The World War I Was Inevitable?

On June Twenty Eighth Archduke was traveling with his wife, when the driver got lost and went down the wrong road. Gavrilo Princip was a Serbian assassin who shot and killed Archduke and his wife. The assassination was used to start a rebellion that would create a much larger Serbian nation. Austrian ambassador was very unsettled by that, so he decides to get a friendship with Germany. They become allies on July fifth. Austrian wanted an apology from Serbia. But did not receive one. Austria-Hungary then declared war on Serbia. Therefore caused a giant war to break out (DBQ Project Essay Background).

Before I discuss the assassination, I just want to set the scene. Otto von Bismarck once said that “One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans," and he was absolutely right. The unstable Balkan region is also known as a "powder keg" and it erupted in 1908 when Austria - Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia wished to conquer Bosnia due to their belief that Bosnia was part of their rightful territory. Many Serbians were pan – Slavic (supported the unity of all Slavs) and Bosnia had a high Slavic population. Previously, Austria - Hungary had banned all imports of Serbian pork, which now included any imports sent through Bosnia. The main purpose of this limitation was to increase Serbian

These small events led to the pride ridden Serbian terrorist Gavrilo Princip to assassinate archduke Franz Ferdinand - heir to the throne on the 28 of June 1914. Suddenly Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and dozens of nations began to take sides. Britain, United States, France, Italy and Russia decided to join Serbia in fight and defend their allies from past treaties and agreements whilst Germany, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria decided to defend their ally Austria-Hungary. Soon the conflict between two countries had turned into a world war involving many countries. It would be fair to say that if not for the assassination of the archduke, then there would have been no such war as World War I. Gavrilov's failings to think as a human corrupted him and caused a major war.

However, there had to be certain event that started all of it. That event happened in June 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was visiting Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. This visit angered members of the Black Hand, a Serbian terrorist group, who wanted Bosnia to break away from Austria-Hungary and join Serbia.

On June 28 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, while riding in an open car, had a grenade thrown at them by . The grenade missed and injured a guard who was behind their car. The guard worked for the archduke, and to pay his respects he visited the hospital the officer was in. They took a wrong turn and the associate of the man who threw the grenade happened to be on the street where they turned. 19 year old Gavrilo Princip, who was dying of tuberculosis, spotted the car and shot the archduke and his wife killing them both. The assassination was completed and a point had been made.

The Serbian nationalists were not only a main cause of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination but of World War I too.

World War One was a big and horrible thing. It was the war where Britain,France, Russia, Italy, and eventually the US fought against Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. World War One ended up killing over 38 million people from all around the world. It was a terrible thing and it had ruined people, businesses, and even countries themselves. There were many reasons behind World War One and there were also many different impacts it had on America.

World War One was one of the most lethal conflict in history, resulting in more than 38 million deaths. There were many causes to World War One. Tension was built up from decades of power-hungry nations, but the years preceding World War One were the most uneasy. Operating together, imperialistic ambition and a militaristic view of the world created a sense that war was not just inevitable but a necessity, which combined with alliances, created the deadliest conflict in history.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was not an excuse for the world powers to get involved in a war. Franz Ferdinand was visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia to check on his troops there. On his way there was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip who was working for a Serbian secret group called "The Black Hand Society." Princip shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his heavily pregnant wife Sophie Chotek von Chotvoka on June 28, 1914 because of the decisions Ferdinand would make when he begins to rule the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The murder didn't do as Princip hoped as it was used as an excuse for Austria to take hateful action against Serbia.

Archduke Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was assassinated on June 28, 1914. This assassination sparked WW1. After Ferdinand’s assassination, Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia and declared war on them. The Russians allied with the Serbians and then the Russians brought France and Britain into the mix. The Germans then sided with Austria- Hungary. The week after his assassination, Russia, Serbia, Belgium, France, and Great Britain were up against Germany and Austria-Hungary.

I believe that June 28th, 1914, was perhaps the one of the single most defining moments of the 20th century. Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Princess Sophie of Hohenberg, assassinations shook a fragile European peace down to its roots. While Franz Ferdinand was not the emperor of the Habsburg Empire at the time of his death, Serbian nationalist extremist group, the Black Hand, planned, and executed, their assassination in hopes that his death would start a war that would free what was then Bosnia from Austrian rule. While the decision to target Franz Ferdinand was relatively arbitrary, the Black Hand wanted to target some member of the Habsburg Dynasty that would trigger their Bosnian revolution. Ultimately with some planning, and a lot of luck, the Serbian members of the Black Hand were presented with their chance at Austrian aristocracy.

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." ).

World War One was completely unavoidable; there was a pugnacious atmosphere that grew at an exponential rate. The second cartoon that was used in the British Newspaper showed Germany increasing their armaments, which demonstrated their eagerness for war. The chart of the military expenditures shows that each county greatly increased their per capita expenditures on armaments throughout the course of 1870-1914. This shows how each country increased their military equipment causing other countries to increase theirs, resulting in a cycle of increasing armaments. The heavy load of weaponries proves that each country was willing to fight, and wanted to broadcast their fighting abilities.

“One day President Roosevelt told me that he was asking publicly for suggestions about what the war should be called. I said at once "The Unnecessary War." There never was a war more easy to stop than that which has just wrecked what was left of

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie the Duchess of Hohenberg has been recently assassinated on June 28. It was told from our sources that there were multiple assassins but the one that succeeded was Gavrilo Princip. He fired at the Archduke with a FN M1910 pistol (as shown to the right). He also had ended up killing Sophie, his wife. Gavrilo Princip and one of the other assassins tried committing suicide with cyanide pills but it only made them ill. Gavrilo Princip has been arrested now. This has sparked controversy and the Austria-Hungary government feels as if the assassination was attack towards their country. Now, The Archduke of Austria is no longer with us and we may mourn him as he rests in peace.