How was Germany at fault in the first world war?

Germany had to accept responsibility for World War I even though Germany was not the country that started this war. Many Germans were upset that, in the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was required to accept the responsibility for World War I.

The Allied leaders wanted to punish Germany for its role in World War I. Some of the Allied leaders believed Germany had the power to prevent the war from beginning. Germany and Austria-Hungary were...

Germany had to accept responsibility for World War I even though Germany was not the country that started this war. Many Germans were upset that, in the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was required to accept the responsibility for World War I.

The Allied leaders wanted to punish Germany for its role in World War I. Some of the Allied leaders believed Germany had the power to prevent the war from beginning. Germany and Austria-Hungary were in an alliance. After a group of Serbian nationals killed Franz Ferdinand, the next King of Austria-Hungary, Austria-Hungary placed a series of demands upon Serbia. When Serbia didn’t satisfy all of the demands, Austria-Hungary wanted to declare war on Serbia. However, before declaring war on Serbia, Austria-Hungary asked Germany if Germany would support them if they declared war on Serbia. The Allies believed that if Germany would have told Austria-Hungary that they wouldn’t support them, then Austria-Hungary might not have declared war. Thus, some of the Allied leaders blamed Germany for the start of World War I because they believed Germany had the power to stop the war from starting.