The Outbreak Of The First World War

Disputes that led the outbreak of World War I

The outbreak of World War I emerged as interplay of the long-term tendencies and impulsive reactions among the imperialistic powers, particularly Great Britain, Germany, France, Russia, and Austria-Hungary.

The struggle for national liberation and emancipation mounted tensions within the multinational yet heavily Germanized Austro-Hungarian Empire. Numerous Slavic populations within the empire were anxious to break from the Austrian and Hungarian domination. The situation was particularly tense in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the majority of the population was Serb and openly advocated unification with neighboring Serbia.

The legacy of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), in which France was humiliated and lost regions of Alsace and Lorraine, left France with a nationalist fervor seeking revenge against Germany. The decline of the Ottoman Empire created the so-called Eastern Question and intensified the rivalry among the Great Powers. Furthermore, rapid industrialization and economic growth, prompted an aggressive colonial expansion of imperial Germany, which intensified friction with France and Great Britain over colonial possessions in Africa. The growing friction among the Great Powers led to an arms race and strengthening hostile alliances known as the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance.

Despite these complex real origins of the war, the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo has often been cited as the direct trigger for World War I.

The relationship between Serbia and Austria-Hun-gary deteriorated continuously after the dynastic change in Serbia in 1903. The Tariff War (1906-11) and the Austrian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1908), and Serbian victories in the Balkan Wars further incited nationalist feelings among millions of Serbs living in Austria-Hungary. Anxious to settle accounts with Serbia, the Austrian “war party” headed by Count Berchtold was poised to use the first opportunity to attack Serbia. (Richard, 124)

At the same time, Serbian nationalist organizations, and in particular the secret society Unification or Death, continued subversive activity against Austria-Hungary. Supported and encouraged by Unification or Death, a group of young people, mostly Serbs, members of the revolutionary organization Mlada Bosna (Young Bosnia), assassinated Archduke Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo.

On July 25, Austria-Hungary presented to Serbia an intimidating ultimatum, to which Serbia responded favorably, except that two provisions would violate international law and the Serbian constitution. Austria-Hungary, supported by Germany, rejected the British proposal for mediation and declared war on Serbia on July 28.

A German ultimatum to Russia regarding its mass mobilization on July 31 was ignored, and led to the declaration of war on Russia on August 1. On August 3, Germany declared war on France and sent troops through Belgium and Luxembourg. This gave the British government the pretext and popular support necessary for entry into the war. In the following weeks, Montenegro and Japan joined Great Britain, France, Russia, Serbia, and Belgium; the Ottoman Empire joined Germany and Austria-Hungary; and the war spread out across the continents. (Joll, 241)

The German military strategy rested on the Schlief-fen-Moltke plan, which called for an attack on the weak left flank ...