If there is one thing that historians can agree on, it is that historians will never agree about anything. A good example of this is the causes of the First World War. Ever since the guns fell silent in November 1918, historians have been arguing with each other about who was to blame for the war.
People’s opinions about who started the war initially depended on which set of trenches they fought in. The countries that won the war — Britain, France and the USA in particular — all agreed that Germany was to blame for starting the war. This was enshrined in Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, the war guilt clause. It was not surprising that the Allies said that Germany was responsible for the war — they were hardly likely to blame their own actions. A cynical person might also point out that by blaming Germany for the war, the Allies could make Germany pay a big reparations bill (£6.6 billion) as compensation for the damage caused.
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