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Student worksheet
The causation of World War 1
Task 1: What happened in Sarajevo?
It is 28th June 1914. You work for the newsroom of the Sarajevo Daily Show. Today is a big day for
the city of Sarajevo. Sarajevo is the capital of the province of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The province is
ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It can often seem like a very long way from the capital of the
Empire in Vienna to the small city of Sarajevo. However, Sarajevo has a strong sense of identity and
a proud history. Today is a big day! The heir to the Austro-Hungarian Imperial throne is visiting the
city. Archduke Franz-Ferdinand, as he is known, is visiting with his wife Sophie. They will be arriving
at the station just before 10AM. They will be met by General Oskar Potiorek, the governor of the
province. He will accompany them in an open top car cortege to the City Hall for an official reception.
The cars will drive down the Appel Quay along the river and there are expected to be many crowds
lining the route. The Archduke is not popular in Austria, but is keen to make a good impression on his
future subjects in Sarajevo.

This story will be the news of the day. How are you going to report it? Where are you going to
send reporters? Whose views would you like to get? What pictures need taking? How are you
going to present the story? Start planning!
Your colleague has arrived in the office. He has seen that there are crowds building up outside, ready
to cheer the Archduke. However, there are also reports of people complaining about the arrival of the
Archduke today. The 28th June is a very important day for the Serbian people of the province. Many
people think it is an outrage that the Archduke should be coming to Sarajevo on the 28th June. Many
Serbs living in the province would like the province to break away from the Austro-Hungarian Empire
and become part of the country of Serbia. Serbia‟s independence was internationally recognised by
the Congress of Berlin in 1878. Since then it has expanded its people and territory. In the last few
days there have been arrests. The police say these are people who might cause trouble on the day of
the visit. Many people in the city think that arresting people on such a suspicion is wrong. There will a
heavy police presence during the day, but the army has not been ordered onto the streets.

How are you going to reflect this aspect of the day in your story? You need to be careful not to
get into trouble with the authorities, but then you are a local newspaper and you aim to fairly
reflect local views.
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Someone has just run into your office with breaking news. At about 10.15, as the Archduke‟s car was
proceeding towards the city hall, a mad threw a bomb at the Archduke‟s car. The driver seems to
have seen the bomb flying towards him and accelerated. The bomb exploded under the wheels of the
car behind and there seem to have been casualties. Your witness is not sure how many, who they
might be, or how badly they might be injured. There was a lot of screaming as members of the crowd
were hit by debris. The Archduke‟s car drove on its way and great speed. The man who threw the
bomb seemed to take something from a small bottle and then jumped into the river Miljacka. He was
pulled out by four men and has been arrested and taken into custody.

How does this change your story? What is the main item now on today’s news? Your editor is
pushing you to get the story out quickly. What do you know for certain? What do you only
know uncertainly? What do you want to know? Who do you want to interview? What pictures
would you like?
Since the last news you have been working hard. There is a rumour that the arrested man is called
Nedjelko Cabrinovic. It is being said that he lived in Serbia for a while. Could he be part of the
movement wanting to be part of Serbia? Was he acting alone? There is no information from the police
yet. You sent a reporter to the city hall and he has just arrived back. He says that there was a crazy
scene on the city hall steps. The city officials carried on with their speech as if nothing had happened.
They said that everyone in Sarajevo was delighted to welcome the Archduke. The Archduke looked
angry, but played his part. He read his pre-prepared response to the welcome in a sarcastic tone, as
the script he was handed was spattered with blood. A strange welcome! The royal party then entered
the city hall. It is now clear that two of the Archduke‟s party were seriously injured. They have been
taken to the local hospital. The Archduke has insisted upon going to visit them and Sophie has
insisted upon accompanying him.

How does this change the emphasis of your story? What do you want to add in to your
report? What can you be certain of now? What details do you still need to check out? Your
editor is pushing you to release a full story. What do you feel confident to report? What are
the most important details that the public should know?
You barely got started on the new information and then one of your young reporters arrived out of
breath having run from Franz Joseph Street. He was just about to go into Schiller‟s delicatessen,
when he heard a car turn the corner. To his surprise, he recognised it as the Archduke‟s car. The car
stopped, there seemed to be a discussion and he heard the crunch of reversing gears. He raised his
camera to get a good picture for the paper. At that moment he heard, he thinks, two shots. Sophie
slumped down and the Archduke appeared to be bleeding. He was close enough to hear the
Archduke say: “Sophie dear! Don‟t die!” The gun man turned the gun on himself, but before he could
shoot, he was wrestled to the ground. Your reporter thinks he has captured a good picture of that.
The police have arrested him.

