Who Started World War I: Crash Course World History 210

[@penguiatiator]

My whole WHAP class had a huge debate and came to the conclusion that whoever made the sandwich that Gavrilo Princip was eating was to blame. While he was eating the sandwich, he looked out the window and saw Franz Ferdinand after MANY failed assasination attempts. If the sandwich had been better, he wouldn't have looked up.

[@ApceHistory]

penguiatiator except sandwich story is fake --from Serbian (me)

[@penguiatiator]

*gasp

[@penguiatiator]

ApceHistory You lied to me :( www.history.com/news/the-assassination-of-archduke-franz-ferdinand-100-years-ago en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria#Shot_dead www.history.com/this-day-in-history/archduke-franz-ferdinand-assassinated

[@Knez_Pavle]

penguiatiator actually he came to the conclusion to assassinate Franz while smoking Persian Tobacco

[@ApceHistory]

stop with pseudohistory

[@JBHgreenTSA]

"And just as a general rule, it's hard to play the blameless victim when you're moving all of your troops to the border. Hey, why are you here again, Putin?" That line aged well.

[@dvorahjaecorvinus-vhb3935]

LOL - blaming Caesar for WW-1 still has me laughing. Great presentation!

[@DioscuriA85]

If the Romans had conquered Germania, France and Germany or maybe all of continental Europe may have become a unified entity. Especially if Latin and Catholicism had replaced the tribal languages and religions.

[@michaelgj23]

Have you ever considered doing an “Advanced Course?” It seems like you could’ve easily gone more in-depth but didn’t because high school students are your intended audience. Love the channel and your work!

[@btime8307]

Agreed!

[@marquisdelafayette1929]

If you want an extremely in depth look you should check out Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History. It’s like 15 hours long and was probably the best and most researched thing about WW1.

[@jonathanallison785]

@@marquisdelafayette1929 I was about to recommend that myself. But yeah the first episode of "Blue Print for Armageddon" goes highly in depth on the causes and context of the beginning of WW1

[@MrLeonsenwod]

I agree i wanna get a A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ on my exam

[@lazarzekovic5586]

Why don`t you guys try reading a book..Maybe?

[@mauricedesaxe1745]

"The Swiss didn't start wars!" Meanwhile, in Europa Universalis 4...

[@Tytoalba777]

+Mallock Did they win?

[@ConradJD777]

+Jay Rohwer Or Victoria 2 :b

[@TheSpecialJ11]

+Jay Rohwer How about that Swiss lakes achievement? No coastal provinces?

[@mauricedesaxe1745]

Never gave it a shot, lol.

[@Tytoalba777]

Mallock Wait wait wait... They beat _France_? Man, that must be embarrassing for France. In fact, that should be a thing in EU4, if a small power beats a larger power the effects of prestige are a larger, while if a larger power defeats a smaller power the effects are smaller

[@deltanebula8622]

Swiss reel = best 5 seconds of this Crash Course channel.

[@chukotkapeninsula5924]

word 😅

[@iluvaustralia1661]

i'm swiss😊😊

[@chukotkapeninsula5924]

+iluvaustralia me too lol 😅

[@spoonlegends5875]

yum swiss rolls>idk why i say this... alot..

[@TheNanoSan]

My great-grandfather died in WW1, my grandfather died in WW2, hope my country will be smart enough so that I don't have to die in WW3.

[@alixundr9519]

Yeah, my Grandfather died in Auschwitz. He fell from a guard tower.

[@iluvDNA100]

My great-grandfather was a WWI pilot. Believe it or not, but he survived the "Flying Coffin"!

[@VintageLJ]

My Great-Great-Grandfathers both fought in WW1. One of them was killed in a gas attack, and another completely wiped out a German gunning position single handedly and was awarded a medal, and then died of old age.

[@StefanKaleta]

My great-grandfather died in WW1, too. He either died in France, or in Italy.

[@extrapobro]

My great-grandfather survived first,second Balkan wars and WW1, my grandfather survived WW2 he is still alive, he has 92 years now, hope my country will be smart enough and enters the WW3 so i could survive.

[@joshsteinbauer]

Can't believe this is 8 years old. The 'why are you here again, Putin?' joke is proving timeless.

[@valdemarl2541]

Fun fact: parts of Switzerland stayed neutral during the swiss civil war. lel

[@kwanteikkhow230]

You can't say they aren't commited

[@Ida-xe8pg]

this year on 11 of nov at 11:00 am will mark the centennial anniversary of WW I sooo be ready

[@youwantawargav6738]

So they are neutral even when they are at war

[@tjs200]

Yodel-Ay-Hee-Hoo

[@de132]

lul

[@ZerefuGt]

I really love the way that Crash Course teaches history. It is as impartial as possible, it always has some revelation about humanity, and it is always very well argued. I learnt so much from here!

[@SpazzyMcGee1337]

@ 0:26 I love the way John says "and I can't wait for you to defend it" to his younger self. You can feel the spite.

[@wildrav3n468]

World War 3 needs a better script and director. I wonder who are they going to cast this time?

[@danielsoltesz8523]

Probably Michael Bay!

[@maxwelldestito4295]

Trump

[@wildrav3n468]

Maxwell Destito Lmao

[@kingmaxoroni2029]

Maxwell Destito well fyck your right

[@marmorealcandors]

Maxwell Destito Oh my God, you might be right.

