Germany had to either get involved in the war and be on the front foot against France and Russia, or they could wait until they were attacked and be unprepared. They showed this fear in the German Imperial War Council of 1912. As well as this, they had pledged to defend Austro Hungary, and had a burden of responsibility after their show of support in November 1912. The Austro Hungarian Empire also had reasons for war, they had a large empire and wanted to protect their land from the rebelling Serbs. There was also the widely accepted claim that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the event that tipped the scales of war.
Russia went to war in 1914 because of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand – the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne – by a Serbian terrorist group which forced Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. This was the most significant reason for Russia’s entry into WW1. Sazonov, the Tsar’s Foreign Secretary in 1914, described Russia’s commitment to defend Slav nationalism. He said that their sole aim was to ensure that the Slavic people “should not fall under the influence of powers hostile to her”. This highlights the perception of Russia as a protector of the Slav people.
What had happen was the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary (Triple Alliance) went to Sarajevo, Serbia, and was killed by a Serbian, and Austria-Hungary declared war against Serbia. Russia steps in to protect Serbia who is Russia ally. Within a month of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the Great War had begin. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the spark or the immediate cause of the war. That why it is the first cause that might have caused the Great War .
On 28th June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was assassinated by a man named Gavrilo Princip (a member of ‘The Black Hand’ – a secretive society formed by members of the Serbian army). This event caused a wave of diplomatic distress. Following this was a period which came to be known as the July Crisis. The July Crisis was a diplomatic juncture between the European powers through July 1914. Soon after the assassination in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary delivered a strict ultimatum to 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.
The Austrians blamed the Serbs for the deaths and issued them with a set of irrational demands and threatened to invade if they were ignored. Serbia’s ally Russia didn’t want the Austrians expanding, Serbia and Russia spoke a similar language and religion, so Russia supported them and if Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia, Russia would attack Austria-Hungary. In 1870s Austria-Hungary made alliance with Germany and in 1882 Italy joined (this was the Triple Alliance) Germany supported Austria- Hungary no matter what would happen. In 1894 the dual entente between France and Russia was made (France made allies with Russia) and if Germany attacked Russia, France would charge straight through Germany to Champagne (that was the French army’s plan called plan 17) they never went through with the plan though. The German army had a plan on how they would defeat France before the Russian army were ready to fight, (this was called the Schlieffen Plan), instead of entering France the most predicted way, through the French borderline, they would go through Belgium a neutral country (and taking it), then they would defeat France in 6 weeks, then they would deal with Russia.
When Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated it set off the July Crisis, which were negotiation meetings to try to prevent war. Austria was outraged that their heir had been assassinated. Germany had promised their support to Austria if an event like this was to happen. Following the July Crisis, Austria delivered the July Ultimatum, which were 10 outrageous demands directed towards Serbia. When Serbia only met 8 of the 10 demands, Austria immediately declared war on Serbia.
Assess critically three causes of WWI The First World War began in Europe in 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. This trigger action caused the involvement of Germany, Russia, Serbia and Austria-Hungary. However, the war itself was caused by nationalism, alliances and Germany’s fear of encirclement. Nationalism was the central cause of WWI because, due to the nationalism of the Slavs, the Balkan states became a powder keg. Austria-Hungary made the Serbs fear annexation while the Slavs inside the country wanted a Great Serbia.
Why France is Not to Blame By: Adam Davis There are many things that led to the start of World War I. The assignation of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Sarajevo by a Serbian Terrorist is one very important factor. The purpose of this essay is to convince you that the start of World War I is none of France’s fault. The first piece of evidence is out of the Franco-Russian Alliance. The second fact we will look at is who attacked who first.
The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was a huge cause to the start of World War I. Gavrilo Princip a Serb became part of a terrorist group called the Black Hand. This group was made to organize all South Slav peoples into a single nation. (OK) Some people like Raymond Aron, the writer of The Century of Total War, believed if the assassination of the Archduke never happened