I have an upcoming debate in a history class, I'm saying that Germany wasn't "solely responsible for WW1" and my opponent is saying that they were. Can anyone here give me a good overview of the factors going into the start of WW1? Any books you can suggest would also be welcome. Thanks guys!
Well you're going to win. It clearly wasnt the sole responsibility of Germany. Austria started the whole thing by declaring war on Serbia, which brought in Russia, which brought in German, which brought in France, which brought in Britain,..... years go by.... which brought in the USA.
The Austrians declared war on Serbia on Jun28. Russia mobilises (but doesnt declare war) Germany declares war on Russia on Aug1.
So the first declaration of war between two major powers didnt even include Germany. How you can then say that Germany was 'solely' responsible is hard to understand. Certainly Germany was the major influence on that side, they in a sense 'green lit' Austrias actions against Serbians (which they believed Russia would react to) and had Austrias back. But Austria wanted in right from the start, although I think they were more interested in a more limited engagement, as they had regional ambitions of their own. I dont have any books to hand, but I'd read up some wiki articles first to at least understand the basic structure of what occurred.
Ultimately though, absolute statements are often easy to disprove.
I remembered this topic, been going through the threads a while ago. See:
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2ligoh/to_what_degree_was_france_responsible_for_the/
"from about 1890 onward it was Germany who held the reigns in driving Europe toward war"