The German Empire, willing to take the leadership, used nationalism to expand its power and speed up the ever-increasing processes. The Russian Tsarist authority was declining in the contrast to the revolutionary disposition.
The effect of industrial revolution (the production of weapons, uniform and equipment) enhanced the Great Powers' war-fighting capabilities. The demographic revolution coincided with the industrial ones, for instance, the invention of the steam-powered locomotion and the growth of strategic railways made troops mobilization and deployment faster. Moreover, railroads deployed up to 3.4 million soldiers and connected war theaters with the main centers. At the same time Europe experienced a demographic, as its population grew to 392 million in 1914. The revolution made it possible to recruit superior armies; about 10 million men had been mobilized by the Great Powers by 1900.
Conclusion.
T he First World War has spurred the development of new weapons and means of warfare. T he first tanks were used as well as chemical weapons, gas masks, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns. T he firepower of troops increased dramatically.
T here were new types of artillery: anti-aircraft, anti-tank, infantry support. A viation became an independent combat arm, which was divided into reconnaissance, fighter and bomber.
However, the industrial and demographic revolutions were not the most important reasons in causing the outbreak of the war, according to Michael Howard and T.G. Otte.
The main prerequisites of the war were economic contradictions between the states of the Great Powers, political differences and disputes (economical, political, social) between them. Every state was eager to take the leading position and use it in order to promote its own interests. Although the conflict might have been settled peacefully, Austria-Hungary considered the time as appropriate to put an end to the national movement. At the same time, Germany, its powerful patron and ally, believed that it was better prepared for the war than Russia and its allies, France and England. As a result, the European war, being for a long time and expected by many people, suddenly broke out and caused the military conflict that grew to the global scale.
Bibliography.
1 Howard, Michael, The First World War: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), Ch. 1−2.
2 Kennedy, Greg, Dorman, Andrew M., War and Diplomacy: From World War I to the War on Terrorism (Washington: University of Nebraska Press, 2008), Ch. 1.
