The Black Hand And World War I

World War 1 was a historical period in which the UK, France and the Russian Empire (known as the Triple Entente) went to war with Germany and Austria-Hungry. It lasted for 4 years spanning from July 29th, 1914 to November 11th, 1918. There was much miscommunication between nations, which in turn was cause for much bloodshed as it led to about 16 million deaths in total. Many historians note this War as the deadliest in world history. As the war progressed, many other nations started joining in and taking sides. Soon enough the war would spread over the world. The wars cause is believed to be due to the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. Because of this, Austria- Hungry declared war on Serbia. One would lead to the other and we were left with a mess of each nation at war with each other, making up the World War.

World War I, also known as the first World War, or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe the began on the 28th of July 1914 and lasted until the 11th of November 1918. World War I was a war that was fought between two sides with a few of the World’s greatest Nations of that time. The two sides were Triple Entente which included Britain, France, and Russia, and the Triple Alliance which was consisted of the countries Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. World War I left a mark on history as we know it, what could have possibly led to that war?, What were the underlying causes of World War I?. The major causes of “The Great War” or WWI consist of four long-term causes and one short-term cause. The common acronym that’s used for the four long-term causes to help students remember the causes of WWI is M.A.I.N; the acronym stands for Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism,and the short-term cause The Assassination of the ArchDuke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo on the 28th of June 1914. To put all of this in a simpler way the five major causes of WWI was Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism, and the assassination of the ArchDuke Franz Ferdinand. Each of topics played a significant role in the reasons why WWI would begin.

World War One was one of the most devastating wars in history, the event that started the war happened on June 28, 1914 when Archduke Franz Ferdinand who was heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and his wife Sophia who was the Duchess of Hohenberg, was touring Sarajevo the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina on their anniversary in an open car. Then a member of the Black Hand by the name of Gavrilo Princip saw this as an opportunity to kill the Archduke .The Black Hand were a group of people that favored a union between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. The group was formed in May 9, 1911 with around 2,500 members and most of them were Serbian army officers.

World War one, also known as the “great war” was directly caused by the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. What you may not know is that the root causes to World War one were Nationalism, Militarism, and Alliances. Not only do they have a huge role in starting the war, but also making sure the war was finished.

A young generation was emerging within Serbia and Bosnia whose experience of national and social struggles had taught them the effectiveness of violence as a means to achieve goals (as seen in the Balkan Wars 1912-13). It was a generation that demanded action and sacrifice instead of words and political wisdom (Cirkovic 246). Russia repeatedly assured their Slav brethren that they only had to wait (MacKenzie 58). Serbian agitation against Austria-Hungary was increased and the more the Austro-Hungarians attempted to subvert it, the more violent and fanatical it became. The fearlessness that was born from the support of Russia led those seeking Slavic unity to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, thereby triggering the cascade that began WWI.

The most anticipated war in history, World War One, started off with the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Franz Ferdinand. As a result, Austria-Hungary gave the killer’s country, Serbia, an opportunity to take ownership and apologize to A/H’s government. Without a response from Serbia, A/H declares war, launching the July Crisis- one of many of Europe’s fighting frenzies. Countries were declaring war on each other, gathering secret alliances, and building their armies. The Crisis continuously built its longevity until declared as a Great War, a nickname for World War One. Knowing which event pushed the world to arm themselves, historians had asked what the underlying causes for the war were. Causes for the war were alliances, imperialism, nationalism, and most destructive, militarism.

Serbia agreed to most but not all of these demands. This resulted in Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. Due to the alliance with Serbia, Russia entered the war.

World War I was also known as the Great War, or the War to End All Wars. This war took place from 1914 to 1918. World War I was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28th, 1914, although a war was inevitable due to the tensions between European countries. The three main causes of World War I were nationalism, militarism, and alliances. Nationalism initiated war because citizens felt that it was their duty to defend their country’s honor.

World War I, or the Great War, was one of the largest widespread wars in all of world history. However, it set the path for World War II when other countries came to blame Germany and thus crushing their government and economy, and amassed large destruction over multiple countries in Europe, such as Britain, France, and Germany, especially. It is important to understand how these wars came to be. During a dispute between Austria-Hungary and Serbia,which led to the assassination of the Austria-Hungarian leader Archduke Franz Ferdinand, years of separate alliances, bad international relations, and growth of arms all brought up the then inevitable outbreak of World War I.

Because of the archduke’s assassination and the fact that Serbia rejected some of the ultimatums given by Austria-Hungary in order to preserve its sovereignty, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. After the takeover of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary, Russia and Austria-Hungary’s allies were committed to supporting their respective allies more effectively in the event of another crisis. Therefore, since Russia was determined to fully support Serbia, Czar Nicholas II ordered partial mobilization, the process of assembling troops and supplies and making them ready for war, of the Russian army against Austria-Hungary. Today, mobilization would not necessarily be considered as an act of war; however, at

What originally sparked World War I was when an heir to the Austrian throne “Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot and killed by a lone assassin on June 28th 1914.” (History Place 1.) After this death the Austrians were extremely angry at Serbia and wanted this to be fixed. Within the next few months the conflict seems to spiral out of control. By the end of August war has broken out and

|After receiving a warning that Russia would not defend its Balkan ally, Serbia submits to nearly all of the humiliating demands of |

The assassination gave Austria-Hungary a good reason to form a plan against Serbia, but Austria-Hungary first got Germany’s promise to support them in any action they took against Serbia. Then Austria-Hungary sent Serbia a list of demands on July 23. Serbia accepted most of the demands and offered to have the rest settled by an international conference. Austria-Hungary rejected the offer and declared war on Serbia on July 28 1914("World War I History." ).

ABC-CLIO writes, “Other ethnic groups dreamed of forming their own homelands” (Unraveling the Causes of World War I). The German unification caused Germany became one of the strongest European countries in Europe. German’s were proud of their military power and industrial leadership. Other ethnic groups, like the French, longed to regain its place of Europe’s leading power. The French were bitter of their loss in the Franco-Prussian war and the German occupation of Alsace and Lorraine. They were eager for revenge against Germany and win back their lost provinces. The Slavs were another ethnic group that dreamed of forming their own homelands. The Balkans had a dream of unifying all of the Slavic states. In 1878, Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. At that time, Serbia decided to claim to several regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina which were inhabited primarily by Serbs. However, the Congress of Berlin granted permission to Austria-Hungary to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the other disputed Serbian areas. In 1908, Austria-Hungary officially annexed all of Bosnia and Herzegovina, adding more fuel to the fires of Serbian nationalism. So when the Archduke was assassinated in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria reacted quickly, as it was seen as the Empire's last chance to proclaim its superiority in the Balkans. Count Leopold von Berchtold, the Austrian foreign minister was determined to make use of the

As one of the most troubled region of the Balkans in Central Europe, the Balkans were affected by strife and hostility. The problems in the Balkans not only affected the people living in this region, but also other large European powers that fueled many of the major conflicts and events of Europe at the time. The First Balkan War and its profound effects on European history will be discussed, while also exploring the future conflicts in both the Balkans and the rest of Europe.