History Memes

Delaying it might have prevented it.
Current historians' consensus is that at no point before the war's outbreak was it inevitable, especially since the alliances tying the major powers together were all strictly non-binding.
In every involved country, pro-war and pacifist groups struggled for supremacy, and in each country, unfortunately at this point in time, the pro-war groups won.
But a few years later, the balance could have tipped.
Both in Russia and in Germany, leftist and democratic movements were on the rise even before the war.
If they had gained more support, a local conflict in the Balkans would not have escalated that far, keeping France out of it, and in turn, there would have been no reason for Britain and the USA to get involved at all.