WHY WAS
THERE A
WORLD WAR?
On 28th June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the
throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was assassinated in
Sarajevo by a Serb nationalist, a member of the 'Black Hand'
terrorist group, which had links to Serbia's secret services.
Just six weeks later the five Great Powers of Europe were at war
with each other.
This was a war that, over four
years, led to the deaths of
over 15 million soldiers and
civilians , to the break up of
the Russian, AustroHungarian, Ottoman and
German Empires and, it can
be argued, to the decline of
Britain's power and influence
in the world.
Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo
(Photograph by courtesy of Imperial War Museum)
What was the situation of Europe before that fateful day?
Against a background of tensions, rivalries, mutual suspicions
and an arms race the Great Powers of Europe formed alliances
to strengthen their positions. Thus:
?
Germany was allied to the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
with a defensive only treaty with Italy.
?
France had formed an alliance with Russia.
?
Britain had treaties with France and Russia.
?
Britain was pledged to defend Belgian neutrality.
Each of these powers had concerns driving their policies and
actions:
?
Austria-Hungary and Russia were competing for
influence in the Balkans, with Russia supporting and
Austria hostile towards Serbia.
?
Germany was worried that Russian military reforms
would soon make them a stronger power, especially
allied to France. It was also concerned at the weakness
of its major ally Austria-Hungary, whose multi-ethnic
empire was subject to nationalist tensions.
?
Britain was determined that Germany would not
dominate Europe and held, as a long term principle,
the neutrality of Belgium.
Radcliffe
WW1
How did this war come about? Was war inevitable or just a
terrible mistake?
War between Austria-Hungary and Serbia was probably
unavoidable, as the former wanted to seize the opportunity to
crush Serbia. But how were the other nations drawn in?
?
Germany gave unconditional support to Austria
to attack Serbia.
?
Russia mobilised to support Serbia; Germany
declared war on Russia.
?
When France refused to guarantee to Germany that
she would be neutral in its war against Russia,
Germany attacked France through Belgium, following
its Schlieffen Plan to bypass France's defences.
?
Britain declared war on Germany in defence of
Belgium.
?
Italy did not join her allies in the Triple Alliance,
as Austria had attacked first.
Very soon there was fighting
on all fronts: between Austria
and Serbia, Russia and
Austria, Germany and Russia,
France and Germany, with the
first units of the British
Expeditionary Force landing in
France on 7th August, just four
days after Britain entered the
war.
Sclieffen Plan
Austrian troops mobilising (Photograph by courtesy
Four years of fighting ahead
of Imperial War Museum)
Map of alliances in 1914
Sherwood Foresters leaving for France