(1) Germany has become a great industrial country and wanted to
have more markets for trade. (2) Germany was jealous of the
colonial and naval greatness of England. William II, Kaiser of
Germany, was very ambitious and wanted to gain influence in
Turkey by linking Berlin with Baghdad by a railway line. This
gave rise to great rivalry between England and Germany. (3) The
immediate cause of the war the murder of Archduke Ferdinand (the
heir to the throne of the Austrian Empire) at Serajevo by a
Serbian. The Austrian held the Government of Serbia responsible
for the murder and ultimately attacked Serbia.
Germany, Austria, Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria were on one side
and, were called Central Powers. England, France, Serbia,
Belgium, Japan, Russia were on the other side,
and were called the Allies. Italy in 1915 and the U.S.A. in 1917
joined the Allies against the Central Powers.
The war started on the 4th August, 1914 and ended on 11th
November,1918.
