The emergence of the German Empire and the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian and Austro-Prussian# Wars greatly upset the balance of power on the continent. France became very eager to regain prestige, and the territory of Alsace-Lorraine, that had been lost in the Franco-Prussian War. The new German state was an industrial giant, wielding great economic and political power. Austria had been on the short end of the Prussian

unification of Germany. Franz Josef# was forced to adopt the Dual Monarchy and his empire in the Balkans had become as decadent as that of the Ottoman Turks#. Britain and Russia had successfully maintained their status throughout the transition, though it wou

France also did many things in August to help start the war. France planned on entering with Britain as an ally. France’s job was to make it clear that Germany was the attacker and violated Belgium’s neutrality. This was key in bringing Britain into the world war. If France had not made it clear that it was the victim, Britain may have never entered the war. It Britain never entered, this would of stayed a continental European conflict and not spread. France’s involvement was another major thing that happened in August to fuel the war.

Britain was the last major European power to get involved in the war in August. French and British officials had become fast friends in the pre-war months. Even though it would be hard to put through the British Cabinet, it was almost guaranteed that France was attacked, Britain would join their side. Also, Britain’s guarantee of Belgian independence drug them into the war. When Britain entered the war was when it exploded into a full scale world conflict. This was one of the last things to come about in August.

“I did not write to instruct,” Barbara Tuchman says in one of her essays on the craft, themes, and lessons of history, “but to tell a story”. The Guns of August, written by Barbara Tuchman, is a different viewpoint on history. While most history that is written by men is event based, Tuchman’s female view offers a different format. It is a collection of personal information on the main characters. Tuchman preferred to concentrate on writing narrative history in artful prose. She provides a loose, detailed relationship-oriented storytelling that represents a more feminine view of reality, and of the imparting view to the reader. That differs from some male writers who sometimes like to reiterate the truth over and over, or leave you to draw your own conclusions. It seems as if Tuchman wants to reach a conclusion with the reader together and not to leave that up to us. Her book let’s the reader get a more personal view of the starting events of the war.

When Kaiser Wilhelm II dismissed Bismarck, much of Bismarck's alliance system broke up. Bismarck's successor, Caprivi, went along with the Kaiser's inclination towards an alliance with Britain, thus he broke up the Russo-German Alliance. This backfired and only succeeded to alienate Russia while Britain remained indifferent. France, desperately trying to break Bismarck's isolation policies, was more than happy to agree to a Franco-Russian Alliance. Even Bismarck had doubted any possibility of a

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