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Arguably, World War 1 stands out as being one of the most brutal conflicts in history. The stalemate of trench warfare claiming millions of lives, in addition to other fronts in the east. "It will be over by Christmas!" was the somewhat naive statement made in 1914. Yet, why/how did such a war happen?

The unification of Germany in 1871 at the expense of France, who lost Alsace-Lorraine, inevitably changed the Geo-political landscape in Europe. A new, powerful state had emerged in the center of Europe that directly bordered Europe's other super powers France, Russia and the Austria-Hungarian empire.

Britain, also looked on as Bismarck defeated France in the Franco-Prussian war. For Britain too, had a stake in Europe and wanting to maintain a stable balance of power in Europe. The emergence of Germany broke the balance of power that had been carefully constructed after the Napoleonic wars. Europe was no longer stable.

And so, Germany was unified and a second industrial revolution took place in the country. Not only did this see the rise of German industry, it also directly threatened Britain's commercial interests and certainly broke their world monopoly (along with America who were also experiencing industrialization). In the latter half of the 19th century Britain lost it's world lead.

France for their part now had to contend with a powerful neighbor on their border. A neighbor which had already taken territory off them and would soon overtake them economically. The future pattern had been set for Franco-German tension.

With Germany united, Bismarck was a highly regarded statesman. As German chancellor subservient to a powerful monarch he would pursue an alliance system that he hoped would maintain the peace and serve German interests. In the most part, he sought to avoid angering both France and Russia in the event of being encircled. Recognizing that France were already angered he signed an insurance treaty with Russia that would ensure Germany's eastern border.

For the most part, this worked. But then of course, all things must end sooner or later and Bismarck was eventually dethroned as chancellor in 1890 when the next Wilhelm became king.

This had immediate impact. For starters, it was clear that the monarch wanted a greater say in international relations. More say than Bismarck could expect, for sure. A new course in foreign policy was therefore embarked on with Germany not renewing it's insurance treaty with Russia.

Germany would also embark on the pursuance

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