Ww1 Causes

749 Words2 Pages

World War I
World War I, also known as the Great War, is one of the most significant wars of the 20th century. It began on July 28, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918, which resulted in over 4 years of bloodshed and turmoil. This war, which was fought mainly in Europe, caused over 17 million causalities. World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts known and documented in American and European history. WW1 involved two groups known as the Central Powers and the Allies. Many countries located in various parts of the world were involved in the Great War; however, each country's involvement differed. The countries with most significant involvement were Austro-Hungary, Serbia, Russia, Germany, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Ottoman Empire, …show more content…

World War I was thought of to be the "War to End all Wars", but was ironically the root of other battles and conflicts later in history. The end of this war resulted in the bitter-sweet victory of the Allies. The aftermath of the war lead to economic instability and depression for many of the countries involved, especially in Europe.
The assassination of Austro-Hungarian leader, Archduke Franz Ferdinand in combination with other events sparked the beginning of the deadly war, known as World War I. Archduke, heir to the throne, and his wife Sophie, both traveled to Bosnia to inspect the imperial military of previously annexed land. They arrived on June 28, 1914 and rode around touring in an open car, which had little security. Serbia nationalists thought this was the perfect opportunity to take down the leader and his wife. Serbian nationalists had beliefs that Serbia should be an independent country. Nationalist, …show more content…

President Woodrow Wilson didn't see the logic of America being involved in a war which had nothing to do with them. The United States entered the war after several events had taken place. In May of 1915, Germany U-boats sank the Lusitania. This resulted in the death of over 120 American citizens. January 1917, Germany announced it would sink any ships that were believed to be transporting and providing any aid to the Allies. This lifted all restriction on submarine warfare. Germany focused on ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean, which lead to many American deaths. The first American ship to be sank after this policy was a cargo ship, which German U-boats sank on February 3, 1917. German U-boats sank many other cargo and passenger ships. Another reason the United States decided to declare war is because of the Zimmerman telegram. The Zimmerman telegram was sent in January of 1917, from Germany to Mexico. The telegram was intercepted by Britain and informed the United States of it. It promised the return of land owned previously by Mexico if Mexican troops would attack the United States. When President Wilson was informed of this telegram, he knew he had to act upon it. On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on

Open Document