Now your editor says that you have to get the story out quickly. What do you need to know?
What are you certain of? What questions need asking? What information to you have that no
one else may have?
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News have arrived that both the Archduke and Sophie have died of their wounds. The assassin has
been named as Gavrilo Princip. He is being interrogated in custody. There are many people saying
that he is a member of a gang called the „Black Hand‟ who have vowed to do anything to get the
province of Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of Serbia. One witness says that Princip is reported to have
links to the Serbian government. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
This is a very serious matter. What will the consequences be?

Decide which are the most important parts of this whole dramatic story? Think about which
parts are fact and which parts are rumour? What questions do you have? What might happen
next?
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Task 2: How did the Sarajevo assassination result in the major European
powers going to war?
Resource for Activity 2: Use the „Timemap of World War 1‟ and „Descent into War‟ to help you complete this
worksheet. Your teacher will be able to find these on historiana.eu
th
5 July 1914
23rd July 1914
28th June 1914: Archduke Franz
Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian
throne,
was
assassinated
in
Sarajevo.
28th July 1914
1 August 1914
4th August 1914
3rd August
1914
2nd August 1914
5th August 1914
6th August 1914
WAR
Underlying causes of World War 1. We are going to start to find
out how these connect to the assassination in Sarajevo, which
was the spark that led to the outbreak of war in August 1914.
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Colour and key this map to show the major power alliances in Europe in 1914
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Task 3: What do the sources tell us about the political situation in Europe
in the early 20th century?
COUNTRY
ENEMIES
SUSPICIONS AND PROBLEMS
AMBITIONS
POWER
RATING 1 - 5
GERMANY
FRANCE
AUSTRIA HUNGARY
RUSSIA
BRITAIN
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Sources for use in Activity 3
British political cartoon c. 1914
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German political cartoon 1914
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Original caption: “En Chine -- Le gâteau des Rois et... des Empereurs”
English: "China -- the cake of kings and... of emperors" (a French pun on king cake and kings
and emperors wishing to "consume" China).
French political cartoon from 1898.
A pastry represents "Chine" (French for China) and is being divided between caricatures of
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, William II of Germany (who is squabbling with Queen
Victoria over a borderland piece, whilst thrusting a knife into the pie to signify aggressive
German intentions), Nicholas II of Russia, who is eyeing a particular piece, the French
Marianne (who is diplomatically shown as not participating in the carving, and is depicted as
close to Nicholas II, as a reminder of the Franco-Russian Alliance), and a samurai representing
Japan, carefully contemplating which pieces to take.
A stereotypical Qing official throws up his hands to try and stop them, but is powerless. It is
meant to be a figurative representation of the Imperialist tendencies of these nations towards
China during the decade. Colonies were thought to be essential to the European powers at the
time because they supplied raw materials and provided markets for manufactured goods.
Great Britain had the largest empire, whereas Germany, a new country, had only a few
colonies and was looking to expand its empire. Intense rivallry over colonies was common
between the European powers at the end of the 19th and start of the 20th centuries.
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Map of Europe in 1914
Europe was divided by what is known as ‘The Alliance System’
„Triple Entente‟ - France, Russia and UK
„Triple Alliance‟ – Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. Germany and Austria-Hungary were
also known as the Central Powers. Italy stayed out of the war in 1914.
Russia had a separate agreement to protect Serbia (both countries were Christian Orthodox
in religion and saw themselves as Slavic nations.)
Britain (and other European powers) had signed treaties to protect the neutrality of
Luxembourg and Belgium.
We have conquered for ourselves a place in the sun. It will now be my task to see to it that this
place in the sun shall remain our undisputed possession, in order that the sun's rays may fall
fruitfully upon our activity and trade in foreign parts... The more Germans go out upon the
waters, whether it be in journeys across the ocean, or in the service of the battle flag, so much
the better it will be for us.
A speech by Kaiser Wilhelm to the North German Regatta Association, 1901
The German answer to all our talk about the limitation of armaments is: Germany shall increase
to the utmost of her power...
I have lived among Germans, but with the best will in the world I can see no solution to the
present collision of ideals but war.
A lecture given in 1913 by JA Cramb
JA Cramb was an Englishman who went to university in Germany, and who loved Germany
The Naval 'War Cabinet' of 1912
General von Moltke [head of the German army] said: I believe war is unavoidable; war the
sooner the better. But we ought to do more to press to prepare the popularity of a war against
Russia. The Kaiser supported this. Tirpitz [head of the navy] said that the navy would prefer
to see the postponement of the great fight for one and a half years.
From the Diary of Admiral Muller, 8 December 1912
Some historians say that this proves that Germany was wanting war in 1912, although others
say that it records a general discussion of no great significance.
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Land of Hope and Glory,
mother of the free...
God who made thee mighty,
make thee mightier yet.
The words of Land of Hope and Glory, written by the English composer Elgar and sung by
British people at the Prom concerts every year.
Germany, Germany above all,
over everything in the world,
When it steadfastly holds together,
offensively and defensively.
The words of the German national anthem,
Deutschland uber Alles.
French Postcard - French Military Humour
Propaganda : The Ingordo, too hard – c.1915.
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany caricatured as “the
greedy” is trying to eat the world, but finds it "too
hard".
A peaceable, industrious, sensible mass of 500 million [European people], was hounded by a
few dozen incapable leaders, by falsified documents, lying stories of threats, and chauvinistic
catchwords, into a war which in no way was destined or inevitable.
Emil Ludwig, July 1914 (1929)
Colonial rivalry produced a naval arms race between
Britain and Germany. Relations between both countries
had worsened. The British-German dispute also led to
greater naval co-operation between Britain and France.
In 1880 Germany had 88.000 tonnes of military shipping, Britain 650,000; by 1910 the figures
were 964,000 and 2,174,000 respectively.
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The launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 was a turning point. This ship made all other
battleships obsolete. Germany and Britain raced to build Dreadnoughts. The British government
felt the safety of the British Isles was at risk by 1912.
The Schlieffen Plan
The German war plan, known as the
Schlieffen Plan, relied on the quick
movement of troops and an offensive
against France if Germany found itself at
war with Russia.
It involved:


