The final years of the reign of Edward VII, in 1908 to 1910, saw the intensification of the naval race between Britain and Germany, with Britain still comfortably ahead.

In Europe, a supremely stupid move took place with the formal annexation of Bosnia by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This angered the Russian Empire and cemented its relationships with Britain and France, which in turn moved Germany closer to Austria-Hungary as Germanys only reasonably close major ally. It also upset whatever little demographic balance there was in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and drew it further into the maelstrom of Balkan politics, and strengthened the resolve of Serbian and other Slavic nationalists. The rival alliances in Europe were now set and only needed a spark to set a war off, which happened in 1914 with the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne by a Serbian. The resulting war made empires fall like rain and marked the entrance of the United States as a major world power.