Carmudgeon, you are correct. there is not a day in the history of the human race that has been without war in some part of the world.

Fuchs, WWI's causes are much more complex than any short answer. However, Austria-Hungary went to war against Serbia because a subject of the Emperor who happened to be a Serb and a nationalist assassinated the heir to the throne giving A-H the excuse to stomp on Serbia. The Kaiser stupidly gave A-H his blank check while Russia had an alliance with Serbia but also with France who had an understanding with England. Then there were the mobilization schedules. Finally, Germany invaded France through neutral Belgium. Oh, and Italy deserted its alliance with Germany and A-H to later join the allies. so, who was at fault? All of them to some degree. But the Kaiser and his ministers suffered from a real failure to examine the consequences of their actions before taking them.

Cheers

JohnT