Hey Rich!
The Britain felt that they were superior to all other countries. France wanted what the British had and Germany wanted what the French had. This provoked fierce competition and each country worked to build up the strongest military. This led to an arms race between these three powers. Both Germany's and France's armies doubled in size between 1870 and 1914. The increase of military and naval rivalry led to the belief that a war was coming. Germany felt that through war, they could become a world power. As a result of the arms race, European powers were fully prepared for war when 1814 arrived.
Hope this helped!