what set off the first world war.

plz if you know plz help me i need help[/font]

A big question!!

One that I am afraid I can't answer in a simple paragraph or sentence. Many consider the trigger event to be the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, but the whole cause malarky goes so much deeper than that. Some would take it all the way back to the unification of Germany and the alliances set up by Bismark.

However, simplistically you need to look at the two alliances in Europe pre 1914, the military arms race (particularly between Britain and Germany), the scramble for Africa and the desire to build or maintain an empire, nationalism in Europe particularly in the Balkans and the decline in power of the Ottoman Empire.

It depends what the answer is for to how deeply you cover the causes.

Try this website, by the brilliant John D Clare
This website.
Or here

The main thing is that there was no one overall cause, it was a mixture of factors. What that mix is is up to your judgement.

Or this debate on the forum might help.