What caused WWI?

Answer 1

On 28 June 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Yugoslav student, killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo. Princip was a member of Young Bosnia, a group whose aims included the unification of the South Slavs and independence from Austria-Hungary. The assassination in Sarajevo set into motion a series of fast-moving events that escalated into a full-scale war. Austria-Hungary demanded action by Serbia to punish those responsible. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, when it deemed it had failed to comply. Major European powers were at war within a matter of weeks because of overlapping agreements for collective defense and the complex nature of international alliances. Though the assassination was the event that started the war, it was the last in a long succession of complex causes and events that pitted the nations of Europe against each other.

Answer 2

The Causes of World War I were complex and included many factors, including the conflicts and antagonisms of the four decades leading up to the war. The immediate origins of the war lay in the decisions taken by statesmen and generals during the July crisis of 1914, the spark (or Casus Belli) for which was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian separatist.[1] The crisis did not however exist in a void; it came at the end of a long series of diplomatic clashes between the Great Powers in the decade prior to 1914 which had left tensions high almost to breaking point. In turn these diplomatic clashes can be traced to changes in the balance of power in Europe since 1870

Answer 3

WWI was caused by a lot of things, Germany had a new, young ruler eager to flex their power, Austria had ignored their minority problems for too long, and their were a lot of people throughout europe wishing for revolution. The spark, though, was a serbian student who assassinated an Austrian Official during a parade. Austria clapped down hard on the serb student, many countries came to serbia's defense, and many came to austrias defense. And before long, they let loose all their pent up energies into a war.

Answer 4

Several things lead to World War I, not just one incident. First of all, there are the Moroccan Crisis of 1905 and 1911 in which Germany's Kaiser, William II challenged France's desire to set up a protectorate in Morocco. Then there are the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1914. Nationalism was growing at the time and until the nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire occupied most of S.E. Europe. They lost most of their territory due to independence movements which gave Austria and Russia a sphere of influence in the region. Russia supported the expansion plans of the Balkans and of Serbia. Austria did not. Austria-Hungary intervened w/ Serbian expansion. Austria forced the creation of Albania in 1912 to keep the Serbs land-locked. Austria was afraid Serbs living in Austria would revolt. These tensions united Russia and Serbia and intensified their hatred of Austria. Then came the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. A Serbian nationalist living in Sarajevo assassinated the Archduke and Austria was convinced the Serbian government had something to do with it. Austria issued a list of demands to Serbia, including Austrian military occupation in Serbia. Serbia refused to allow the occupation. Austria went to their big-brother Ally Germany and asked for support. Germany gave Austria a blank check, so Austria invaded Serbia. This alarmed Russia, who began military mobilization. Since Germany was aligned with Austria, they mobilized their troops. Russia's ally France mobilized to support. Germany enacted the Von Schleiffen plan, which had German troops go through Belgium to attack France. Britain had sworn to protect Belgium's neutrality, so Germany's actions forced Britain's involvement.

Answer 5

Assasination of Archduke Ferdinand
Arms Race
Imperialism
Franco-Prussian War

Answer 6

nationalism

Answer 7

people getting mad at eachother