The Main Cause of the Great War

Little did I know that the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is one of the main causes of World War 1, it is interesting. World War 1 is also known as the Great War, because it literally the greatest war, many people were affected by it. This war began in 1915, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The war, of course, began between Austria Hungary and Serbia and eventually grew into a great war that involve 32 countries. The central powers included: Austria Hungary, Bulgaria and Ottoman Empire and they were fighting against the Allied Powers included: Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, japan and the United State. There were many causes of the Great war. But the main cause was the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand . Ferdinand was the Heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire who was respected by many subjects, I guess he was a great leader however, Ferdinand believed the Serbs to be pigs, thieves, murderers and scoundrels and that was that is why the Serbians were furious with Ferdinand. Ferdinand was traveling with his wife to Sarajevo to inspect his troops. It was in June 28, 1914 that Ferdinand and his wife Countess Sophie Chotek were traveling in an open top car through Sarajevo street. There was a Black Hand Gang, a citizen from this gang who is Serbian called Nedjelko Cabrinovic, heard that Ferdinand and his wife were visiting. He threw a bomb as soon as he saw the vehicle, but it missed, and it hit other people behind them. Ferdinand and his wife wanted to go to the hospital to visit these wounded people and on their way to the hospital, the driver took a wrong turn. The turn took them to where one of the Black hand Gang was waiting and he took his shot and got them killed. This assassination set off a chain of events which descended into war. The Austria-Hungarian government blamed Serbia for the attacks and sent them an Ultimatum. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was born to Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon- Two Sicilies in Graz, Austria, on December 18, 1863. He was a member of the House of Hapsburg, the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro- Hungarian Empire and the Spanish Empire. He began his military career at age 12 and was quickly promoted through the ranks becoming a major general at the age of 13. In 1889 the emperors son commit suicide, Crown prince Rudolf. And then in 1896 the Emperor died from typhoid fever. And so, Franz Ferdinand was groomed to inherit the throne. And because he inherits the throne he was required to marry someone who is reigning or formally reigning dynasty of Europe. Franz met a Choteks girl and was fell in love with her but unfortunately, shes not royal so they kept their relationship as a secret until they were caught. The Emperor Franz Joseph did not approve of this couple but surprisingly the couple was married on July 1, 1900. The couple had three childrens: Sophie, Maximilian and Ernst. The primary source of Franz Ferdinands was as soon as he was throne he proposed to replace Austro-Hungarian dualism with Tribalism, which is a triple monarchy in which the empires Slavs would have an equal voice in government with the Germany and Magyars. He was also considering the idea of a federalism made up of 16 states; the aim being to avoid disintegration of the fading Austro-Hungarian empire. General Oskar Potiorek invite Franz Ferdinand to visit the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo, to inspect army manoeuvres and he accepted the invitation . Bosnia and Herzegovina were provinces that have been under Austro-Hungarian administration since 1878. Austria took over these provinces outright in 1908 and it upset the governments in the west and it led to an outrage of Serbian. Because they wanted the provinces to be a part of a Serbian led pan-Slav State instead of being a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. As we learn about the group who killed Ferdinand and his wife. This group is called The Black hand. Their reaction to the situation was all for the freedom Serbia from the Austro-Hungarian rule . They were also known as a terrorist group who decide to assassinate Franz Ferdinand during his visit to Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Ferdinand and his wife were in the third car of a motorcade traveling through Sarajevo to the Town Hall. As the Black Hand Gang learned earlier that Archduke Franz Ferdinand is visiting, they had several assassins positioned along the route. This couple were traveling through this town without expecting what will happen. On the way to the Town Hall, they unexpectedly experience the first assassination attempt. A man Named Nedeljko Cabrinovic threw a bomb into the car with the Archduke. However, the bomb bounced off the car and landed under the next car in the motorcade. And the car with the Archduke was able to speed away and make it safely to the Town Hall. