Nationalism and the system of alliances (499-500) many people thought there would be peace in europe during the first half of the nineteenth century, but they were wrong. rivalries over and grew during an age of frenzied nationalism and imperialistic expansion. europe's power was divided into two loose in the late nineteenth century. they were the triple made up of germany, and and the triple made up of and the triple alliance would later become known as the powers while the triple entente would become known as the powers. the most serious crises which tested these alliances was the crises between 1908 and 1913 when and rivaled each other over influence. there were those, however, who did not want to be controlled by anyone and wanted their independence. among these groups intensified and sometimes grew violent. militarism (500) the tensions in europe were heightened by the growth of mass the large size of these armies was made possible by a military draft, which had been established as a regular practice in most western countries before 1914. this aggressive preparation for war was known as the outbreak of war (501-502) the most immediate cause of world war i was the of archduke francis ferdinand and his wife sophia in the city of members of the a serbian terrorist organization, conspired to kill the heir to the austrian throne because they wanted to be free of austria-hungary and to become part of a large kingdom. the austro-hungarian government sought the of their allies. strengthened by german support, austria-hungary declared war on the government, determined to aid serbia, begins to mobilize its troops. is the process of assembling troops and supplies and making them ready for war. germany reacted by declaring war on illusions and stalemate (503-506) most people in europe believed the war would be over in a matter of weeks. governments had begun to use to spread their ideas about the war and influence public opinion. this began to stir up hatred against other countries before the war and create a sense of or pride in one's country. even though most people were hopeful the war would end quickly, it quickly turned into a as neither the germans nor the french could dislodge each other from the trenches they had dug for shelter. the western front had become bogged down in that kept both sides in virtually the same positions for four years. one of the most lengthy and costly battles of world war i was the battle of verdun where men lost their lives over a few miles of land. the treaty of versailles (524) after five long years, the war was finally over. there were five peace settlements made with the defeated nations, but the was the most important. the germans considered it a the declared that germany was responsible for starting the war and ordered germany to pay for all the damage done as a result of the war. the and provisions of the versailles treaty also angered the germans. they had to reduce their and cut back its and eliminate its sections of east germany were also awarded to the new state. another empire was broken up by the peace settlement. the empire's lands were recognized as independent states which would be governed by another member of the league of nations. these acquisitions were officially called the war's legacy (526) world war i brought about the death of almost people as well as incredible destruction. world war i was a that involved a complete mobilization of resources and people. as a result, the power of governments over the lives of their citizens world war i made the practice of central authority a way of life.