Germany did not instigate WWI, but was one of the early entrants. The buildup to the war began in the late 19th century. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Serbia in 1914 began a series of military actions, a culmination of interlocking treaties between European nations. These treaties guaranteed the defence of one nation by another, but ultimately led to a rapid buildup to military action. Following the assassination, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia. Russia responded to this because of a treaty with Serbia. Germany, an ally of Serbia, then declared war on Russia. Shortly thereafter, Germany declared war on France, an ally of Russia. And so on and so forth. Any history of the First World War will provide this information in as much detail as you would like. Try the library. The intense militarization that began in the late 19th century by all European powers, combined with interlocking treaties, made a large-scale war almost inevitable. The imperial ambitions of Britain were a source of concern for many nations, even though the Empire had experienced several serious losses and a few feeble victories in the decades leading up to WW1. France's close alliance with Britain did not exclude some healthy military competition during this period. The incompetence of Russia was also a factor, particularly following their defeat by Japan a decade earlier - the Russian steam-roller lacked steam. Germany did enter the war early and aggressively, following their long-held plan to neutralize France before turning against Russia. However, the shooting war began when Serbia was invaded by the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia mobilized in response. Germany received the lion's share of the blame for WW1, because of the long-standing hostility of the British and French towards Germany. The period from late-July to mid-September 1914 was very busy (in chronological order): - Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, and wife assassinated in Sarajevo. - Austro-Hungarian Empire delivers ultimatum to Serbia. - Austro-Hungarian Empire rejects Serbian response, declares war on Serbia, and invades Serbia. - Russia mobilizes along Austrian and Serbian borders in support of Serbia. - Germany declares war on Russia and France, invades Belgium. - Britain declares war on Germany. - Austria declares war on Russia. - Serbia and Montenegro declare war on Germany. - France declares war on Austria. - Britain declares war on Austria. - Austria declares war on Belgium. - Russia declares war on Turkey. - France and Britain declare war on Turkey. - Russians invade East Prussia. - Germans occupy Liège and Brussels. - Battles of Manur and Mons. - Germans occupy Lille. - Russians defeated at Tannenberg. - Germans occupies Rheims. - Battle of the Marne, Germany retreats. - Russians defeated in Battle of Masurian Lakes. - Russians invade Hungary. These are the European nations who were involved, excluding countries such as Canada and Australia, who also entered the war early in support of Britain as members of the Commonwealth. A good reference on the events of this period is the Pulitzer Prize-winning book "The Guns of August", B. Tuchman, 1962.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire technically began the hostilities by declaring war on Serbia. However, they would never have done that had they not been given carte blanche support by Germany. Had Kaiser Wilhelm told Austria-Hungary that they would not support them and that they should find a diplomatic solution, Austria-Hungary would not have attacked Serbia without that support. They needed Germany's commitment to support them in whatever they would do. So, the answer to your question is that you cannot truly find such information, as Germany's support was the "fuel" for the beginnning of hostilities.