What Led to World War 1
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- Category: History: World Wars
- Date Submitted: 09/10/2010 03:53 PM
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Discuss how and why World War I began
The reasons as to how and why the so-called Great War started is still not known. History tells us that it was a spiral of events. One issue to another that led to this war. However, the World War 1 - known as the great war was long in the making. The spark that started the war came from Europe’s long troubled areas, the Balkans, where Austria – Hungary and Russia were competing for it’s control.
In 1908 Austria seized the Ottoman province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This enraged Slavic ideologues in Russia and its ally Serbia. In response, the Serbian terrorists recruited Bosnian Slavs, including university student Gavrilo Princip, to resist the Austrian rule. However, the catalyst was on 28th June 1914 when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg were assassinated in the town of Sarajevo. Franz was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
So, after the assassination the complex system European diplomatic alliances were blaming each other. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination and declared war. Russia tied with a secret treaty with Serbia, mobilized its armies against Austria-Hungary. Russia’s move prompted the Germans to declare war on Russia and its ally France. To attack France, the Germans invaded Belgium which was neutral. This action forced Britain to declare war on Germany. By August 4th, nearly all of Europe was at war. Britain, France and Russia on one hand confronted Germany and Austria-Hungary which were joined by Turkey.
Two major battle zones emerged in Europe. Later the Americans joined the British and the French and battled on the western front against the Germans while the Russians fought the Austria-Hungary assisted by Germany on the eastern front. Because most of the warring nations held colonies and empires, the conflict spread to the Middle East, Africa, and China. Italy and Japan joined the allied hoping to cash on colonies while Bulgaria joined the...
The reasons as to how and why the so-called Great War started is still not known. History tells us that it was a spiral of events. One issue to another that led to this war. However, the World War 1 - known as the great war was long in the making. The spark that started the war came from Europe’s long troubled areas, the Balkans, where Austria – Hungary and Russia were competing for it’s control.
In 1908 Austria seized the Ottoman province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This enraged Slavic ideologues in Russia and its ally Serbia. In response, the Serbian terrorists recruited Bosnian Slavs, including university student Gavrilo Princip, to resist the Austrian rule. However, the catalyst was on 28th June 1914 when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg were assassinated in the town of Sarajevo. Franz was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
So, after the assassination the complex system European diplomatic alliances were blaming each other. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination and declared war. Russia tied with a secret treaty with Serbia, mobilized its armies against Austria-Hungary. Russia’s move prompted the Germans to declare war on Russia and its ally France. To attack France, the Germans invaded Belgium which was neutral. This action forced Britain to declare war on Germany. By August 4th, nearly all of Europe was at war. Britain, France and Russia on one hand confronted Germany and Austria-Hungary which were joined by Turkey.
Two major battle zones emerged in Europe. Later the Americans joined the British and the French and battled on the western front against the Germans while the Russians fought the Austria-Hungary assisted by Germany on the eastern front. Because most of the warring nations held colonies and empires, the conflict spread to the Middle East, Africa, and China. Italy and Japan joined the allied hoping to cash on colonies while Bulgaria joined the...