Kaiser's Influence on the Outbreak of World War I On August 4, 1914, Great Britain declared war on Germany. The Great War lasted 4 years and its causes date back to the 19th century, but it was the German leader, Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was the main source of the war. One of the main causes of the First World War was the alliance system. The alliance system was first established in 1879, when Germany allied itself with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and in 1882, with Italy, this alliance was called the triple alliance. The triple alliance worried both France and Russia, which were suddenly surrounded by its members. The French agreed to help each other if they were attacked; Great Britain also joined this alliance system. At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe was divided between these alliances. Kaiser Wilhelm II directly influenced the war in many ways. In the years before the outbreak of war, Kaiser Wilhelm, who as a child fascinated the British Empire and its navy, began the construction of the German army and navy, this construction of armaments led to a massive arms race between Great Britain and Germany. The British navy and many British leaders questioned the German navy; the British navy was much larger than the German one, but it was spread across the empire, the German navy was massed in the North Sea and as Germany had no empire to defend, the use of the navy was questionable. The German navy posed a threat to the British Empire and its trade, so the British built new ships and the Germans responded by building new ships of their own. This arms race led to the formation of huge fleets and armies. The elderly Emperor Franz Joseph ruled Austria-Hungary; the country was divided into many different nationalities and it became increasingly difficult to govern it. Each nationality had its own culture and language, and many wanted to form their own states. Many Austro-Hungarian Slavs were fleeing to Serbia, and the Austro-Hungarians feared that this division of the empire, Austria