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was upset. As the Mayor was giving a welcome speech at the Sarajevos city on June 28 1914, Ferdinand angrily interrupted the major saying What is the good of your speeches? I come to Sarajevo on a visit, and I get bombs thrown at me. It is outrageous! . The assassins did not give up, however. On the return trip, the motorcade took a wrong turn. When the driver began to back up, another assassin named Gavrilo Princip happened to be the right next to the car. He took advantage of this opportunity and began firing at the Archduke . He fired twice, hitting the Archduke once and his wife Sophie. Gavrilo Princip was jumped by the crowd and was arrested by the police. As the car was speeding to the Governors residence to get medical help it was too late. Sophie was already dead before they arrived, and the Archduke died a few minutes later. Franz and his wife were buried in a crypt beneath the chapel of his castle, Artstetten. The assassination provided Austria-Hungary with an excuse to act against Serbia. Austria- Hungary government saw the assassination as a direct attack on the country and believed that the Serbians had helped the Bosnian terrorists in the attack. The Austria would made cruel demands on the Serbians under hatred but eh Serbians always rejected it. At the same time, the Russian began to rally up their army to help protect Serbia. Because the Serbians kept rejecting the demands from the Austrian the Austrian then declared war against Serbia. And few days later, the Germany rally up their army against Russia, the Germany became allied to the Austria-Hungary. And then the France appeared in and rally up their army to help its ally Russia and so Germany followed by declaring war against France . And World War 1 had begun. Interesting how this assassination of two people results in a greatest war. I have been thinking a lot about how much these people support their leader and how much they value their appointed leader and their country. Politically, it shows how good their government is. And I bet they govern their governments good. Now the memory of Archduke Franz Ferdinand will forever be remembered by his people during his reign. And I have seen how much some countries never support their leader like how the Austrian-Hungary did, that they ended up creating this huge war which was called the greatest war. As I mentioned earlier how all these other countries decided to get involved in the war between Austria and Serbia, so they can support their allies. The countries were divided into two powers. Central Powers: Austria- Hungary and Germany and the Allied Powers: Russia, France, Great Britain and Italy. The modern world had lived to see how horror caused from these wars. By the time armistice was signed, November 11, 1918, 20 million people had been killed and that includes 113, 000 U.S. soldiers and 20 million people wounded . The aftermath of the World War 1 is still being felt after it concludes. There were several effects of World War 1: the downfall of four monarchies which are Germany, Turkey, Austria-Hungary and Russia. The war made people more open to other ideologies, such as the Bolsheviks that came to power in Russia and Fascism that triumphed in Italy and even later in Germany. World War 1 also marked the end of colonialism, as the people became more nationalistic and the one country after the other started colonial revolts in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa . Also, the war changed the economical balance of the world, leaving European countries deep in debt and making the U.S. the leading industrial power and creditor in the world. Due to the cruel methods used during the war and the losses suffered, WW1 caused a lot of bitterness among nations, which also greatly contributed to WW1 decades later. The social life also changed, the women had to run businesses while the men were at war and labor laws started to be enforced due to mass production and mechanization. People all wanted better living standards. And, WW1 boosted research in technology, because better transport and means of communication gave countries and advantage over their enemies. Those are some of the effects from WW1. There are many other effects, but the fact of the matter is that after this devastating war, the world was never be the same anymore. Other historians agree that WW1 created an atmosphere that allowed the rise of the Nazi Party and the start of WW2. Anyways, WW1 had some consequences that I would like to be mentioned in my paper. Economically, World War 1 cost the participating countries a lot of money. Germany and Great Britain spent about 60% of the money their economy produced. Countries had to raise taxes and borrow money from their citizens. They also printed money to buy weapons and other things they needed for war. Politically, World War 1 brought an end to four monarchies: Czar Nicholas II of Russia, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, Emperor Charles of Austria and the sultan of the Ottoman Empire had to step down. And socially, World War 1 changed society completely. Birth rates went down because millions of young men died. Civilians lost their homes and fled to other countries. The role of women also changed. They played a major part in replacing men in factories and offices. Many countries gave women more rights after the war had ended, including the right to vote. Those are some of the consequences from World War 1. The Great war also known as World War 1 was the cruelest war ever happened. A lot of people died and so many changes were made from this War. some of those changes are still visible in todays world. So, what? I never knew the history of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand until I decided to write a paper about the great war. And this guy is a real history that we should all know and remember because it was his death that causes the great war. His assassination led to World War 1 between his country and the country who assassinate him and his wife and got other countries involve. And then it set off the stage for World War 2 and so forth. The history of this man matters in todays time and forever. And like I mentioned earlier that the fact that the Austria-Hungary started threatening the Serbians of the attack and ended up starting the war for the sake of their one and only leader who was killed symbolize how unison these people are. And I guess Archduke Franz Ferdinand was really is a great leader and someone that everyone in his country support and love. But what if the Austrian did not support Ferdinand and their country, I bet there will never a war.

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