Woodrow Wilson once said, "This is the war to end all wars." World War I, sometimes called the Great War, was thought to be the war to end all wars. The two main parties were the Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, Russia, Japan, the United States, Belgium, Greece, and Romania) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria). The war lasted from 1914 to 1918 and was fought mainly in Europe. Europe has not had a substantial war since the French Revolution. Technology has evolved, society has changed and countries have modernized. The First World War was the first war that involved almost all of Europe and was one of the bloodiest wars in all of European history. The start of the war can usually be traced back to a handful of underlying causes. What then were the underlying causes of the First World War? The answers are very simple. The underlying causes of the First World War are the formation of alliances, the rise of militarism, imperialism, nationalism and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, European nations were forming alliances with each other. These alliances were an agreement to help an ally if attacked. The two main alliances were the Triple Entente, which included Great Britain, France, and Russia, and the Triple Alliance, which included Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. These alliances raised the question of who started the war. The political cartoon The Crime of the Ages shows men labeled as countries, whose size corresponds to their military strength, aiming to blame another country for the war. These alliances would set off a chain reaction that would lead Europe to go to war. Subsequently, European nations increased their armies. This was called the arms race. The graph in document seven shows an increase in the amount of money spent on its armies from 1890 to 1914. Germany more than quadrupled its military budget during that period. Prince Bernhard von Bulow of Germany, “…we realize that without power, without a strong army and a strong navy, there can be no well-being for us.” Germany realizes that it needs a strong military to ensure the safety of its citizens. Prince Bulow goes on to say: “The means of fighting the battle for existence in this world without strong armament on land and water, for a nation soon to number sixty millions, living in the center of Europe and at the same time extends its economic antennas in all directions, they have not yet been found." It means that the European population is growing faster and faster, Germany has almost sixty million inhabitants, the countries of Central Europe will want more land and will have to be able to protect themselves. He would prefer Germany to strike first with great force rather than be weak and beat. They are spending too much money on the military and not enough to keep the people happy. The increase in money spent on the military meant that war was imminent, whether Europe wanted it or not. Furthermore, the rise of the military coincided with the rise of imperialism. Britain, France and Germany had huge territorial claims in both Africa and Asia and needed a large army to protect their territory in case of attack. Great Britain had the largest claims, with an area of ​​around 33 million square kilometers and around 400 million inhabitants. The cartoon.