Most significantly, this map of Europe illustrates how big of a role the alliance system played in the Great War. Used as propaganda, Russia is trying to swallow up the "European antagonists" while Germany and Austria-Hungary are both pointing their guns up Russia's nose and down his throat. Meanwhile Britain is standing there looking grumpy, France is being battered by a German, Italy just watches the big fight, and a pig is drawn to represent Serbia. The Allies and the Central Powers are clearly depicted as enemies. Country joined after country to stand by their 'friends' and abide by treaties. It was the domino effect.
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WWI happened for many reasons. One direct cause being that after Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist, Germany had encouraged Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. Soon after, Germany developed the Schlieffen Plan and tried to invade Belgium.
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A propaganda poster released by the British Empire, calling for their allies overseas; Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India. Nationalism is portrayed as the Old Lion (Britain) tells his young lions (British colonies) to take pride in their nation and that enlisting in the military will help their empire win the war, a great symbol of strength and guaranteed recognition.
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Militarism and imperialism were two of the long-term factors of WWI. Germany wanted to expand their military for protection against invasion. The Germans invested vast amounts of money into developing powerful weapons so that they could overpower Britain's navy and Russia's massive army. It was the race to superiority in terms of armed forces. Imperialism came into play when power was gained by extending over other countries through military force or economic control. European countries wanted to expand their empires while Britain dominated, owning the most territory. This led to competition.