war was probably a lot of fuss about nothing, as the British could have destroyed the Germans easily in single combat. Therefore, we can discard the theory that the First World War was caused by the Anglo-German Naval Race. Therefore, in conclusion, I will sum up what we have explored. We have looked at the Anglo-German naval race, but that turned out not to be a valid theory. We had a look at the increase of tension between all the empires of the early 1900's, which suggested that war was inevitable, and everyone was to blame. And we have had a look into article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, which will forever teach our children that Germany was responsible. But was Germany responsible? Historically, looking at the sources and making a decision, my answer would be no, that war was both side's fault, and all are to blame (although Germany suffered the consequences & if this essay were talking about World War II, America, Britain, and France were almost certainly responsible for causing such a depression in Germany that allowed Hitler to rise). However, no matter what the historical reason be, Germany will be remembered forever as starting the war, by the majority who refuse to look in to this kind of thing.