Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand gave Austria the excuse to punish Serbia for
encouraging its Slavic nationalists.
With German’s support, Austria
sent Serbia
an ultimatum, a demands by one government that another government accept its
terms under the threat of war. When its
impossible demands were refused, Austria
attacked Serbia
on July 28, 1914.
Spread of War
Why did other countries get involved in this local war
between Austria and Serbia?
- Russia had promised to help Serbia (1
August 1914)
- Germany had promised to help Austria
- France had promised to help Russia
- On 3
August 1914, Germany
declared war on France
- On 4
August 1914, Belgium
was invaded by Germany
(Schlieffen Plan)
- Turkey (Ottoman Empire) still were upset
from its defeat by Serbia
and they feared Russia
- Italy
remained neutral at first because it was unprepared and afraid
Allied Powers
Central Powers
France Germany
Britain Austria
Russia
Turkey
Serbia
(overrun 1915) Bulgaria
(joined 1915)
The Allied Powers were joined by eighteen other countries
including:
- Canada automatically at war by Britain’s
declaration
- Japan was bound to a 1902 naval treaty with
Britain and saw this as
an excuse to take German colonies in the Far East
- Italy joined in 1915 to get territory from Austria
- United States
joined in 1917 due to U-boat attacks
The Allied Powers were superior in manpower and resources in
total but the Central Powers had better training and weapons. The British navy gained control of the seas
while the German army was the best and highly mobile by rail. German commanders also directed the other
three armies which were in contact but geography made Allied co-ordination
difficult.
Therefore, the two sides were so evenly matched that the
slaughter dragged on from August 1914 to November 2928. It became a world war with fighting fronts
also in Turkey, Palestine, Africa and
even the Pacific. There were also naval
battles world wide. See map on page 21
of Map History of the Modern World.