[@matthewesterman1481]

Thanks for another thoughtful explanation of the difficulties surrounding historical analysis guys. I teach History and Historiography to high school students here in Sydney, Australia, and whilst so much of our curriculum is crowded with "what happened", the contestability of history is something finally being brought into almost every topic. Cheers!

[@HenryC04]

mongols: were the exception! Swiss: hold my hot chocolate

[@rajeerageleta1630]

am i the only one who replayed the swiss montage a million times

[@benscholer4022]

+Rajeera Geleta nope me too

[@therazzyt]

no

[@huntercrowton5859]

You are certainly not alone

[@masugoupil]

I am Swiss...

[@_Kathrin_]

we're the mongols of europe. Except that we're not that belligerent.

[@JacobMeza-pro-footballer]

“-the alliance system was certainly important and I’m sure you’ll be discussing it in your classes”.....imagine having no classroom or school because of the Caronavirus

[@EmperorTigerstar]

7:00 Oh gosh, those borders on that map are so horrible...

[@rafaeltavarez5089]

Actually is no THAT bad, its just a representative image, not too far away

[@EmperorTigerstar]

Rafael Tavarez It could be worse, yes, but it's inaccurate. Especially the border between Russia, Germany, and Austria in Poland.

[@agfelippi]

It's actually pretty accurate.

[@malwinpilak]

***** at that time there was no Poland. It was partitioned between the kingdoms of Russia, Prussia and Austria. The map depicted is an approximation.

[@TheMarkusFIN]

LOL it hurts my eyes! :D

[@jenl732]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as Germany agreed to *protect* Austria-Hungary when Russia struck a war (which they would definitely do if Serbia did, because Russia was Serbia's ally), THEN Austria-Hungary wrote that bullying ultimatum to Serbia and Serbia refused, that led to Russia's declaration of war; which was why Germany was then involved. So I don't know why people say the fault's on Germany, because it was Austria-Hungary who forced Serbia to say yes to the letter when Serbia shouldn't be blamed to say no.

[@BeauBullockJustCallMeBrock]

The Rench couldn't take Alsace-Lorraine from us if they didn't blame Germany.

[@lar.8168]

Exactly. I believe that people should go deeper into Balkan/Central European politics from the early 20th century to see what actually happened. Basically, Austria-Hungary tried to colonise Balkan countries after it helped them break free from the Turks. This happened because Austria was left out when other European countries divided overseas colonies. Croatia was already part of Austria-Hungary, then the Austrians annexed Bosnia and Serbia was to be next. They just waited for an excuse to attack. It was the matter of time at that point.

[@0909095411]

You've toataly right

[@RieserDav]

but didnt serbia kill some austrian leader or something like that?

[@0909095411]

Luna Jahovic Like the terrorists.

[@414deathmetalist]

I'd say paranoia is to blame for the start of WW1

[@sawkvideoproductions1115]

Yeah pretty much. Everybody wanted a reason to attack someone else.

[@lokelong1292]

Including allied.cause after the war germany have to give 8 trillion, cannot have tanks,cannot have airforce, and manny german were killed in ruhr,germany by france army or bullies by brits citizen that visit germany. The brits can literally pick any german they want to bullies in germany and no one can really do anything

[@Isa-gm7kv]

high tensions lead to paranoia which leads to rash decisions

[@comradebear9477]

Nonsense. By then, it'd been British policy for over 200 years to spark off such global wars periodically in order to kill their competition. They've always done that. WW1 was the natural conclusion to the inevitable rise of Germany as the supreme European power as successor to the Western Roman Empire.

[@justinmuller2735]

@@lokelong1292 oversimplified

[@pete2389]

I started wwI. My bad, didn't know it would turn out like that.

[@williamsledge3151]

Don't worry I caused ww2 20 years later so it's ok pal

[@peaznouhh]

Don't be sad because I started the entire Cold War,Most event were held by me,but I swear to god,I am not the one who assassinate Mr.JKF.

[@mordekaiserthegreat2048]

Its okay, I started the roman empire, which started a lot more wars. I also am about to start WW3 because i'm going to give some american with anger issues a really bad sandwich and he'll take out his anger on Kim Jong Un when his driver makes a wrong turn to a sushi shop...

[@lucasravenborne7391]

Its ok, who has not started a war or two in their lifetime.

[@NateTheGreat2399]

Dude wtf. I mean, I might be the one who actually sank the USS Maine in Cuba, but come on.

[@abbieamavi]

*these videos remind me high school, but in the absolute best way possible. I love these videos, they mask the pain of sobbing over late homework, because I genuinely enjoyed watching these before writing my essays* thanks John and Co :)

[@elcabbage2306]

Say what you will about the Germans, but they definitely had the best uniforms ;)

[@Communistbaconeater]

No Canada did. Sorry

[@ChadBenjamin]

+Gabe Grothaus You want badass uniforms? Look no further than the Knights Templar from the Crusades.

[@Abdullah.Al-Haj]

+Communistbaconeater Canada didn't even exist back then LOL

[@killdavies709787]

+Ninja Turtle Hmmm Canada didn't exist during WW1...I'm sure Canada has existed since 1867...

