Read the book, or Tragedy and Hope 101, or listen to Jay Dyer’s 8 part review of the book.
I’m 50, and I always thought Germany started both (well, at least ww2), but after listening reading the book and listening to 16 hours of the book review, I believe it. Ever heard of Lord Milner or the Clivenden Set? The reparations after ww1 were intended to create a new conflict.
Enghdal in “A Century of War” basically says the same thing. These are both great history books.
I no longer separate the world wars in terms of historical discussion; they really are two phases of the same war, with sporadic sparring in between. When you look at the events leading up to WWI, it is clear that Britain would never tolerate a rival power (especially a sea power) so war became inevitable. WWI was brewing since Germany’s creation in 1870/1871.
From an American standpoint, the blatant violations of neutrality (arming Britain, respecting the blockade of Germany while ignoring Germany’s blockade of Britain) make it clear that even while Wilson ran on a neutrality platform in 1916 he already knew we were going to war. The silliness of the propaganda 100 years later is laughable; American were led to believe Germany was a threat to democracy while at the time, the sun never set on the British Empire. There is a reason Europeans are so cynical about war (and politics); the continent to this day has never recovered from the population losses of those conflicts.