Was Pan-European war inevitable in the 20th century...

Was Pan-European war inevitable in the 20th century? Was there any way to avoid the mutual destruction of Europe's powers?

Some common sense would have been enough.

No there wasn't. Let's face it, Germany gut fucked during the industrial revolution since they didn't have colonies to explore cheap labour, so they had to compete against other countries lower prices for similar products.

Totally inevitable. You see it all throughout history: First men begin to wear trousers, then they form trade agreements, then they kill each other. Remove trousers before it's too late for Western civilization

Probably not.

Even though Europe had been rapidly preparing for a war that they could see on the horizon in the early 20th century, and all the pieces were falling into place (the forming of the Entente, arms races, Germany's sour grapes over colonies, the turmoil in the Balkans, the discord within the AH Empire, the Rise of Nationalism, the long decline of the Ottomans etc...) nobody really wanted a full scale war. Preparation for a war does not always mean that the war will always come into fruition. Had Ferdinand not been assassinated, the pieces would still be in place, but perhaps a more stable modus vivendi could have been reached.

Yes.

Russia was about to be more powerful than Germany. Alliances were about to shift.

Paneuro? No, there was no good reason that war should have ever erupted on that scale. The only reason it did was because of gross incompetence of the leaders of many nations.

Now, INTER-European war was inevitable, and if WWI had not taken place, there almost certainty been individual wars of the Russo-German variety and the Anglo-Ottoman sort, a general European war should have been the easiest thing in the world to avoid.

It's a tragedy really. Think of how many glorious, good wars were lost thanks to the interference of the "Great" War.

The very fact that Russia was modernizing and that Germany broke it's alliance with Russia when they fired the Iron chancellor made the war inevitable.
Germany had to strike, and Franz Ferdinand was a sacrificial lamb.
You don't send your heir to a city with tensions, lackluster security, and a driver that doesn't know the city layout like the back of his hand.

>You don't send your heir to a city with tensions, lackluster security, and a driver that doesn't know the city layout like the back of his hand.

Wait, are you implying the German High Command had any control over the the logistics of the Prince's visit?

What I don't understand is the actions of world leaders leading up to WW2, or perhaps the actions of those controlling the world leaders at that time.

From my limited understanding, Churchill, Hitler, Roosevelt & Hirohito all seem to fear the rise of Bolshevik Russia, yet when Russia and Germany invade Poland it's Germany they all declare war on? Then they all fund Russia? They don't even seek peace with Germany to turn their attentions on Stalin? All of these motives are so confusing.....