[@Abdullah.Al-Haj]

It was a british colony Go look up Canada's independance

[@walkthroughsepic]

5:53 aged spectacularly.

[@ENVYLESS]

Anyone else here during the Coronavirus, and not History Class? Just me? huh...

[@ememem2952]

ENVYLESS yes! Corona time!

[@ENVYLESS]

@@ememem2952YEAH! Corona time! How's the online learning?

[@barbaraandino4981]

@Asura Khæñ tbh i got an assignment due at in like 40mins on this so thats why im here

[@milascave2]

envy: Nope. No longer a student, and been watching this stuff for years.

[@danonese18]

yes

[@Akranejames]

I believe Austro-Hungary has to responsability of strating the war, but the russian mobilisation leads me to think that Russia would probably have found a way to go to war anyways. The great blame, for me, is on these two. Germany was dragged into the war by their aliance and a misunderstanding, and had to attack France because of the strong franco-russian alliance against Germany. Germans are however entirely responsible for invading Belgium and for getting Great Britain into the war, by that act. Can't say if Great Britain would have found another reason to join though.

[@WaterMelonFan1]

Most likely not. The british even promised to stay neutral some days before the outbreak of the war and even offered the germans to serve as an intercessor between germany and the french to prevent a world war. That was what lead the germans to march through belgium, they thought the british would not join. Of course everything went the other way because of Grey and his support from the conservatives, but it was still not unlikely that the british would stay neutral.

[@Akranejames]

***** You're probably right. However, the british saw the germans as a threat, and if the germans created great troubles in trade by sinking ships, like they did in America, I would have expected GB to eventually join, basically the same way the USA joined. My opinion, however.

[@WaterMelonFan1]

Of course we can't be sure about that. But we know that the british government was mostly pro german, there was just a small group aroung Grey (leader of the foreign office) which really advocated for war against germany. Thus i think it wasn't that likely that the UK joined in.

[@Akranejames]

***** Ok. My History class diverge on those relations, saying that GB was peaceful against Germany before that war, but saw them as a major threat to their naval power. Knowing that, all I say is that this war would have been an opportunity for GB.

[@weejockpoopongmacplop6726]

The British liberal government at the time did not want war (the PM cried when he had to declare war). Britain was actually close to a civil war in Ireland over the Home Rule crisis, as conservatives such as Bonar Law had promised to support Ulster Unionists in armed rebellion,(I suppose its ironic that entering ww1 ended the threat of civil war, because unionists wanted to show how loyal and brave they were, and nationalists wanted to show that unionists and nationalists could get along). I've gone off topic. Tbh I doubt ww1 would have lasted half as long as it did without the British, the Russian war effort was, to be frank, pathetic, and I don't think France would have been able to withstand Germany on its own. Maybe the threat of a German super state running across Europe would have been enough to make Britain join.

[@boblet132tx]

In the beginning of the year I wrote an essay for my Year 11 History class about how 'The Alliance System' was to blame for the starting of WWI - my girlfriend wrote about how the Austrians were to blame and my friend wrote how Germany was the main cause. It's an interesting topic with a lot of points to it! I love that you guys talked about it on Crash Course ;) thankyou

[@RaghunandanReddyC]

what makes germany different from any other colonizing country? everyone waged wars for their own benefits.

[@321argeleb123]

Scapegoat... And the Versailles-treaty assigned all blame for the war to Germany. And as he said, they did start WW2, making it easy for people to get on board with the idea of them being the soul reason the first one started as well.

[@ottifant64]

+Stratega Except Germany and the UK weren't enemies up until WW1.

[@321argeleb123]

Ottifant UK did, however, ally up with their ancient rival France because of Germany's increadible effectiveness both economically and militarily. The rapid development of the German navy deteriorated their relations even further. That is not to say they were enemies, just that they weren't the best of friends.

[@Grort]

+TheVeryBest Technically incorrect. The Brits had a non-aggression pact with France and Russia. The British at the beginning of the 20th Century had one ally, and one ally only, and that was to protect its more far flung possession: Japan. However, there was an arms and naval race between Germany and Britain from 1912 on wards as I recall, which was due to the Germans stated intentions to create a navy either as strong, or more powerful than that of Britain - which obviously the British did not like - along with the fact the Germans did catch up with the British remarkably quickly, even if they did in the end only fight one naval battle before being holed up after Jutland.

[@321argeleb123]

Grort The reason Great Britain joined the war was because Germany invaded Belgium, but if you want to be technical you can't forget that Great Britain and Portugal have been allies since 1386. So the whole "one ally only" is simply not true. They also maintained relations with the US because they knew they had no hope of keeping a supreme naval influence in the new world without their help. They were also part of the triple entante, which weren't technically an alliance. So you're correct in that sense. However, as they were a member of the triple entante they would probably have gone to war to defend the other two members if they should come under severe threat. And we both know that that was the case.

[@tesscot]

Have you heard of The Standard Oil Company? Pretty sure the US was partly to blame for WWI, and pretty sure Russia had valid reasons for preparing for war, but other than that it's GREAT to hear a moderate rational discussion of WWI that doesn't just place blame on Germany. Beyond that though the Treaty of Versailles guaranteed WWII.

[@a.d.6683]

Amazing job. Incredibly thorough, and done so quickly!!

