Causes of World War 1

World War I

There were many causes to World War I, most of them very frightening and disheartening. This essay will describe two different causes of "The Great War". First, there was a clash between two coalitions of European countries. Second, the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Francis Ferdinand, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist.

One of the causes of WWI was the clash between two coalitions of European countries. The first coalition, known as the Allied Powers, included the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro, and the Russian Empire. The Central Powers, which opposed them, consisted of the empires of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Japan joined the Allied Powers in 1914. The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in 1914, as did Bulgaria in 1915. The same year, Italy entered the war on the Allied side. Although the United States initially remained neutral, it joined the Allies in 1917. Some of these nations, however, did not participate in the actual fighting.

The main cause of the war, however, was the assassination of Francis Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria-Hungary. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the presumed heir to the Austrian and Hungarian crowns, was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, by a Serbian patriot. The leaders of Austria-Hungary were sure the Serbian government and ultimately the Russians were responsible. Austria-Hungary prepared for war, and this time the Germans were willing to support them. On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This was the event that started the life-sucking event known as World War I.

There were many events that led to the start of World War I. Two of them were the clashes between two coalitions of European countries and the assassination of Francis Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria-Hungary. These were two of the main causes of World War I.