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By the time around 1900, there were five greatest powers of old Europe namely Great Britain, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary and Russia. In August 1914 the First World War erupted. Over 40 million casualties resulted, and approximately 20 million military and civilian deaths. Million km square of good land turned into mud. Suffering came in other forms as well. In 1918 the tired and hungry citizens of Europe were hit by an epidemical Spanish disease. More than 25 million people around the globe died because of it. Thereafter, unconcluded discussion among historians as to who would be responsible for the consequence of the war is left behind. In my opinion Austro-Hungary and Germany would likely be the ones who were responsible for the war.
The outbreak of the war lies on a number of factors. These factors included nationalism that was being spread throughout Europe during the time before World War I had started. Although Germany and Austria were not all to blame for the outbreak of the war they contributed significantly in the involvement of the arms race (militarism), the alliance system, nationalism, and emulation between countries and colonies (imperialism).
On the 28th June 1914 a young Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, pushed his way through the crowds on the streets of Bosnian city of Sarajevo and fired three shots into the body of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Few then could have foreseen that this particular Balkan assassination would lead directly to a global war of almost indescribable destruction. The question was why a local dispute between two Balkan states should lead to a world war within a matter of week? The answer is the system of alliances which divided Europe into two separate armed camps. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was compared as the fuse to ignite the World War I.
The new alliance system was started by the German Chancellor, Otto