World War I: A war to end all Wars: Causes of WWI

Background to WW1  At the beginning of the 20 th Century much of Eastern Europe was dominated by three weak and crumbling empires… 1.) Austro – Hungarian 2.) Russian 3.) Ottoman

Background continued…  Many of the nations under control of these empires wanted to be independent.  When Austria Hungary took control of Bosnia many Serbs were outraged  Deep sense of Nationalism

Background Continued… - Many countries formed alliances to protect themselves. - Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed the Triple Alliance France, Russia, and Britain formed an alliance called the Triple Entente 1907

Militarism & Nationalism  There was a huge arms race in Europe in the early 1900’s  Britain and Germany were going head to head to see who could create the larger navy  All European countries expanded their armies to try and maintain a balance of power

The Dreadnought

I mperialism  Many countries of Europe were still trying to assert their imperialist powers  By the late 1800’s the race to claim territories in Africa which was rich in diamonds and gold became fierce  European countries often challenged each other on these issues (ex. Boer War)

Beginning of the War  On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Prince of Austria Hungary was visiting the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia  Bosnia was part of the Austro Hungarian empire  Serbia had claimed it as part of Greater Serbia

Assassination  A Serbian nationalist group called the black hand marked him for assassination.  Gavrilo Princip rushed forward from the crowd to mortally wound the Archduke and his wife Sophie  Marked the first major event in WW1

Who and Where?