The Guns Of August, By Barbara W. Tuchman

World War I was a tragic episode in European history. As with most wars, there were some causes that led to this event. A few of these causes were militarism, alliances, and imperialism. The first spark of the war was on June 28, 1914 when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian nationalist group called the Black Hand. The Austrian leaders demanded an apology from Serbia, they got upset and Russia said they would help Serbia. With no apology and the threat of Russia, on June 28 Austria-Hungary declared war on them; Russia in return declared war on Austria-Hungary. Germany declared war on Russia, France on both Germany and Austria-Hungary. Finally Britain had joined France and Russia, then all of Europe was at 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.

The fifth cause of World War One was the event of an assassination. Austria Hungary demanded that Serba take action against those responsible for the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. When Serbia failed to meet these demands, Austria Hungary declared war on them. This was one of the main events that kick started World War One because soon after, Germany got involved alongside them, and Serbia’s allies got involved.

World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which took place primarily in Europe from 1914 to 1918.[2] Over 40 million casualties resulted, including approximately 20 million military and civilian deaths.[3] Over 60 million European soldiers were mobilized from 1914 – 1918.[4] The immediate cause of the war was the June 28, 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavril Principe, a Bosnian Serb citizen of Austria-Hungary and member of the Black Hand. The retaliation by Austria-Hungary against Serbia activated a series of alliances that set off a chain reaction of war declarations. Within a month, much of Europe was

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.

The chain of events starts with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Some people tend to think that this event was the one total cause of World War One, but that is not the case. The assassination is only one small trigger.

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand is what lead to the immediate beginning of the war. Franz Ferdinand was in line to be the next heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne. He was later shot to death along with the wife during a visitation to Sarajevo in 1914. A Serbian group, known as the Black Hand, was blamed on for the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. This event lead Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia for the assassiantion, which led to the beginning of World War 1 (History.com Staff,2009). Other WW1 analysts believe that there might be no single reason that can be attributed for the main cause of the war. These WW1 analysts think that the war might have started as a result of several other factors that lead to the buildup of WW1. These factors could included the development of militarism, imperialism, and nationalism. These factors contributed heavily to create the conflicts that led to the beginning of WW1.

In Barbara W. Tuchman’s book, The Guns of August, she argues that each competitor in World War I did some very feebleminded things in the first month of war. Tuchman quibbled that the first month was a disaster of headstrong generals, who were determined to stick with military plans that weren’t succeeding. The author explains that both sides lost in the first month because of foolish mistakes.

Even today, the causes of World War one is still being debated and the great war started 96 years ago and ended 92 years ago. Yet today after so much time the main cause of the war still remains unexposed to this day. What triggered the whole war was the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie of Austria-Hungary on June 28th 1914 by The Black Hand. The assassination happened because of feelings toward the Serbians. The Archduke and his wife were on a parade route in their car during their visit to Sarajevo. Many assassins were lined up to take the kill of the Archduke but all failed, there was one young assassin named Gavrilo

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.

Despite being one of the largest and most detrimental wars in Europe’s history, World War I was started by the action of one single person. In June of 1914, the Archduke of Austria- Hungary was assassinated by a Serbian assassin while visiting Serbia. After this, there was tension when Serbia refused to Austria- Hungary apologize for the killing of their Archduke. This continued to escalate until Austria- Hungary declared war on Serbia. Following this, war broke out between countries all around Europe, leading to World War I. Although, the war would not have grown as large as it did if it weren’t for a few factors that allowed the spark of the assassination of the Archduke of Austria- Hungary- Hungary to ignite an entire fire. Many countries

Though most historians consider the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary the most immediate cause of WWI, or the rise of Germany to be the main cause since they signed the Versailles Treaty (Doc 4), many agree that the war was not caused by just one thing. Instead, it was caused by a concept instead of specific people or countries. It seemed that everyone, during this time period, had started to increase their military power and defense systems. Therefore, World War I was caused by two things: the fear these countries had of losing their power, and the big toll that European Imperialism took international relations.

Barbara Tuchman's Pulitzer prize-winning book about the start of World War I is a fascinating and detailed work that delivers the thoughts and actions of the belligerents and their previously mysterious leaders to life on every page. This military history of the first month of the war is written in a way as to keep the reader interested because of the great detail. The author also manages to write about the events in such a manor as the reader sees them as they happened. Despite any previous knowledge about the historical events of the war, the book manages to keep you wondering if the Germans will succeed in its aims.

Barbara Tuchman’s book, The Guns of August begins in 1910, at King Edward VII of England’s funeral. At the funeral there are nine European kings there to pay their respects. One of the kings is his nephew, German Kaiser Wilhelm. Wilhelm resented how England softened Germany’s rise as a European power, affiliating instead with France, Russia, and Japan. Wilhelm desired power and acknowledgment and used Edward’s funeral to begin calculating. Over the years, Germany prepares for war, making plans to attack Belgium and widening the Kiel Canal.

Throughout history there has been competition for resources and domination. This competition has led to conflicts that have caused destruction, social disruptions and death. World War I was no exception to this competition. World War I was known as the war to end all wars and was caused by a combination of factors. Some causes of World War I was nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and the main cause which was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip of Serbia. While the United States attempted to remain neutral and stay out of the war, Germany choose actions that gave the U.S. no choice but to enter and help their Allies defeat the other powers.