Ever since its outbreak in 1914, the causes of the First World War have been one of the major debates in world history. For some it was a war engineered by Germany, and a pointer towards Hitler. For others it was the product of miscalculation - a verdict whose poignancy is heightened by the knowledge of what followed. The Outbreak of the First World War eschews either extreme. Instead, it approaches the issues from the perspectives of those who grappled with conflicting priorities and vital national interests and considers the responses of their peoples and the so-called 'ideas of 1914'.