World War I

Causes

:See also: Causes of World War I and Participants in World War I

Related Topics:
Causes of World War I - Participants in World War I

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On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb student. He was part of a group of fifteen assassins, acting with support from the Black Hand, a secret society founded by pan-Serbian nationalists, with links to the Serbian military. The assassination sparked little initial concern in Europe. The Archduke himself was not popular, least of all in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. While there were riots in Sarajevo following the Archduke's death these were largely aimed at the Serbian minority. Though this assassination has been linked as the direct trigger for World War I, the war's real origins lie further back, in the complex web of alliances and counterbalances that developed between the various European powers after the defeat of France and formation of the German state under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck in 1871.

Related Topics:
June 28 - 1914 - Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria - Austro-Hungarian - Assassinated in Sarajevo - Gavrilo Princip - Bosnia - Serb - Black Hand - Sarajevo - Europe - Otto von Bismarck - 1871

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Reasons & Responsibilities

The reasons for the outbreak of World War I is a complicated issue; there are many factors which

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intertwine. Some examples are:

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• Fervent and Uncompromising Nationalism
• Unresolved previous disputes
• The intricate system of alliances
• Convoluted and fragmented governance
• The delays and misunderstandings in diplomatic communications
• The arms races of the previous decades.
• The rigid military planning
• See also: Causes of World War I

There are many different hypotheses that try to explain who, or what, is to blame for the outbreak of the First World War. Early explanations, prominent in the 1920s and 1930s, stressed the official version of responsibility as enumerated in the Treaty of Versailles and Treaty of Trianon, that Germany and its allies were solely responsible for the war. However, as time progressed, scholars began looking toward the rigidity of both German and Russian military planning, each of which stressed the importance of striking first and executing plans quickly.

Related Topics:
Treaty of Versailles - Treaty of Trianon

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Another cause for war was the building of alliances and arms races. Nations in the Triple Entente became fearful of the Triple Alliance and vice-versa. Germany would lead by advancing military technology, and Britain, as a sea faring nation, would follow suit with stronger ships. The civilian leaders of the European powers also found themselves facing a wave of nationalist zeal that had been building across Europe for years. This left governments with ever fewer options and little room to manoeuvre as the last weeks of July 1914 slipped away. Frantic diplomatic efforts to mediate the Austrian-Serbian quarrel simply became irrelevant, as the automatic military escalations between Germany and Russia reinforced one another.

Related Topics:
Alliance - Arms race - Triple Entente - Triple Alliance - Nationalist

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Furthermore, the problem of communications in 1914 should not be underestimated; all nations still used telegraphy and ambassadors as the main form of communication, resulting in delays from hours to even days. There is probably no single concise or conclusive assessment of the exact cause of the First World War.

Related Topics:
Telegraphy - Ambassadors

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