What caused World War I? What were the major combatants and why were they fighting?
June 19, 1914, marked the start of World War I with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist secret society was responsible for the assassination of Ferdinand. On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia because they blamed the deaths of the archduke and his wife on the country. Austria-Hungary gave Serbia a list of ultimatums saying that if they didn’t destroy The Black Hand within a certain time period they would declare war. Serbia ignored the ultimatum, and Austria-Hungary declared war. Serbia asked Russia for help fighting Austria-Hungary with the war, because Austria-Hungary was much more powerful. Because of the alliance system, France is entitled to help Russia and many other countries began to declare war on each other.
The 4 main causes of WW1 and reasons for fighting were militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. There was a big rivalry over militarism between Germany and Britain. Germany and Britain had the best navies. Europe had the means to create more powerful weapons, in greater quantity, for cheaper prices. There was an arms race between the countries. New battleships and weapons were produced at this time; the countries …show more content…
There were alliances formed before the war that required countries loyalty to one another. In the beginning of WW1 there were two alliances which were The Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. The Triple Alliance involved Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. The Triple Entente involved the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. When the war began, the alliances or combatants became the central and allied powers. The Central Powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. The allied powers consisted of United Kingdom, France, Russia, Serbia, United States, and
June 19, 1914, marked the start of World War I with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist secret society was responsible for the assassination of Ferdinand. On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia because they blamed the deaths of the archduke and his wife on the country. Austria-Hungary gave Serbia a list of ultimatums saying that if they didn’t destroy The Black Hand within a certain time period they would declare war. Serbia ignored the ultimatum, and Austria-Hungary declared war. Serbia asked Russia for help fighting Austria-Hungary with the war, because Austria-Hungary was much more powerful. Because of the alliance system, France is entitled to help Russia and many other countries began to declare war on each other.
The 4 main causes of WW1 and reasons for fighting were militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. There was a big rivalry over militarism between Germany and Britain. Germany and Britain had the best navies. Europe had the means to create more powerful weapons, in greater quantity, for cheaper prices. There was an arms race between the countries. New battleships and weapons were produced at this time; the countries …show more content…
There were alliances formed before the war that required countries loyalty to one another. In the beginning of WW1 there were two alliances which were The Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. The Triple Alliance involved Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. The Triple Entente involved the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. When the war began, the alliances or combatants became the central and allied powers. The Central Powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. The allied powers consisted of United Kingdom, France, Russia, Serbia, United States, and