Was it a hard time to live in already? What were the higher ups such as in goverment or military lives like compared to the lower class of the time around 1913-January to June 1914? Were there any struggles or anything that people knew might build up to something, or was the June assasination really the complete starting point?
I'm really interested in what Germany life was like for families, etc at that time. When the war started, what was the youngest solider age allowed to join? Google hasn't been my bestest help, and mainly focuses on everything but Germany specifically or starts at exact pin-point of the assasination.
Thank you
It was a pretty new nation, having only been formed through the unification of some German-speaking territories in 1871. It was struggling to find it's place in the world as a result. However, it was drawn together by patriotism and nationalism, and it was quite technically advanced, with great focus on industrial progression.
That said, it was greatly controlled by militarism, which had it's share of positives and negatives. It had a very good army for the time that was quite well equipped, and it was deemed very, very efficient for it's day. However, it relied on conscription, which was mandatory military service in the regular arm of the army - as well as mandatory time in the reserves after service. I've broken that down below.
As for ages and such, the official verdict is different to what actually happened. You could be eligible at 17 for military service in a 'Landsturm' regiment, which was basically a Home Guard-esque unit. However, this rarely occured, because of the cost and lack of will to send 17 year olds into a reservist army.
Military service began on the soldier's 20th birthday, and the Infantry soldier would spend two years in the Army, and three years in the support arms (Artillery corps, cavalry, medical, etc)
Depending on the time spent in the regular Army, the regular would then become a reservist for four or five years. Every reserve soldier had to undergo two weeks training per year. After this reserve period ended, they would then go back to the Landsturm. However, not everyone spent this amount of time in the Army; theoretically, they would be uneligible for military service at 45, meaning that some would spend a very long time in the reserves and Landsturm.