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World War I was the culmination of events set in motion decades before that fateful day in 1914. Germany had been planning a war since the mid 1870’s and military leaders were determined to have it. Europe had enjoyed a century of peace until an assassin’s bullet crushed any hope of maintaining that peace. While the immediate cause for the start of WWI was the assignation of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, conflict on continental Europe was inevitable. After the Napoleonic wars came to an end Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia declared their intent to establish “ a firm peace, based on a just equilibrium of strength among the powers.” A balance of power was created, and it successfully kept European nations in check. The collapse of the balance of power system, brought on mainly by German Alliances and desire to dom