II) World War I truly was the result of building aggressions among the countries of
Europe, which was backed by the rise of nationalism. To add to the disastrous plot, there
was also imperial competition along with the fear of war prompting military alliances and
an arms race. All of these increased the escalating tensions that lead to the outbreak of a
world war. Two opposing alliances developed by the Bismarckian diplomacy after the
Franco- Prussian War was one of the major causes of the war. In order to diplomatically
isolate France, Bismarck formed the Three Emperor's League in 1872, which was an
alliance between Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. Then in 1882 , Bismarck took
advantage of Italian resentment toward France and formed the Triple Alliance between
Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungry. In 1890 Bismarck was dismissed from his office and
France took the opportunity to gain an ally, therefore , in 1891 the Franco- Russian
Entente was formed. Then in 1904 Britain and France put aside their conflicts and formed
the Entente Cordiale. As a result , the Triple Entente, a coalition between Great Britain,
France, and Russia, countered the Triple Alliance. Now Europe was divided up into two
armed camps. Nationalism also played a major role in developing tensions in Europe; for it
had been causing dissatisfaction since the Congress of Vienna in 1815. In that settlement
the preservment of peace was chosen over nationalism, therefore, Germany and Italy were
left as divided states, though they did unify in the future. The Franco- Prussian War in
1871 resulted in the France's loss of the province of Alasce-Lorraine to Germany, and the
French looked forward to regaining their lands. Then there was Austria- Hungary which
controlled many lands that their neighbors felt be
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