Was the Outbreak of General War in 1914 Inevitable After the Assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand?
Was the outbreak of general war in 1914 inevitable after the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand?
Various different factors led to the outbreak of the first World War- a war which incorporated all human, economic and military resources available to achieve total victory over the enemy. Roughly, the causes can be classified into long term (Franco-Prussian War, Imperialism, Alliance System, Anglo- German Naval Arms Race, etc.), short term (Morrocan Crisis, Agadir Crisis, Bosnian Crisis, Balkan Wars) and the immediate cause of World War I: The assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Although all of the causes added to the outbreak of World War I, the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand made the war inevitable for the European Powers. It took the last chance of a peaceful solution to the European conflict and can be classified as the most important immediate cause of the war. The assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand is seen as the most important immediate cause of World War I. On the 28th of June, Franz Ferdinand was shot by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Slavic nationalist group “Black Hand Movement”, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The Arch Duke had been on a good-will mission to Bosnia in order to calm the situation and bring peace to the region. Directly after the assassination, the Serbian Government was blamed by Austria-Hungary as being responsible for Franz Ferdinand’s death. This assumption may have been made because there were some few connections between members of the Serbian government and the “Black Hand Movement”. On the same day, Serbia denied any responsibility for the assassination. After this, the Austrian-Hungarian government assured itself of German Support on the 5th of July 1914 through the diplomat count Hoyos by sending a letter to Berlin which stated that it was almost sure that the Serbian Government was involved in the assassination. It also implied Austria-Hungary’s will to crush Serbia militarily in order to
Various different factors led to the outbreak of the first World War- a war which incorporated all human, economic and military resources available to achieve total victory over the enemy. Roughly, the causes can be classified into long term (Franco-Prussian War, Imperialism, Alliance System, Anglo- German Naval Arms Race, etc.), short term (Morrocan Crisis, Agadir Crisis, Bosnian Crisis, Balkan Wars) and the immediate cause of World War I: The assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Although all of the causes added to the outbreak of World War I, the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand made the war inevitable for the European Powers. It took the last chance of a peaceful solution to the European conflict and can be classified as the most important immediate cause of the war. The assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand is seen as the most important immediate cause of World War I. On the 28th of June, Franz Ferdinand was shot by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Slavic nationalist group “Black Hand Movement”, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The Arch Duke had been on a good-will mission to Bosnia in order to calm the situation and bring peace to the region. Directly after the assassination, the Serbian Government was blamed by Austria-Hungary as being responsible for Franz Ferdinand’s death. This assumption may have been made because there were some few connections between members of the Serbian government and the “Black Hand Movement”. On the same day, Serbia denied any responsibility for the assassination. After this, the Austrian-Hungarian government assured itself of German Support on the 5th of July 1914 through the diplomat count Hoyos by sending a letter to Berlin which stated that it was almost sure that the Serbian Government was involved in the assassination. It also implied Austria-Hungary’s will to crush Serbia militarily in order to