The First World War (WWI) Essay -- World War 1 I One

On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, wasassassinated along with his wife while touring the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The assassin was a studentradical associated with a Slav nationalist terrorist group known as the Black Hand, which was fighting forindependence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire for the empires Slavic minorities. From the beginning,the Austrians suspected that Serbia, an supreme and radically pan-Slavic nation bordering theAustro-Hungarian Empire, was behind the cleanup spot (they were right as it happened the Serbian chief ofstaff had helped plan the crime). World Response Initial world thought process also believed Serbia was behind the assassination, and the initial world responsecondemned the act a factor which reassured Austria that it could move to get revenge. But theAustro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy never operated quickly, especially since Austria could do nothing with forbiddenbeing sure of German support . In the end, the Austro-Hungarian government waited too long by thetime they attacked Serbia, public opinion about the killing had already cooled.The Entangling Alliance Domino Effect Austro-Hungarian Empire desperately wanted to get rid of Serbia, which had been behind most of theirlargest Slavic problems (Serbia had been a leader in the two Balkans wars, both of which had threatenedAustro-Hungarian holdings). Biggest Fear Russia (a Slavic country which might help their minorities ifpressed). Needed the Hungarians and the Germans to promise military support against Russia. Germany promised the Austrians support in the case of a Russian attack a "blank check" which allowedA.H. to move confidently against Serbia. Both Austria-Hungary and Germany believed they could do this ina limited way, and that Russia would stay out of it, as it had before. They were not looking to start a fightwith Russia or any other major European power. Biggest Fear That Austria-Hungary, their mosti mportant ally, would be seen as a useless, "paper tiger" if they didnt act against the Serbians, and thatthe A.H.s disintegration would leave them standing alone against France and Russia. Needed A strongally, a united front with that ally, a passive Russia, and a neutral Britain. Russia The Austrians and Germans were counting on a repeat performance of Russias p... ...marked Europe after it helped designate the stage for W.W.II. W.W.I was truly global in scope it was devastating in terms of casualties. The old methods offighting had met new technologies, and caught the military leaders off-guard. The scale of"The heavy(p) War" was truly unprecedented, as Europeans dragged their respective coloniesaround the world into it.New Weaponry tanks, submarines, airplanes were all new in W.W.I would become staples of war byW.W.II. ane of most infamous weapons of W.W.I was banned afterwards poison gas. Proof of the Failure of the Peace W.W.II. The peace created by the Ver sailles Treaty did not last,and the world created by result quickly broke apart. Pro-nationalist statements made by Europeanleaders, like the 14 Points, were taken seriously by various colonials, who looked forward toself-determination they were disappointed that the accord still left Britain, France, the US and Japanfirmly in control of their own colonial regions. Tensions between European powers and their colonials wereone source of instability in the interwar period the domestic unrest and hostility between Europeannations sparked by the Treaty was another.