Taking Paris to defeat France.
Only then attacking Russia.
It also meant Belgium's neutrality was to
be violated in the attack on France.
France had her own attack plan called Plan XVII, as did Russia (Plan G) and Austria-Hungary
(Plans R and B).
All of these plans assumed the co-operation of allies.
Once the first steps towards mobilisation were taken, everyone assumed that it would be
fatal to stand still while their potential enemies moved forward. The plans were offensive
in nature
Domestic issues
Modern historians have drawn attention to the influence of internal politics on the actions of the
Great Powers in 1914. Socialism had become very popular in Germany, Austria, Russia, Italy
and France.
The rulers in some of these countries hoped that a short victorious war would put an end
to class differences and reduce the support for socialism that threatened their rule.
There were other domestic issues that the war drew attention from:



In the UK a near civil war situation in Ireland.
A crisis over income tax and military service in France.
The unpopularity of the Tsar in Russia.
There was a general assumption that if war did break out it would be for a short time.
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Telegraph and other rapid forms of
communication changed the face of
diplomacy. Armies were mobilised (got ready
for war) quicker than ever before. Once an
army is mobilised it is very hard to pull it
back without looking cowardly. Leaders were
caught out by the speed of these new
technologies.
(
The Crises before 1914
Between 1900 and 1914 there had been three major crises between the great powers. These
crises had threatened to tip over into a general European war, but the Great Powers had pulled
back. Two were over Morocco (1905, 1911) and the other was over the Austrian annexation of
Bosnia (1908).
1. First Moroccan Crisis
In 1905 Kaiser Wilhelm II visited the Moroccan port of Tangier and denounced French influence
in Morocco. The visit provoked an international crisis, which was resolved in France's favour at
the Algeciras Conference, 1906. The result was to bring France and Britain closer together.
King Edward VII called the German actions "the most mischievous and uncalled for event which
the German Emperor has been engaged in since he came to the throne."
2. Second Moroccan Crisis
This crisis erupted when the Germans sent the gunboat "Panther" to the Moroccan port of
Agadir, to protect German citizens there. Germany claimed that the French had ignored the
terms of the Algeciras Conference. This provoked a major war scare in Britain until the
Germans agreed to leave Morocco to the French in return for rights in the Congo. Many
Germans felt that they had been humiliated and that their government had backed down.
3. The Annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina
The two Turkish provinces had been administered by Austria since the Congress of Berlin. In
1908 Austria annexed Bosnia and this action outraged Serbia as there was a large Serbian
population in Bosnia. There was a crisis among the Great Powers and it brought Europe to the
brink of war. Russia bowed to German pressure when they supported Austria and they agreed
to the annexation. However she was determined not to be humiliated again.
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Some historians argue that the effect of these crises was to harden attitudes and to
increase distrust between the different European powers.
On 1 August 1914, the German Ambassador asked the British Foreign Secretary if Britain would
remain neutral if Germany respected Belgian neutrality.
The Foreign Secretary replied that it was an important issue, but would not commit to it being
the only factor that would keep Britain out of a war.
Task 4: but why did my country get involved in (or stay out of) World
War 1?
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Task 5: How did 2 bullets fired in Sarajevo cause a war in 1914?
Date
June 28
Event
th
July 28th
Other, Bigger Reasons
Murder at Sarajevo
Austria-Hungary
declared war on
Serbia
st
Germany declared
war on Russia
August 3
rd
Germany declared
war on France
August 4th
Britain declared
war on Germany
August 1
Immediate Reason
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