Introduction Few historical areas can have aroused as much debate as that of the origins and causes of WW1. The thousands of documents and eyewitness testimonies collated have allowed historians to construct exceedingly detailed illustrations of what happened in the days, months and years leading to the outbreak of war. Despite having researched, in many cases, identical material, there is no end of disagreement among historians as to who, or what, caused the war. Just …showed first 75 words of 4253 total…

…showed last 75 words of 4253 total…ll concerned could evaporate as 'direction has been lost and the avalanche has begun to move47'? The July Crisis was an example of diplomats, under pressure, making rash and ill-thought out decisions; the reasons Bethmann-Hollweg's ration of the blame is larger than that of his pan-European counterparts are that he was the one constantly upping the ante, consciously risking war and the one whose final decision made a World War a reality.