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No it didn’t. Austria-Hungary responded to an act of state sponsored terrorism on the part of Serbia. Russia then backed Serbia and contrary to their promise not to do so, also mobilized troops on Germany’s border. That left Germany no choice - as they had explained to the Russians in advance. When the Germans asked France if they would stay neutral or use the opportunity to attack Germany, the French responded that they would have to “consult their interests”.....which everybody knew to mean “yes” they planned to attack Germany with Russia now Committed to war.

German wasn’t seeking to acquire anybody’s empire. WWII, yes but not WWI.

[No it didn’t. Austria-Hungary responded to an act of state sponsored terrorism on the part of Serbia. Russia then backed Serbia and contrary to their promise not to do so, also mobilized troops on Germany’s border. That left Germany no choice - as they had explained to the Russians in advance. When the Germans asked France if they would stay neutral or use the opportunity to attack Germany, the French responded that they would have to “consult their interests”.....which everybody knew to mean “yes” they planned to attack Germany with Russia now Committed to war.

German wasn’t seeking to acquire anybody’s empire. WWII, yes but not WWI.]

Barbara Tuchman’s mobilization theory of WWI is fine and dandy, but Germany could have stayed out of it. It chose not to. It saw this as an opportunity to take what had been denied it after the Franco-Prussian War, because a newly unified Germany had its hands full keeping the German states under the Prussian thumb. And it came pretty close to victory in WWI. Until the US jumped in.

If Germany had stayed out of WWI, would Austria-Hungary have invaded Serbia? Or the other parties have gotten involved? Austria-Hungary committed suicide, and the Germans joined them in hopes of completing their victory of 1870, during which Germany wasn’t unified enough to take on the additional burden of assimilating France.