It was to be the war to end all wars, and it began at 11:15 on the morning of June 28, 1914, in an

outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire called Sarajevo. It would end officially almost five years later.
Unofficially, it has never ended: the horrors we live with today were born in the First World War.

REASONs

Mutual Defense Alliances

FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Countries throughout the world have always made mutual defense agreements with their neighbors,
treaties that could pull them into battle. These treaties meant that if one country was attacked, the
allied countries were bound to defend them. Before World War 1 began, the following alliances existed:

 Russia and Serbia

 Germany and Austria-Hungary

 France and Russia

 Britain and France and Belgium

 Japan and Britain

When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia got involved to defend Serbia. Germany, seeing
that Russia was mobilizing, declared war on Russia. France was then drawn in against Germany and
Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France by marching through Belgium pulling Britain into war. Then
Japan entered the war. Later, Italy and the United States would enter on the side of the allies.

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Imperialism

belterz / Getty Images

Imperialism is when a country increases their power and wealth by bringing additional territories under
their control. Before World War I, several European countries had made competing imperialistic claims
in Africa and parts of Asia, making them points of contention. Because of the raw materials these areas
could provide, tensions around which country had the right to exploit these areas ran high. The
increasing competition and desire for greater empires led to an increase in confrontation that helped
push the world into World War I.
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Militarism

The SMS Tegetthoff a dreadnought battleship of the Tegetthoff class of the Austro-Hungarian Navy is
launched down the slipway of the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino yard in Trieste on 21 March 1912 at
Trieste, Austria. Paul Thompson/FPG / Stringer / Getty Images

As the world entered the 20th century, an arms race had begun, primarily over the number of each
country's warships, and the increasing size of their armies—countries began training more and more of
their young men to be prepared for battle. The warships themselves increased in size, number of guns,
speed, method of propulsion, and quality armor, beginning in 1906 with Britain's HMS Dreadnought.
Dreadnought was soon out-classed as the Royal Navy and Kaiserliche Marine quickly expanded their
ranks with increasingly modern and powerful warships.

By 1914, Germany had nearly 100 warships and two million trained soldiers. Great Britain and Germany
both greatly increased their navies in this time period. Further, in Germany and Russia particularly, the
military establishment began to have a greater influence on public policy. This increase in militarism
helped push the countries involved into war.

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Nationalism

Austria Hungary in 1914. Mariusz Paździora

Much of the origin of the war was based on the desire of the Slavic peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina
to no longer be part of Austria-Hungary but instead be part of Serbia. This specific essentially
nationalistic and ethnic revolt led directly to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.

But more generally, nationalism in many of the countries throughout Europe contributed not only to the
beginning but to the extension of the war across Europe and into Asia. As each country tried to prove
their dominance and power, the war became more complicated and prolonged.

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Immediate Cause: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Bettmann / Contributor

The immediate cause of World War I that made the aforementioned items come into play (alliances,
imperialism, militarism, and nationalism) was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-
Hungary. In June 1914, a Serbian-nationalist terrorist group called the Black Hand sent groups to
assassinate the Archduke. Their first attempt failed when a driver avoided a grenade thrown at their car.
However, later that day a Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip shot the Archduke and his wife while
they were driving through Sarajevo, Bosnia which was part of Austria-Hungary. They died of their
wounds.

The assassination was in protest to Austria-Hungary having control of this region: Serbia wanted to take
over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The assassination of Ferdinand led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on
Serbia. When Russia began to mobilize to defend its alliance with Serbia, Germany declared war on
Russia. Thus began the expansion of the war to include all those involved in the mutual defense
alliances.

The War to End All Wars

World War I saw a change in warfare, from the hand-to-hand style of older wars to the inclusion of
weapons that used technology and removed the individual from close combat. The war had extremely
high casualties over 15 million dead and 20 million injured. The face of warfare would never be the same
again.

CITE

Watch Now: 5 Causes of World War I