[@jac0528-q2d]

I wish I could write conclusions for my essays that are as satisfying as how John Green summarizes his videos.

[@AceEspeon]

The Putin jokes aged like fine wine

[@nicogris8349]

You mentioned a great TOPIC at the end of the video. may have done it already and i just dont see it, but the ALLIANCE SYSTEM seems like a great philosophical and analytical video. Love everything about these

[@Sam-zx4gm]

WAIT... DID THIS PERSON WRITE THE FAULT IN OUR STARTS.?!?!?

[@uzairhalimi9404]

WW1 STARTS: SWEDEN: AIGHT IM OUT

[@rileyh520]

They heard Russia was involved. They got their fill of Russia in the Great Northern War

[@cameronowings6487]

I'm writing an essay on WW1 and this video helped me a lot!

[@l0ok5ko0l]

Great show, John and team. Thoughtful, well paced and engaging. Thankyou!

[@JustRaven00]

5:50 aged a little bit too well

[@cassandrazatka6240]

The Swiss montage made my day

[@Gillsing]

Am I the only one who had to raise the volume to max to get normal sound for John's voice? And then the music at the end seemed to drown out his voice so I couldn't hear what he was saying. (Not that I cared, because it was only the credits.)

[@PierreDefretin]

No you're not. Looks like they messed up with the sound mixing in this one :/

[@haiggoh]

agreed, especially the music in the end was way too loud. It almost seemed comical

[@Zoojakamar]

Jump scaring Swiss.

[@doc7403]

The world needs a good war. World has been at peace too long and humanity is growing weak.

[@haiggoh]

Doc I hope that's just a bad taste joke and not your actual opinion

[@tainishiuchi8889]

what a wonderful message at the end about questioning both primary and secondary sources.

[@shstivoj]

In 1881, Serbian prince Milan signed a Secret Convention with Austria-Hungary. Serbia basically became Austria-Hungary's bitch, so Milan could crown himself a King. Serbia couldn't sign agreements with anyone without Austria-Hungary's permission. In 1903 Milan's son was overthrown and killed, and Petar Karađorđević became King. He started trading with other European countries without Austria-Hungary's permission. Austria-Hungary imposed sanctions and started a trade war called Pig War. Pig War just strengthened Serbia's trade relations with the rest of Europe, and confirmed its economic independence. Since then Austria-Hungary wanted to start a war with Serbia and bring it back under its control. That is why Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina (which had a Serb majority at that time). That's why Serbia was forced to retreat from Albania. That is why the ultimatum was so harsh. So even if the Archduke wasn't assassinated war would eventually happen.

[@shstivoj]

+A random person On the Internet en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1910_population_census_in_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina

[@ErichZornerzfun]

+Александар Марић Yeah and the Serbs only account for 43% which is not an overall majority.

[@shstivoj]

It says orthodox christians, not Serbs, considering that a lot of muslims considered themselves as Serbs.

[@ErichZornerzfun]

Александар Марић And many Greek Orthodox considered themselves Croats. But in any event your source doesn't support your claim it actually contradicts it.

[@shstivoj]

Orthodox Croats? I don't think so.

[@andrewkulinski8883]

"Im more in the bold proclamations business" this describes the internet so well

[@sasha6z]

Unless...you're the Swiss. That part made me laugh :D

[@headbangben1]

start the Swiss reel! seriously, they should that more often, its awesome =]

[@Diamantenvogel]

Haha I liked that too...mostly because I'm Swiss, probably :))

[@josholiver2508]

John Green is the coolest person ever

[@namenlos40]

Why are the Brits always move into the wars? They could stay on their island and drink tea.

[@PokemonDude880]

they're allies to the other countries so they can't just let it happen

[@greendogg83]

It is Britain's prerogative to make certain that no single country controls all of europe, for our own safety, hence we are the Arbiter of Europe, whether we like or not.

[@adityasrinivasulu]

how about Brexit though

[@greendogg83]

Aditya Srinivasulu You understand that it was a referendum, I personally voted to stay but alas 52% voted the other way.

[@AubriGryphon]

Well, the whole "island" thing is kind of the issue there. You know, "Brittania rules the waves" and all that? Britain relied on trade as its lifeblood. It was in their interest to act on behalf of their most important trade partners -- or against the competition, in the case of the Anglo-Dutch Wars.

[@Muffin-cs3xp]

1:15 Indeed this is a photo of a man called Fritz Fischer, but not the one who postulated the "Fischer Thesis," you are obviously referring to. Therefore it can be kind of deceptive. I did not want to raise an unnecessary complaint, but it was something that attracted my attention.

[@sulphuric_glue4468]

You missed the opportunity for a "It's almost harvesting season" reference

[@oliverenevoldsen1536]

a shame

[@williamshortfilm5818]

Hey, a polandball fan ! :)

[@vaibhavtripathi4951]

crash course has biggest impact on the world in recent decade. it changes the way we see KZbin technology and education. thanks to green brothers.

[@ShadowDrakken]

Interesting... sort of like how the US has given Israel a "blank check" huh? /le sigh/

[@Partyffs]

Yup.

[@ShadowDrakken]

Both countries are doing despicable things, I'm not on either side. I just want the US to stop clapping and cheering the bully on (and supplying them with tanks and attack helicopters).

