A Culmination of European History: world war one

A Culmination of European History: world war one

A localized war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia was almost a given due to Austro-Hungarian Empire's deterriorating world position and the Pan-Slavic, separationist movement in the Balkans, which garnered the support of Slavic elements in Russia, primarily due to Russia's own wishes for a warm water port. Imperial Russia's expansion eastwards is a historical theme that deserves attention - a "threat" only reinforced by the experiences of the Germans in the Napoleonic Wars and Thirty Year's War - where their precarious position in the center of Europe led to the decision for an active defense such as the Schlieffen Plan. France's fury over "losing" the Alsace and Lorraine territories in the Franco-Prussian War gave way to a new word, revanchism, and Germany failed to isolate the French after the League of the Three Emperors fell apart. Overall, the "problems" of 1914 relate directly to problems that are a culmination of historical developments in Europe.