Grade 11
The Causes of World War 1 and their Consequences
The First World War was a unique war unlike any previous, conflicts. It had completely revolutionized the way modern warfare was fought. Many new weapons, vehicles, and tactics were used. It had introduced a new course of fighting called trench warfare. This war had produced 19 million casualties and civilian population had been greatly effected as never before. But the questions still exists, "Why did this Great War happen?" and "Where were the horrific circumstances that had caused 'the war to end all wars' to take place?" Although there are several indirect answers to this question, such as nationalism, the arms race, imperialism and the alliance system, and Bismarckian politics, there are also numerous direct answers too, such as the Moroccon Crisis, the Balkan Wars, the Fashoda Crisis, and the Russo-Japanese War. In this essay I will examine those situations.
English: Drafted borders of Austria-Hungary in the...
The end of Austria-Hungary after the Paris Treaty.
English: Gabro Princip just arrested by police, af...First, let us examine the unlucky incident that is said to be the "main spark" that triggered the war. It all began in the summer of 1914, when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife, Sophie, made a provocative state visit to the troubled region of Bosnia. Bosnia had been part of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. When the Ottoman Empire fell apart, new states such as Greece (1878), Serbia (1878) came into being. Bosnia had also broken free of Turkish rule. But rather than gaining independence, it was taken over by Austria-Hungary. This angered Bosnian nationalists, who wanted an independent Bosnia. One such nationalist was Gavrilo Princip, who was residing in Serbia. On June 28th, several nationalists tried to attack Archduke Ferdinand in protest of Bosnian independence, but it was Princip, who finally succeeded in shooting both the Archduke and his...