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¶ … Balkan War that led to World War I
There were several factors of the Balkan Crisis of 1914 that led to World War I. Generally, the European Crisis of 1914 is blamed on the "Great Power statesmen for their shortsightedness, incompetence, or failure to act in a timely or effective way to keep the peace" (Sowards 2001). However, it is important to consider the players involved in the conflict between the two states in the original Sarajevo crisis, Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Early in the crisis, when the Austrian, Hungarians, and Serbs made important decisions, "they consistently avoided compromise and risked war" (Sowards 2001). Two months passed between the murder of Franz Ferdinand and the "coming of the general war...plenty of time for calculation, caution and decision" (Sowards 2001). However, there were several successive events that took place during those two months.
On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a nineteen-year-old student and an agent of the Serbian nationalist secret society, the Black Hand assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary (Who 2002). Ferdinand's death sparked a "mindlessly mechanical series of events that culminated in the world's first global war" (Duffy 2002).
It was three weeks before Austria-Hungary reacted to...
It issued an ultimatum to Serbia, that "in the extent of its demand that the assassins be brought to justice effectively nullified Serbia's sovereignty" (Duffy 2002). Austria-Hungary expected Serbia would reject the terms, giving cause to launch war, however, it did not consider the Slavic ties with Russia. Although, not really expecting Russia to be drawn into the war, Austria-Hungary sought assurances of aid from its ally, Germany (Duffy 2002). When Serbia quibbled over a few clauses in the ultimatum, Austria-Hungary declared war on July 28, 1914 (Duffy 2002).
Bound by ties to Serbia, Russia mobilized its army in her defense. Germany, viewing this as an act of war against Austria-Hungary, declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914. On August 3, France, bound by treaty to Russia, announced war against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany responded by immediately invading "neutral Belgium so as to reach Paris by the shortest possible route" (Duffy 2002). On August 4, Britain, allied to France by treaty and obligated to defend Belgium by a 75-year-old treaty, declared war against Germany. Britain's…
Works Cited
Duffy, Michael. "How It Began: The Causes of World War One." First World War.Com.
April 2002. http://athene.mit.csu.edu.au/~mrahma06/how%20it%20began.htm.(accessed 01-21-2003).
Sowards, Steven W. "Twenty-Five Lectures on Modern Balkan History." March 2, 2001. http://www.lib.msu.edu/sowards/balkan/lect15.htm.(accessed 01-21-2003).
Who started World War I?" February 6, 2002. http://history.acusd.edu/gen/classes/diplo177/warstart.html.(accessed 01-21-2003).
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