'If Serbian Nationalists Had Not Assassinated Franz Ferdinand Then the First World War Would Not Have Occurred' to What Extent Is This Statement Correct
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- Category: History: European
- Date Submitted: 02/11/2010 10:54 AM
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Before the start of the First World War (WWI) Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo. Some people believe that this incident sparked World War One and that it would not have occurred had this event not have occurred. Others believe that there were other causes of the war that were more influential in starting WWI.
Serbian nationalists believed that Austria and Hungary were trying to take over their country so a group of them plotted to kill the heir to the empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. There were many failed attempts at assassinating Franz Ferdinand. But finally Princip managed to kill the heir. This had an impact on WWI because the Austrians and Hungarians believed that this was their opportunity to take control of Serbia and so sent it an ultimatum. However, the Serbians had alliances with Russia and so they got involved. Due to the Russian involvement Germany helped out the Austro-Hungarians. This led to France teaming up with Russia and because Russia were allies with Serbia the French were indirectly helping Serbia. Germany then declared war against France and to get to France German troops had to march through Belgium. The British had formed a protection agreement with Belgium and so declared war on Germany. These confusing alliances led to two main agreements being formed. The Triple Entente or Entente Cordiale were made up of France, Russia and Britain. The Triple Alliance contained Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy (who were allied to Germany and so joined the agreement). This is an important cause because many countries got involved due to one disagreement between two countries and an assassination. Without this many countries may not have got involved. However tension through the other causes had built up and this may have just meant that the war had been brought forward. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand also shows an element of nationalism as the Serbian nationalists...
Serbian nationalists believed that Austria and Hungary were trying to take over their country so a group of them plotted to kill the heir to the empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. There were many failed attempts at assassinating Franz Ferdinand. But finally Princip managed to kill the heir. This had an impact on WWI because the Austrians and Hungarians believed that this was their opportunity to take control of Serbia and so sent it an ultimatum. However, the Serbians had alliances with Russia and so they got involved. Due to the Russian involvement Germany helped out the Austro-Hungarians. This led to France teaming up with Russia and because Russia were allies with Serbia the French were indirectly helping Serbia. Germany then declared war against France and to get to France German troops had to march through Belgium. The British had formed a protection agreement with Belgium and so declared war on Germany. These confusing alliances led to two main agreements being formed. The Triple Entente or Entente Cordiale were made up of France, Russia and Britain. The Triple Alliance contained Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy (who were allied to Germany and so joined the agreement). This is an important cause because many countries got involved due to one disagreement between two countries and an assassination. Without this many countries may not have got involved. However tension through the other causes had built up and this may have just meant that the war had been brought forward. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand also shows an element of nationalism as the Serbian nationalists...