Another cause of the war was the building of alliances and arms races.

Another cause of the war was the building of alliances and arms races.
The major participants in the race were Britain and Germany due to new imperialism.

l  There is probably no single concise or conclusive assessment of the exact cause of the First World War.

BEGINNING
In 1914, the perception of war was romanticized by many people, and its declaration was met with great enthusiasm by these people. The common view on both sides was that it would be a short war of manoeuvre, with a few sharp actions (to "teach the enemy a lesson") and would end with a victorious entry into the enemy capital, then home for a victory parade or two and back to "normal" life.

By 1915 both sides were using poison gas--neither side ever won a battle with gas, but it made life even more miserable in the trenches and became one of the most feared, and longest remembered, horrors of the war.

In 1914, France possessed 162 aircraft and in 1918, 11 836, including 3 437 on the front lines - these figures say it all. A similar increase took place on the side of the central empire states and the Commonwealth.