[@MrLgmhandler]

You can point to numerous relationships between nations throughout history where a "blank check" type relationship did not condone reckless behavior. The fact that you have a bone to pick with Israel doesn't give you the right to paint them in the most negative light possible. Paint them in the most realistic light, or don't paint at all.

[@curiousdoodler5509]

MrLgmhandler You can't claim there's an objectively true realistic light. We all view countries from our own perspectives. I'd be willing to bet a Joe Nobody in Palestine would have a very realistic very negative view of Israel. As a person from an outside perspective I think it is important to know the many different perspectives on an issue before I take a stance, if I feel it is my place to take a stance at all. Telling people "don't paint at all" is suppressing a perspective and doing the entire discussion an injustice.

[@MrLgmhandler]

Mary Harner You missed the point of what I was saying if you think I support not painting at all. I respect multiple perspectives and incomplete perspectives as long as they recognize that they are. Selling an obviously one-sided point of view as the whole truth without question like the OP was doing is destructive and shouldn't be done.

[@ZoggFromBetelgeuse]

You can blame pretty much anyone for WWI... Except for the microbes.

[@alsy0055]

zogg pls

[@HxH2011DRA]

*evil microbe laugh*

[@TallThoma5]

Damn Canadians...

[@jeanderpnald1797]

Well, I suppose if the Bubonic Plague bacteria had just wiped out Europe like it was supposed too, then there would be no WWI

[@MogofWar]

But without the Black Death, Mongols would have probably retained control of Russia, thus possibly no WWI.

[@connormcwood2]

Wimbledon too, wasn't expecting that

[@eoin2]

Check out the stand at the home ground Kingsmeadow. He is a fan, and has got them hooked up with many sponsorship deals. He also plays Fifa and posts the videos here giving all the proceeds to the Dons. He is currently working on a movie about them.

[@abbaszaidi8371]

Wow! I qualified from St Georges Medical School in 1998. I used to live around the corner from Plough Lane. Which was an overgrown weed patch while I lived nearby. Ironically I now live closest to the unholy MK Dons

[@williambilyeu9801]

The Guns of August by Barbara Tuckman is probably still the best book about the first days of World War I. I read it years ago but recently bought a new copy to read it again.

[@roxannaz2683]

I'd say that the assassination of Franz Ferdinand was the spark that lit the fuse

[@Stardweller1]

+Roxanna RZ Very true, but the powder kegs were already in place.

[@mattmcdole799]

Thanks for doing a video on this complicated subject! I've just got a few comments below: German -- more precisely Prussian -- militarism, while it might not have been the cause of WWI, was definitely "a thing." It affected German development tremendously that Germany was unified through war under the ultra-militaristic and autocratic Prussian state rather than via peaceful means (say, via the 1848 Frankfurt Assembly). It's also terribly important to remember how our hindsight affects our view of history. To understand the choices of 1914, we need to understand them as those who made them understood them at the time -- this means understanding their choices without the knowledge of what happened afterwards. Those who made decisions to go to war didn't know they were starting the event that we know as the first world war. They didn't know they were signing up for four years of grueling trench warfare, etc. They knew they were starting a war, but they probably viewed that as something far less terrible than what actually happened. It's likely Germany decided to take advantage of the Balkan circumstances of 1914 to go to war with Russia because they were afraid that Russia would eventually complete an extensive military modernization programme. This included a lot of railway construction which they thought would render Germany helpless in the event of a two-front war with Russia and France. See the 1912 conference where this was discussed: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Imperial_War_Council_of_8_December_1912 One of my professors always said: "wars don't happen by accident. They happened because people want them." I think that's a valid point here. The alliance system didn't automatically lead to war. There were plenty of Balkan crises before this one, and they didn't cause world war. What we know as WWI probably happened because Germany gambled on war in 1914. However, it is worth noting that the war Germany wanted to fight in 1914 was one in which Britain stayed out, Germany won a quick victory over France, and then turned around and beat Russia. It bears remembering that had Britain stayed out, or had Germany defeated France in the summer of 1914 (both of which could easily have happened), the horrifying trench war we know as "World War One" would never have occurred. We mock the generals of 1914 for thinking war could be over in a few months, but we have to realize that, actually, a short war in 1914 was very possible. If that had occurred, history would have given another name to this 1914 war. You mention the importance of the diplomats, which is a valid point. However, it's also important to realize that after mobilization began, they lost control of events to their military leaders. In both Germany and Russia, the military kept a lot of information from the politicians, and it's clear that many politicians didn't understand that once mobilization began, there was really no going back (one Russian general told his aide to "smash my telephone" after the mobilization order came, in order to prevent the waffling Czar from calling him to cancel mobilization). In Germany, Bethmann and the Kaiser wanted to back away from war once they realized Britain would be in for sure, but the military (Moltke) told them that this was impossible, because mobilization had begun. One conclusion that we can perhaps safely make is that the autocracies are to blame for the war. Perhaps this lends some credence to the "democratic peace" theory. Austria, Russia, and Germany all had the opportunity to make decisions that could have prevented general war, but chose not to. On the other hand, the democratic regimes of France, Italy, and Britain had no role in starting the war. Indeed, Italy reneged on it's treaty obligations to stay out of the war (at least initially). The case of Italy is instructive against the notion that the Alliance system led inevitably to the war. Many leaders had more choices in 1914 than we give them credit for. The most succinct summary of the cause of the war I can think of runs something as follows: "German political leaders decided to seize the opportunity to fight a preventive war agains Russia in 1914 by making Russia's reaction to the Balkan crisis of that year a casus belli. The aim of the war against Russia (and by extension, France) was to defeat Russia before she could complete a military modernization programme that the Germans thought would doom them to defeat in any future conflict. However, once German political leaders realized that there was no chance of Britain staying out of the developing war, they attempted to back down from it, but at this point German military leaders intervened and explained that to stop mobilization would be either impossible or suicidal. The German political leaders thereafter resigned themselves to the war they had started.

