answersLogoWhite

0

How did the World War 1 start off?

Updated: 8/17/2019
User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

Best Answer

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the short term cause of WW1.

Tension had been building in Europe since 1871 and the Franco-Prussian War and each great power in Europe was,in essence, getting ready for war.

Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian-Hungarian empire. Austro-Hungary was a 'patchwork' empire (an empire made up of lots of different races of people, including the Slavs and Serbs.) A neighbouring country Serbia, wanted all the serbs and slavs living in Austro-Hungary to revolt and join Serbia. If this happened, other races living inside Austria-Hungary would also want independence and the Austrian Empire would disapear.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand was making a state visit to Bosnia (a serb and slav region of Austria-Hungary) and a terrorist organisation called 'The Black Hand' desperately wanted the duke dead so they could get back at Austria-Hungary for oppressing them and all other slavs and serbs.

When the duke and his wife Sophie were shot by Gavrilo Princip, this gave Austria the perfect excuse to crush rebellion as they found that 'The Black Hand' was being secretly trained and supplied by Serbia. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.

Russia was one of the great powers that relied on trade to grow and get wealthy, the only way that Russia could access world trade was through the straights near Turkey. If Austria defeated Serbia, Austria could gain control of the straights and then restrict Russia's trade with the rest of the world. Russia felt that they needed to protect their own interests so they mobilised to support Serbia.

Germany had a war plan called the Schlieffen Plan which tried to avoid a two front war because France and Russia were allies. This plan stated that if Russia mobilised, Germany would invade France through Belgium and take Paris in 6 weeks before turning to the east to face Russia.

Germany attacked France as soon as Russia mobilised through Belgium which meant that Britain declared war on Germany because of the Treaty of London said that if Belgium's neutrality was threatened, Britain would go to war to protect her.

These are the basic reasons why the assassination at Sarajevo lead to the outbreak of war, however there is a whole other level to consider.

  • Austria WANTED to destroy Serbia and they sent an ultimatum to Serbia which was impossible for Serbia to accept.
  • Germany supplied Austria with a BLANK CHEQUE of support which basically forced Austria into declaring war on Serbia which they probably would not have done without the support of Germany as they were not strong enough.
  • Britain felt threatened by Germany's growing power and the fact that Germany also wanted an empire to rival Britain's. If Britain gave an excuse to the public (like Belgium) it would make war look more honourable than saying 'We want to crush Germany'

Hope this is helpful :)

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand Karl Ludwig Josef von Hapsburg - Lothringen, commonly known as Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was the primary heir to the Austrio-Hungarian Empire. He was the nephew of Franz Josef, who was then the Emperor of the Hapsburg Empire.

As Archduke Franz Ferdinand was traveling in an open automobile through Sarajevo, then the capital of Bosnia, an assassin fired two shots from his automatic pistol. Sitting next to her husband in the rear seat, the first shot struck Archduchess Sofia in the abdomen and she died almost instantly. She was also pregnant at the time. The second shot hit Archduke Franz Ferdinand in the chest, near his jugular vein, and he also quickly died from his wound.

The assassin was immediately captured by the local police and held. He was identified as Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand, which was a Serbian nationalistic group of the time.

As a direct result of this assassination, in July of 1914, Austria declared war on and against Serbia which because of pacts and agreements between the various European nations, quickly escalated into World War I.

The assassin and convicted and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Due to possible complication from tuberculosis, one of his arms was amputated. Finally, on April 28, 1918, Gavrilo Princip died.

It is almost inconceivable to think and comprehend, that upon the direct action of ONE MAN, that four and a half years later, almost 13+ MILLION civilians would die due to direct and indirect results from the war AND almost 8.5+ MILLION military deaths worldwide (for a total of 21-22 MILLON persons).

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

With the Assasination of Franz Ferdinand.

This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: How did the World War 1 start off?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp