The Causes of the First World War: The Long Blame Game - Paperbackby Annika Mombauer (Author) The causes of the First World War were disputed before the first shots had even been fired. Recriminations intensified following the Treaty of Versailles when the victors accused Germany and its allies of having caused the war. This was the start of a heated blame game in which historians and politicians on all sides became embroiled in a war of documents and publications. More than 100 years on, the question of the origins