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contribution of the alliance system to world war 1
the contribution of the alliance system to the world war
alliance in world war 1
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The conflicting national interests in western and eastern Europe drove the major countries to form protective coalitions, even with nations that had once been bitter enemies. Smaller countries were forced to choose sides, and by 1914, Europe was separated into two heavily armed camps. Any spark would have been enough to ignite the war everyone expected.
That spark was touched off in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In an attempt to ease tensions between Austria-Hungary and people in the Balkans, the Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife made a ceremonial trip to Sarajevo.
Ferdinand was in line to be the next emperor of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. The Archduke had made enemies in the neighboring kingdom of Serbia because he once favored the reorganization of the empire to create a third kingdom of Croatia. At the same time, Serbia was attempting to expand its power by bringing all of the ethnic Serbs under its dominion, so it had designs on Croatian territory as well.
As Ferdinand’s caravan of open cars made its way through Sarajevo, it was attacked by a group of bomb-throwing terrorists who hoped to assassinate Ferdinand. Their grenade missed the Archduke but killed others in the caravan. Terrified, the Archduke’s driver tried to escape by turning the carriage around and racing towards the train depot. In an ironic twist of fait, he got lost and entered a street where nineteen-year-old Gravilo Princip, a young Serbian nationalist, was hiding. Princip was part of the terrorist group, and he quickly realized a second opportunity to kill the Archduke was a hand. He pulled out a pistol and began to fire, hitting Sophie, who had tried to shield her husband.
The group the black hands is often and quite accurately called responsible for the assassination of archduke ferdinand, though the group had been influenced by Nationalism. The members of this said terrorist group, had been influenced by nationalism through policy that had been inflicted on them by the Austrian-Hungarian empire. The assassination was why Austrian-Hungarian had to go to war against Serbia because it’s an act of breaking their treaty of 1990 with the Austrian-Hungarian empire, but first Austria-Hungary had given them an ultimatum. Which was basically a statement of demands made to Serbia, that if they didn’t abae then Austria-Hungary would attack them. Then all the allied countries with either side joined in as to prove how willing they were to die for their countries, this was true for them a few weeks or so after the beginning of the war when it actually had become more than just allies to either Serbia or Austria-Hungary. Altogether the Nationalism was the cause for the Black hands to essentially commit their crime, and later on to keep the war ongoing....
On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were visiting Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, to inspect the army. At the same time, seven young Bosnian Serbs, part of a terrorist group known as the Black Hand, were putting their plan to assassinate Franz Ferdinand, into action. Franz Ferdinand and his wife were in the motorcade when one of the members threw a grenade at it. It missed and instead it it the car behind them. At this point, Franz Ferdinand decided to abandon the visit and return home via another route. However, no one informed the chauffeur and he ended up taking the wrong turn. He drove by Gavrilo Princip, one of the conspirators, who was at the time returning home thinking he had failed. When he saw the motorcade, he realized he still had a chance. Princip pulled out his revolver and shot at both Franz Ferdinand and his wife. They were dead within minutes. The Austrian government was looking for a reason to to send ultimatum to Serbia and they finally had a chance. Serbia refused to comply and Austria declared war. Europe's “long-smoldering feuds” had finally erupted into war.
Simon Winder, a writer in the New York Times said, “Franz Ferdinand was probably the most senior anti war figure in Central Europe,” (Simon Winder 1). He knew the Habsburg weaknesses (Simon Winder 1). The Archduke emphasized the modernization of old empire rules, as they were a weakness (Talia Mindich 1). He also wished to retire old military chiefs and update the navy (Talia Mindich 1). Ferdinand felt that these things were tearing the empire apart, and his job was to fix it. A person who cares about his empire does not sound like the person one should
The people of Austria were rightfully upset in the summer of 1914. Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been shot and killed on June 28th, supposedly by a Serbian, and the Austrian government was livid. Three weeks after the assassination, on July 21st, Austria’s ambassador to Serbia, Baron von Giesl, wrote to foreign minister Leopold von Berchtold expressing that Serbia could no longer be avoided. Serbia had been seen as a threat long before the assassination, but now things seemed to have gotten out of hand. Giesl used his fears and beliefs to form an opinion that, in his opinion, should represent the entity of Austrian officials and influence the country to wage war on Serbia.
Let’s start with a little back-story. Archduke Franz Ferdinand II of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was on his way to the town hall of Sarajevo to inspect imperial forces in the newly-annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. Before he reached his location, a bomb was thrown at his car by Nedjelko Cabrinovic, another Serbian nationalist, but it rolled off of the car and into the crowd, injuring an officer and some bystanders.
