Why Did the Great Powers Go to War in August of 1914?

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Why did the Great Powers go to War in August of 1914? Kayla McEntire LBST 2102: Global Connections Dr. Sabol World War I occurred on August 1, 1914 and ended in 1918. On August 1st, two European powers, Russia and Germany, declared war on each other and France ordered a general mobilization. This was four days after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. There were multiple events that led to World War I in 1914. On July 28, 1914 an event that provoked the outbreak of World War I occurred; Archduke Franz Ferdinand (heir to the Austrian throne) and his wife were shot to death in the city of Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, member of the Serbian Nationalist group known as “The Black Hand”. Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbian Government for the attack, however, Russia supported Serbia. Austria-Hungary sent an ultimatum to Serbia. Austria wanted to send Austrian investigators to investigate Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination in Sarajevo and they wanted to abolish all major Serbian organizations, which Serbia refused, and Austria declared war on Serbia. Since the Russians considered the Serbians to be Slavic people as well, they mobilized their army as a sign of support for Serbia. Since Germany was an ally to Austria-Hungary, they sent an ultimatum to Russia demanding them to stop the mobilization of their army and also sent an ultimatum to France, Russia's ally as part of the Triple Entente and an enemy of Germany, asking them to remain neutral in the conflict. Russia did not respond to the ultimatum and France didn’t give a clear answer, which caused Germany to declare war on both countries. Germany was not at fault for World War I, Serbia and Austria- Hungary War because of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Germany was just an ally to Austria- Hungary. There are many possible origins for World War I. Some possible origins were secret
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