Over time wars have ended with the defeat of one force and the victory of another, those on the losing side are almost always held responsible for the destruction that these wars produce. This is undoubtedly the case of post-war Germany, burdened by defeat and forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, thus assuming responsibility for the war. Although blamed for the war, it is still a highly controversial question among historians whether the Germans were truly responsible for the First World War. However, by studying the actions of Germany as a nation and its leaders in the years leading up to the war, one can see that it is quite accurate to say that Germany was responsible for the outbreak of the First World War. Germany had been creating tensions since the time of Bismarck's alliances, and so when Kaiser Wilhelm ascended the throne in 1888 and wanted to make Germany a great world power and have "a place in the sun" by adopting a 'weltpolitik' policy1, Germany German creation of pre-war tensions and support for the war pushed the rest of Europe into World War I with them in 1914. The German nation can be held largely responsible for the outbreak of World War I only because it laid the foundation for this very war before a war broke out. world war was in sight. Over the years leading up to the war, Germany's actions contributed to the tensions that would eventually erupt into war. By the year 1914, European countries had established alliances among themselves that ensured that any conflict between two countries would result in a collective conflict involving all the great powers of Europe. This broad alliance system would not have even been conceived if Germany had not initiated it; “The division of Europe into two armed camps occurred in slow stages over a period... middle of paper...: Great Britain, Germany and the advent of the Great War. New York: Random House, 1991.22610Morrow, John Howard. The Great War an imperial history. London: Routledge, 2004. 27.11 "First World War.com - Primary Documents - Germany's 'Blank Check' to Austria-Hungary, 6 July 1914." First World War.com - A multimedia history of the First World War. November 19, 2010 .12Marshall, ALS World War I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. 35.13Tucker, Spencer, and Priscilla Mary. Roberts. The First World War: encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. 3.14pm Tomorrow, John Howard. The Great War an imperial history. London: Routledge, 2004. 2715"First World War.com - Feature Articles - The Causes of the First World War." First World War.com - A multimedia history of the First World War. November 19th. 2010 .