[@Ramaromu]

Yay Switzerland was mentioned! :D

[@Raufi1917]

What is it with the numeration within the thought bubble? Is it leading to further explanations or sources? LOVE you channel btw!!!

[@greyhoundstations]

You should do a video about who started the Vietnam War! oh wait...

[@broudwauy]

You say that as if everyone in the U.S. didn't already know the U.S. escalated the Vietnam War into an unjustified proxy war. Even H.W. Bush had to say about the First Gulf War that "This will not be another Vietnam."

[@Suchti322]

Yea, next time let people slay other people just because they are intelegent..

[@KonnorMcLeod]

i am sorry so you think a aggressive communist Vietnam invading a democratic free Vietnam is okay and the USA is wrong for trying to stop a aggressive USSR supported Vietnam from invading a free nation? If so you fucking disgust me and would have millions of people live under the authoritarian leadership of communism, where they will starve be killed and oppressed for many years. Go fuck your self, All 4 of my grand parents where put into camps and killed in Vietnam after the USA pulled out, you fucking sicken me.

[@MrLgmhandler]

***** You clearly don't know Vietnam if you think all we did was bomb a rainforest filled with innocent people. You can rightly argue that the US was overly paranoid over communism during the Cold War (just like the Soviets to capitalism) but that doesn't change the facts of what happened there. We saw communism, at least geo-politically, as the greater evil and it was in many ways.

[@MrLgmhandler]

We have a pretty good idea of how Vietnam started so you aren't being particularly edgy or nuanced here. You can earn your stripes if you can rationally discuss the why and the outcome.

[@justdone7975]

learns nothing in class...comes here 😅 thanks Jhon👏

[@moonfirearc6793]

Let me guess, spelling class also worthless?

[@johnnysocket76]

My friend: who's your favorite KZbinr? Me: Stan From CrashCourse.

[@tommylinsley2081]

This one of the Most Entertaining history lessons I've ever seen. Edu-tainment for sure. Where was John when I was in high school and college history classes?

[@Kevinowski_A]

what about the assassination of ferdinand

[@wolfplayer7815]

Watch The Great War channel they do a better job explaining World War I.

[@emaanm3555]

putin

[@Reporterreporter770]

Kevin Aluka previous upload

[@oberpfalzer3074]

+Ghost how do you mean?

[@femkevandewalle2189]

Kevin Aluka someone hasn't watched the first part.

[@possumGFX]

Germany had a huge dilemma. Almost all conflict scenarios lead sooner or later to a two front war. France being allied to Russia and the triple entente basically check mated Germany's security interests and not only shifted but destroyed the balance of power in Europe again. When Bismarck said "Whatever you do, stay friends with Russia." he basically forecasted all the future conflicts Germany would have in the next decades. Sadly in 1914 there was no statesman in Germany who could even close match the capacity of Bismarck. Germany had only Wilhelm II who was a moron.

[@SteelyBud]

Discuss in the comments section?! Yeah, that's always constructive - nasty posts in the comments section is what led to Cuba's involvement in WWI!

[@mercmer00]

Captain Bud Sturguess loooool XD

[@ben90adams]

This is your best ep yet John Green. Thankyou

[@drewobert1563]

I love the inserts of “me from the past” 😂

[@tyrant-den884]

The Putin jokes aged like wine. 😿

[@jakefaulkner8381]

Video title: What started WW1 first 4 minutes: It wasn't Germany

[@VictoriaMarieMorgan]

I learned more from this video than I expected, thank you.

[@tino8442]

The Ottaman empire, Germany and Austra Hungary where the central powers

[@tino8442]

And Bulgaria

[@ianbrown7066]

*The Ottopeople Empire. Gosh, it's 2019!

[@billymarella2904]

I love that AFC Wimbledon jersey

[@Argacyan]

Damm early humans moving out of africa and starting world war 1 >.> Honestly, I myself look at the assassin of the austro-hungarian prince and the politics in the region he died in if I'm asked who I blame for the war.

[@MollyGermek]

It was that god damn cataclysmic event that killed the dinosaurs! Dinosaurs are known for their obstinate isolationism. A Europe run by dinosaurs never would have had that tangled a web of alliances!

[@BriWhoSaysNi]

Damn those pieces of rock for coming together to form the Earth and starting WW1! It never would've happened if they would have just left each other alone.

[@mortyjames5897]

***** damn those early microbes, if only they hadn't learned to detect light levels, discerning night from day, then none of this would have happened!

[@kevinconnelly6770]

dam that bang that created all of this, nobody would have to die if that dam bang didnt happen!

