In terms of sheer numbers of lives lost or disrupted, World War I was one of the most destructive and devastating wars in history: an estimated 10 million military deaths and 20 million more crippled or severely wounded. Yet, what were all these deaths really worth? Was the Great War necessary or could it have been avoided? It is commonly, but not universally, accepted that World War I was inevitable. The underlying causes that led up to it made war seem imminent, but it certainly did not guarantee when it would happen. Thus, the question remains, what triggered it? Although no one person or nation deserves to be blamed for the entirety of the war, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 was undoubtedly responsible for its outbreak. …show more content…
His death at the hands of Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist with ties to the secretive military group known as the Black Hand, led to Austria’s declaration of war on Serbia. Austria blamed the Serbian government for the attack and wanted to punish them for encouraging terrorism.
If two countries went to war, most of Europe went to war. This was due to the military alliances that had been formed during that time period, particularly the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. Everyone in these alliances promised to defend each other if either were attacked. This resulted in countries with little involvement being dragged into war.
Formed in 1822, the Triple Alliance consisted of Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. The Triple Entente formed in 1907 consisted of Britain, France, and Russia. After Austria declared war on Serbia on July 28th, Serbia called on her old friend Russia, with whom they had diplomatic relations with, for help. Austria had a military alliance with Germany and the German government agreed to join the fight against Serbia. Germany seeing Russia mobilizing, declared war on Russia. France was drawn in against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France through Belgium pulling Britain into war. The chain continued until the major countries were all involved and the tenuous peace
The unconditional support from alliances can be blamed to cause World War I. The nature of the alliances is laid out in the alliance document. The alliances stipulated assistance and contribution of the signing parties in the event of conflict. It can extend from money or logistic sponsorship, similar to the supply of materials or weapons, to military activation and a statement about war. Partnerships might likewise contain currency components, for example, trade agreements, investment or loans. It is best known to cause World War I. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, European nations formed, abolished, or restructured their own alliances. By 1914, the Great Powers of Europe split into two opposing alliance blocs. For quite a long time Europe had been a mixture of ethnic and regional competitions, political interests, contending desires, military dangers, suspicions and disorder. France and England were antiquated foes whose competition ejected into open fighting a few times between the fourteenth and mid nineteenth hundreds of years.
This leads to the conclusion that the European powers were ready for war in 1914. It is important to realize that since the European powers made alliances with each other, small arguments concerning one power might lead to a war involving all the powers. In the case of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, this situation created a serious misunderstanding between Austria-Hungary and Serbia and as a result, the other nations in Europe involved in alliances with either 2 countries were obligated to support them. Alliances were originally created strictly for defensive purposes but by 1910, many of the alliances had changed their character like the Austro-German alliance. Germany promised to give military aid to Austria-Hungary to invade Serbia and on the other hand, Russia provided Serbia with military assistance. As alliances had become instruments of national aggression, the chances of war doubled. The probability of Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia due to the death of their heir increased because Austria-Hungary could rely on the support of Germany to help achieve its goal. In addition, this fragile interlock of alliances relied on the leaders of the European countries to act reasonably however, this was not the case in the situation of World War 1. The Kaiser of Germany felt his country was being denied the chance to unleash its full potential by Britain so the power hungry ruler was determined to
World War I was caused by several issues between European powers, the first being militarism, or the huge emphasis placed on having large and strong armies and navies. Germany is an example of militarism in WWI because Germany began competing with the British for having the largest navy in the world, as well as developing new weapons like poison gas and submarines, the latter being a great tool in surprise attacks. Militarism was also associated with the Romanticism of war; Europeans wished to fight so that they could become heros. The constant military build ups in several European countries left countries looking for alliances with other strong countries, in the event that war was to break out. Germany, Italy, and Austria created the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente was comprised of Great Britain, France, and
“World War I was not inevitable, as many historians say. It could have been avoided, and it was a diplomatically botched negotiation,” once said Richard Holbrooke, an American diplomat. Many people worldwide agree with Mr. Holbrooke, believing WWI to be a waste of human lives. Known for its ridiculous start, fueled by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, and its huge impact on numerous countries earned it the title of the Great War. Though many people considered it pointless and as a war with many negative repercussions, WWI did lead to some positive outcomes, such as its art. Not only were new movements created, but also new styles of existing forms of art resulted from the war. Because of the different ways that art developed both on and off of the battlefield during the Great War, WWI is one of the most influential wars on the development of art in the twentieth century.
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.
This attack caused Russia to come to Serbia’s aid and Germany announced its entry into the war. The next cause of the war was the agreement between nations. Many countries had agreed to help each other, and this spread the war beyond Serbia. These alliances were called the mutual defense alliances. Due to these alliances, they were obligated to protect each other in case of war. So, started something bigger. Germany supported Austria-Hungary and attacked France. This forced France into the war while Britain joined the war to protect France. Japan and Italy followed to join the war and finally, America. The two sides were called the Allies or the Triple Ententes and the Central Powers. The Triple Ententes consisted of France, Britain, and Russia and the Central Powers were Austria-Hungary and Germany. Italy and the US joined the Triple Ententes. Another strong cause of the war was Imperialism. Before the war many European countries clashed in Africa and Asia. This rivalry between the big powers accelerated the process of thrusting the world into World War
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
What actually started the war was the alliances between countries. Countries in Europe formed alliances with each other (e.g., Russia, Britain, and France in the Triple Entente and Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in the Triple Alliance) (Doc A). The countries in the Entente all blamed Germany for the war and felt the need to intervene (Doc B). Germany was backing up Austria-Hungary and Russia was backing up Serbia whom were in a spat. Which lead to invasions and more friends of these countries joining the war to aide them.
Before the start of WWI, there were two major alliances in Europe. The Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy, and the Triple Entente with France, Russia and Great Britain. These alliance, along with the extreme feelings of nationalism and militarism, were the main causes of the Great War.
France and England created an alliance because they both feared Germany’s naval strength and supremacy. Despite claiming it was defensive in nature, it spread east and eventually, other countries were involved. Since Austria-Hungary and Germany were in dispute over the assassination, they became involved too. Therefore, alliance systems played a significant role in the outbreak of the war. Since these countries. became involved in
The first cause of war was alliances; though not the strongest motive, it provoked a large amount of tension leading up to the war. There were two “sides” to warfare- the Triple Entente, and the Triple Alliance- commonly known as the Allied and Central powers. As seen in Document 3, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and temporarily Italy, made up the Central powers while the Allied powers were
The first of the three main causes of World War One was the alliances between countries. In the years before the war, several European countries had formed alliances with each other to ensure the protection of their own nations. This created two systems; the Triple Alliance, which consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, and the Triple Entente, which consisted of France, Russia, and Great Britain. The system made it so that if an allied country
After Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia their allies began declaring war on others. Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary, Germany declared war on Russia, France declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary, and Britain joined Russia and France (DBQ Project Background Essay). Which all this caused an outbreak of war in Europe. Everyone was trying to support their allies, so if the opportunity arose and their country ever needed them they would have their support in
Ferdinand and his wife had arranged to tour Bosnia. As the couple rode through Sarajevo, the capital of Austro-Hungarian, on June 28, 1914, a man by the name of Gavrilo Princip jumped on their car and fired two shots, killing Ferdinand and his wife. Gavrilo Princip, was linked to a Serbian terrorist group called the Black hand("World War I History." ).
Was World war one the inevitable outcome of how European politics and society had developed in the decades before its outbreak?