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Introduction CAUSES Impetus for a general European war had been building for decades, and all the major European powers bore some measure of responsibility for the war that began in 1914. Five underlying causes stand out: nationalism (the triumph of stat- ism over internationalism but also the desire of subject minorities to have their own nation states), two hostile alliance systems, imperialist and trade rivalries, an arms race, and economic and social tensions. By the late 19th century, nationalism was rampant. Nowhere were the strains of this more obvious than in the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary, a mélange of at least a dozen minorities. Two minorities, the Germans (23 percent) and the Mag- yars (19 percent), dominated, but early in the 20th century, Slavic nationalism, championed by neighboring Serbia, threatened the Dual Monarchy. Enjoying the support of Russia, Serbia had long sought to be the nucleus of a large state embrac- ing all the South Slavs. In 1908, in an effort to diminish Serbian influence and cut it off from access to the sea, the Dual Monarchy annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina. This almost brought war with Russia, but it chose to back down. Austria-Hungary also insisted on creation of an independent Albania. Germany—Europe’s preeminent military power—was Austria-Hungary’s clos- est ally and supported its action in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The German Empire had come into being as a consequence of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. Hav- ing imposed a draconian peace settlement on France in the Treaty of Frankfurt, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck sought to isolate that country, which was bent on revenge. An arrangement with both Austria-Hungary and Russia (the Dreikaiserbund, or Three Emperors’ League) shattered on the competition of the latter two in the Balkans. Forced to choose, Bismarck, in 1879, selected Austria- Hungary as Germany’s principal ally. This Dual Alliance was the bedrock of ­ German foreign policy into World War I. Not prepared to cast Russia adrift, how- ever, in 1887, Bismarck concluded the so-called Reinsurance Treaty with it, which he kept secret from Austria. In effect, he promised each German support in the Balkans. As long as Bismarck was chancellor, France remained isolated, but in 1888, Wilhelm II became emperor. Young, rash, and headstrong, he soon clashed with