A war that broke out between countries from 1914 to 1918, known as World War I, was between the major powers of Europe. During the 19th century and early 20th century countries were in constant conflict. Tensions between the major powers and Germany were advancing rapidly and always on the edge of the hill. Some people believe that the cause of World War I was militarism, imperialism, nationalism, or the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Some of us believe that these are the main reasons why World War I began. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay The main cause of World War I was the formation of alliances between countries because alliances were what created a domino effect due to coalitions between major powers and their hostility to each other. The reason for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was that secret alliances existed in Serbia which led Austria-Hungary to want to wage war against them. The Serbian government carried out this plot by allying itself with the organizational group known as the Black Hand. It was known to be a secret military society formed in 1911 by officers of the Serbian army. Due to its connections to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, committed by members of the Young Bosnia youth movement, the Black Hand is credited with contributing to the outbreak of World War I by triggering the July Crisis of 1914, which ultimately led to the invasion of Serbia by Austria-Hungary. The Serbian government had secret alliances linked to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand which caused tensions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. The tension between the two countries became even greater when Serbia had secret allies which led both countries to go to war. Larger alliances such as the Triple Entente and Triple Alliance were also formed. The Triple Entente began as a Franco-Russian alliance between France and Russia in 1894 and later developed in 1907 to include Great Britain in this alliance. The Triple Alliance was formed in 1882 and included Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy. The secrecy of the Triple Entente's relations increased tension until the outbreak of war in 1914 and from then on they were known as “Aggressive Weapons”. The Triple Alliance was also a secret agreement, however everyone wanted different outcomes and needs from the war. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The Triple Entente all had one common objective agreement and that was to crush Germany. The reason why the Triple Entente started a domino effect was because if those two treaties had not been there, in 1914 there would have been a regional war between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Serbia. The end result would be a new triple monarchy (Austria, Hungary, Serbia) instead of the double monarchy (Austria, Hungary). If the Triple Entente treaty had not been present, Russia would not have had an excuse to go to war with Austria; Germany would not have had an excuse to go to war with Russia or France, France would not have had an excuse to go to war with Germany. Germany would not have acted according to the Shefflin Plan, Belgium would not have been invaded, and Britain would not have gone to war with Germany or Austria-Hungary. These two treaties were designed to prevent war, and did so for fifty years, but it was all under tension, and just the right amount of pressure brought the whole thing down..