[@blindekillen]

Mark Zunnberg It's the multiverse's fault really. If there weren't an infinite amount of possible universes odds are ww1 never would have happened.

[@jennifergriel861]

“We had a world war, *russia*.” Said with all the energy of a dad scolding a naughty child

[@tjs200]

"Its hard to play the blameless victim when you're moving all your troops to the border.... Oh hey why are you here again Putin?" Hahahaha that one got me.

[@aiboy2073]

"Roll the swiss reel Stan!" *Swiss Reel Plays* Me: WTF WAS THAT?

[@TheHatterJack]

Except the Swiss? John... need I remind you? Battle of Morgarten (1315), Battle of Sempach (1386), Old Zurich War (1440-1446), Burgundian Wars (1474-1477), Swabian War (1511-1516), the Hundred Days (1815), Sonderbund War (1847)... all of these included the Swiss as aggressors...

[@CollinBuckman]

Did they start those wars?

[@TheHatterJack]

Morgatern, Sempach, Old Zurich, the Burgundian Wars, and Swabian War, yes, they *started* them with very little doubt. Hundred Days and Sonderbund Wars... sort of... they were part of an alliance that started those wars, so whether they *specifically* started them is (as usual with history) a complicated question.

[@lindaa7373]

there are also europian countries who have literally never started wars because they are very new like baltic countries

[@catalinaga]

linda a They were part of the USSR.

[@lindaa7373]

catalinaga well yes, but they didn't start anything. techinically it was USSR

[@michelledubberke7098]

Awesome and informative

[@Antz3The3rd]

It's kinda like this: Austria-Hungary Ferdinand visits Serbia to make peace, but extremists of the Black Hand assassinate him. Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Serbia, being smaller than Austria-Hungary, asks Russia to help. Russia agrees to help. Austria-Hungary sees it as 2 vs. 1, and ask Germany, who offers, to help. Germany Fights Russia. Seeing how Russia and France were allies, Germany counter attacks France before France could even assist the Russians. Germany was at war with France and Russia, while Austria-Hungary and Serbia were still fighting 1 vs. 1. Germany enters Belgium, where UK fights back and now it's Germany against 3 countries. Germany occupies waters around the UK and thinks a cruise ships is a war ship and sinks it. UK and US citizens are killed, making US get involved. Germany now against 4 countries. Ottoman Empire assists Germany against British forces occupying in the middle east. Austria-Hungary and Serbia are eventually forgotten due to the fact that Germany was against more than one country. Crazy how this all happens because citizens of one country DID NOT want peace with another one and extremists step it to take unnecessary action. Sad world we live in.

[@danilonikolic4188]

He didn't visit Serbia, he visited Sarajevo, a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was part of Austria-Hungary because of Berlin Congress. Also, Ferdinand didn't come to Sarajevo to ask for peace. If he wanted peace with Serbs and other minorities, he would give them some kind of autonomy.

[@VulcanTrekkie45]

I'm going to post something rather controversial. I'm going to say that since I'm only 25 years old, I'm totally blameless in causing World War I.

[@culwin]

Until 10 years from now when you send a Terminator back to kill John Connor

[@GarethField]

A counterpoint, you may be a promoter of the same patterns that caused that conflict, and if you were part of a repeat situation, that's still sub-optimal. That was said without detailed knowledge of WW1 or you, but it doesn't help to distance yourself and say you don't matter, because you do matter, and what you do large or small will always be a part of history, so make it a good one and rock on, sir!

[@krim7]

greg miller Such has been the lot of the poor since civilization began.

[@Drogmir]

Kaiser Wilhelm II basically acted like a twit because he felt that German was being surrounded by enemies that didn't want Germany to have a slice of the colonial pie. But I think Germany gets the main blame mostly because they were the last man standing among the original instigators on the "losing" side. Because really it was a escalated spiraling problem from Austria-Hungary/ Serbia/ and Tsarist Russia's Pan Slavic policy. Two of those powers wouldn't exist by the time the war ended. Who does that leave for reparations & blame on the losing side? Oh hi there Germany.

[@mapa5647]

The Kaiser was totally an idiot. In my AP Euro class, we read one of his responses and he basically said Britain only attacked Germany because people ganged up in Germany for no good reason when, in reality, Germany invaded and destroyed Belgium, who was trying to be neutral. He also talked about war constantly and was super full of himself, increasing German nationalism and militarism to the point that it was a huge disadvantage for Germany to be full of itself. He thought he was unstoppable. So stupid.

[@JotaNeto2030]

You guys are amazing! Super informative!

[@EastyyBlogspot]

so it was not because someone killed a ostrich because they were hungry ? ...i think i may have misheard it at school

[@niloman1998]

I hate the "holier than thou" attitude Green has

[@TikiTecon]

hate or envy? =P

[@greyhoundstations]

Yeah I sometimes get that vibe too - I don't think he means to do it, he's just one of those people with that tone of voice, etc.

[@rotaryrev]

This "holier than thou" attitude, is actually sheepish contempt for his oft jingoistic and pompous nationality. He's apologizing for the history of American foreign policy with every hedge. You don't recognize this because your average American education has failed to teach you high level critical theory. This is also why you're feeling misplaced rage as you read this.

