Was Germany responsible for causing WWI?

Was Germany responsible for causing WWI?

1. 'Blank Check' given on June 6th 1914 which allowed Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia with Germany's support. They also pushed Austria to go to war.

2. Kaiser Wilhelm II harboured expansionist aims and through seeking a large navy and following a militaristic Weltpolitik, he alienated Great Britain and Russia

3. France bears far more responsibility for scaling up the pressure and international mobilization in the weeks leading up to WWI

4. France worked feverishly behind the scenes to arrange a multi-lateral attack on Germany in retaliation for the Franco-Prussian War, and did in fact encourage Russia to mobilize before Germany.

5. Of all of the Great Powers, Germany was the last to mobilise

6. Germany had also made the Schlieffen plan whereby they had to pass through Belgium to get to France, crush them then quickly move their army up to the east front to fight Russia.

7. The reason that Britain joined the war was because everyone in Europe had signed a treaty which said that Belgium would stay neutral in times of war. Britain decided to join war to stop Germany from expanding

   • Therefore, German actions escalated involvement

8. Germany was responsible for the outbreak of the war as it invaded Belgium to reach France. If they had been sensible and attacked through the forest on the French-German border. But no, they went through neutral Belgium and forced Britain's hand

9. Germany was the senior partner in the Triple Alliance, and Austria-Hungary would never have risked war with Russia without full and unqualified German backing.