The Cause of the Wars: A Short Reflective Piece

Devastation in Bucha, Ukraine. Source.

The First World War, “the war to end all wars,” was really just the beginning.

The Second World War wouldn’t have happened without the First World War.

The Cold War was directly caused by the Second World War.

And the Russia/Ukraine war couldn’t have happened without the Cold War.

So, what started the First World War?

The First World War

The First World War was triggered by the assassination of Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.

Austria-Hungary had been in a long struggle for control of the Balkan regions of Europe. Seizing this assassination as the perfect excuse and opportunity to turn the world against Serbia and secure the Balkans, Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbian government and matters rapidly flew out of control.

Serbia secured the support of Russia.

Austria-Hungary secured Germany’s support.

And the rest is history. 

The Second World War

The utter carnage left by the First World War saw a dazed world emerging from the rubble trying to rebuild itself.

Germany was utterly obliterated and placed under harsh repercussions by the Allies. As such, the German people were all too keen when Adolf Hitler arose, proclaiming a better picture and the restoration of Germany’s former glory.

So they set out under the guise of “recovering their land” by invading Austria and Poland.

Because of the alliances, Great Britain was pulled into the war.

And the rest is history.  

The Cold War

As the seconds ticked down on Berlin, the Western Allies closed in from the west and Russia approached from the east.

The war in Europe was ending and a new war was just beginning. Now all the land formerly occupied by Germany was split in the middle where East and West met.

Suddenly, these “friends with a common enemy” became enemies in their own right, struggling for power, land and a different form of government.

Half of Europe fell under the communist rule of the Soviet Union.

The Berlin Wall rapidly appeared separating East and West.

And the rest is history. 

Russia/Ukraine War

After the United States of America won the Cold War, they dominated the military scene.

Since 1949, the USA along with various other countries of Western sympathies, had joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forming political and military alliances.

Around 2021, there was serious talk of Ukraine joining NATO.

Because of the historical and continued tensions between America and Russia, permitting Ukraine to join NATO was unacceptable. An alliance would mean the USA would be able to amass equipment right up to Russia’s border—posing a major security threat.

Russia retaliated by invading Ukraine.

And the rest is… well, not quite history. 

And so the chain of wars continues, and all because of that First War—“the war to end all wars.”