[@rodrocket712]

irreverend Well.. That finished that argument. Not complaining, I hate arguments. A Brit

[@RQLexi]

This idea of a "holier than thou" attitude is unfortunate; once you assign someone that attitude, you've kind of created a vicious circle, in that any form of humbleness or break with previous behaviour can automatically also be assigned as "holier than thou" attitude. For example, you could evaluate this comment, although I strongly recommend that you don't, because it is quickly turning into a vicious circle on very many levels.

[@Tarik360]

I love that Russian War-Mech.

[@koolnewz]

Currently obsessed with you videos in 2017.

[@Perhapsawiseman]

7:04, that was epic!

[@transporterIII]

"(USA) spends more on defense" when we have troops in 180+ countries, that's not defense, that's offense.

[@ApexPredatorWithSungGlasses]

Mr Green, I'll bet Putin loves your laptop. XD

[@FlamingAnimation]

Why would he love a laptop that says that it will kill him?!

[@ximenakelley]

"I'm not really in the defending business more the bold proclamation business" hahahaha gold x'D

[@bobwalsh3751]

1:52 SWITZEREEL!!!!!!

[@starguy321]

6:40 let's go into how that statement is misleading A) the Russian army going into a period preparatory to war was necessary for them as it would take them 10 days to 4 weeks to mobilise their southern army districts (the PPW was only a partial mobilisation, not a general one). B) the Russian steamroller didn't exist, the Germans had more heavy artillery batteries, machine guns and had could mobilise more quickly and way more efficiently. C) Russian forts were ancient and most of their commanders were just as useless, the good ones were replaced by the tsar D) Germany declared war on France and Belgium, not Russia. The Russian mobilisation, combined with Austria's invasion of Serbia, made a war between Austria-Hungary and Russia inevitable and a war between Russia and Germany very likely. The Germans however did bring Britain into the war, by invading Belgium, and by invading France. It's not entirely wrong though to say Russia was feared though. The schlieffen plan placed Russia as the bigger threat, as France was treated like an annoying pest the Germans needed to knock out quickly to focus on the attritional war with Russia. Germany lashed out because they were surrounded by enemies and executed the Schlieffen plan as a preemptive measure. Russia also had a large movement of Panslavists who saw Russia as Serbia's protector as Serbia was made up of fellow Slavs. The real cause of the war, in my opinion, was the alliance system which destroyed the concert of Europe and the nature of the alliances. Firstly, the fact that the Triple Entente surrounded Germany contributed to German mobilisation and the execution of the Schlieffen plan, as Germany was threatened by a war on two fronts. Secondly, the fact that the Triple Entente included Russia meant that Western European powers could be drawn into a war by Russia, the nation that was most likely to draw them into one admittedly, as Russia had desires on the Ottoman Empire and in the Balkans. Thirdly, the two alliances had competing interests in the Balkans. Russia wanted to encourage the Slavic Balkan nationalism that Austria-Hungary wanted to prevent, alliances like the league of three emperors aligned these interests and would've been better. The alliances would've been better in Europe if it were Italy, France and Britain vs Germany, Austria and Russia or Austria, Britain and Germany vs France, Italy and Russia. But really, it would have been better to have no escalation/setting up of two blocs anyway

[@shelleysandman5513]

Adidas are German NOT SWISS

[@shelleysandman5513]

nevermind I paused they were K-Swiss

[@AW33406]

Shelley Sandman Oof

[@ashepherdcomedy]

Way to focus on the important stuff...

[@matheuscardoso1]

These talks are so good that I just wanna cry.

[@helen_2034]

Couldn't Russia's early mobilization be attributed to the fact that Russia was newly industrialized but didn't have any infrastructure to quickly assemble troops? Learned this in class and I thought it was kind of interesting

[@EmpereurNapoleonex]

you guys should sell figurines inspired by Crash Course Thought Bubble because i really want that Imperial Russian Warbot

[@m00rtin4]

speaking of starting wars.... I would love to see john green play civilization 6 and argue with the AIs. :D

[@voltaire3001]

LOVE Crash Course !!

[@mgraham0160]

For me, it was Serbia who started the war (and the Austrians but less so). There is pretty substantial evidence that the Serbian government supported the Black Hand, the group responsible for assassinating Franz Ferdinand. The government was also looking to annex Bosnia.

[@sranrajalic9692]

Blac hand was on their own, governmend was supporting them at first but they did not have power over them. Do you really think that Serbia wanted a war with AU? Russia was not Serbian allay on paper, we did not know that they will support us. Russia said they will support Serbia when ultimatum was allready hire.

[@raleraly2599]

nope black hand was secret organisation that supported Young bosnia secret organisation

[@lemuelseale1640]

Lmbo i love all the not so subtle reframes to american militarism and russian antagonism 🤓

[@Fummy007]

A history of starting war defines all nations, not just "western europe" China for example, has been at war for almost all of its history.

[@rafaeltavarez5089]

Not to talk about America not even like 10 years without conflict, and theyre big because of conflict

[@CamelsHighOnCrayons]

China wasn't known for conquering other nations though, and for that isn't as documented and known to the outside world. The wars were many fought inside the borders as a civil war to over throw the Dynasty. Which started from shortages of food, leading to famine. It was mainly to China's high population and infertile land.

[@zacheryleo1228]

learned so much to this video keep it up