In 1914, there were many things that placed Europe at the brink if war. Nationalism, militarism, imperialism, social darwinism, and Jingoes where five of the main forces that were pushing Europe to the brink of war. Another main force was the development of Alliance systems. These ideas and systems threatened the balance of power which could then cause a major war to break out. In Europe at the time, there were many ideas which were causing friction. Nationalism, which was the desire for a country was causing friction because people in old empires sought to be free. The leaders of these people would not be happy and a war would definitely break out. If they became free they would also need to take land from someone else and this again may cause a war and usually did. Another idea which was contributing to the shifts of power in Europe was Militarism.
Assess how far the outbreak of the First World War was the responsibility of Germany and Austria
With the deepest and most profound regret we record today the tragic news of the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Heir-Presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian Throne, and of his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg. The Archduke, in his capacity as Inspector-General of the Forces of the Empire, had been attending military manoeuvres in the province of Bosnia.
Conklin, Dennis. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (June 28, 1914). The University of Southern Mississippi. Lecture. 4 April 2012.
One of the most prevalent and influential emotions that caused the war was none other than anger. While anger was prominent all throughout the war, it was surely at its zenith between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. In 1908 tension between Austria-Hungary and Serbia sparked as Austria Hungary taking advantage of Turkish revolution annexed the Turkish province of Bosnia. This was a deliberate blow at their neighbor Serbia, who hoped to take Bosnia as it contained about three million Serbs. With the feeble Russia still recovering from their loss against Japan, there was no Serbian support. Hence, Austria-Hungary took Bosnia, which marked the start of a long spell of Serbian tension and anger against Austria-Hungary. Then again, in 1912 tensions increased as Austria prevented Serbia from receiving Albania, which would give them access to the Sea. This again was a deliberate move to prevent Serbia from becoming powerful, which only increased Serbian anger and worsened their relationship with Austria. The power keg containing all these emotions was finally lit, when Serbian terrorist Gavrilo Princip assassinated Aust...
Starting off with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand which was an Austrian that was killed along with his wife on June 28, 1914. Based on Twentieth Century World by Findley, and Rothney “The shots fired by Princip at Sarajevo in 1914 killed not only the heir to the Hapsburg throne but eventually the European- dominated world system. That marked one of the great turning points of history” [Findley, Rothney (2011). Causes of World War 1 (p. 55). Twentieth- Century World. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.]. With that being said it’s implying that due to this
Bismarck makes a great point with that statement, the assassination set of a rolling stone which could not be stopped which would result in the world war. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the attack and on July 28th Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and through all the alliances, all of Europe was dragged into the war. But why would Franz Ferdinand be assassinated? The Serbian nationalists were infuriated when Ferdinand arrived in Serbia. Serbs wanted to be independent and when the Archduke traveled to Sarajevo on June 28th, 1914, the Serbian nationalist were infuriated cause that was the anniversary of the First Battle of Kosovo in 1389, in which Serbia lost the battle to the Turks in which they lost most of their independence. Therefore, this was an important day for Serbia. And by having the Archduke there it just rubbed it in that they don’t have their independence therefore the Serbian nationalist took it in their own hands to get their independence. This is the reason why archduke Ferdinand was assassinated on that day (History.com). The assassination was a strange one though, the archduke did not get killed on the first attempt because the assassin tried to throw a grenade into
Franz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia. Therefore he was a very important person of Austria Hungary. Him and his wife were visiting Sarajevo when The Black Hand ( a Serbian terrorist group ) spotted him. They attempted to kill him once but accidently injured an innocent bystander instead. Later at a cafe he was shot by a member and killed. His wife was killed to. This caused Austria Hungary to grow very angry with Serbian people and soon declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914 exactly a month after Ferdinand's
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife was definitely the most significant cause of the calamity that is World War I. Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro- Hungarian throne, was simply visiting Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Unfortunately, a secret Serbian society known as the Black Hand awaited the Archduke’s arrival. This nationalist group targeted Ferdinand due to the feeling amongst Serbians that once appointed to the throne; Ferdinand would uphold the persecution of Serbs inhabiting the borders of the Austro- Hungarian Empire. Gavrilo Princip was one of eight members of the Black Hand chosen to execute Franz Ferdinand. Unloading two shots, Princip had assassinated both Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie. Seized by the police, he was beaten and put into prison, and there he died. The shots of this young man echoed all over the world to initiate the explosion of World War I.
One if the Serbian leaders had more closely guarded the car that carried Archduke Ferdinad. If the assassin had not been able to get near the car perhaps the