World War I Blog

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1. Lightning Larry Luciano

   August 19, 2010 at 4:10 am

   The main cause of WW1 was the polarization of Europe into two heavily armed, militaristic camps. You see, what had happened back then was that pretty much every major country in Europe had joined one of two alliances — the Entente Powers and the Allied Powers.

   The Entente Powers had the British Empire, France, and Russia and the Alliance had Germany, Austro-Hungary, and the former Ottoman Empire (now Turkey). These countries wanted to end each other for many reasons, mostly economic but also for political reasons such as the desire to take each other’s colonies and the resources that they need to continue to prosper. Also, there was a common belief in Europe at the time that war was some sort of glorious achievement so basically what you had were a bunch of huge commanding alliances who were looking for an excuse to go to war.

   The ArchDuke Franz Ferdinand — who was correlated to the Emperor of Austro-Hungary — was assassinated by Serbian extremists. Austro-Hungary chose to use this as an excuse to invade Serbia, who was allied with Russia, who was allied with France and Britain.

   You can reckon of it was a string reaction. The initial conflict was between Austro-Hungary and modest Serbia. When Serbia was attacked, Russia was drawn into the war. When Russia joined the war, France and Britain had to enter. And when France and Britain started mobilization, Germany and the Ottoman Turks were constrained to enter the battle as well.

   ArchDuke Ferdinand’s killing was more or less an excuse. If he had lived, they would have found another excuse.

    

2. exnav138

   August 19, 2010 at 4:26 am

   the causes of WWI are not simple. There were many different factors that led to disaster. At the time many people believed that such a war was not possible due to the many checks and balances preventing conflict. turns out everybody underestimated how just how terrible it could be. the first link gives a articulate, simple (well as far as is possible) answer to how the war started. As to why the dead guy was so vital(we assume you mean the archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife-both were killed) he was the only surviving heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire-by land mass the leading Empire in Europe. Not but the most wealthy or stable.
   hope this helps.

   in reploy to the dude below
   FROM THE LINKS PROVIDED:
   The assassination provided Austria-Hungary with an excuse to take proceedings against Serbia. During July 1914 the situation escalated, pulling in the major European powers via the complex alliance relationships each had struck up with one another. The result was world war.
   AND:
   These general causes produced an atmosphere in Europe which made war a likelihood. The flash which ignited the flame and transformed these underlying problems into a frenzy of hostilities happened in the Balkans. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated while visiting Sarajevo. At first, it appeared to be another Balkan crisis that might pass without a major disturbance, but a month later, Austria severed relations with Serbia, a go that preceded war by only a few days.
   Germany stood back of Austria’s actions, while Russia stepped forward to defend it small Balkan friend. Despite frantic efforts by would-be peacemakers to localize the war, it spread promptly, involving next France and Belgium, and soon Fantastic Britain. As the world looked on, Europe erupted into war nearly overnight.
   you can email me if that is not clear enough.edit you answer if you need instruction on how to email.if you cannot edit or are unsure of how to access links provided, post as a question, if you cannot do that, then tell the teacher your dog ate your research.

    

3. m0de

   August 19, 2010 at 4:45 am

   that is also my question…people above didn’t really pointed out why do ferdinand’s assassination made the cause of ww1.