What Caused The Great War Essay

435 Words2 Pages

Although its name was the “Great War,” the war itself was not great at all. The war ended up having many deaths, separated families, and lands being conquered. Europe was the main target during the war, also being pushed into many wars before World War 1 even started. The war shocked so many people because of` how much destruction it caused. The Great War was so extraordinary, that it was also named, “The War to End All Wars.” The war affected almost everything majorly, but majority of the destruction went to Europe. As the Great War began, many empires, and militaries started to increase in population and size. Because of militarism, it spread throughout all of Europe. With militaries and empires becoming bigger, Britain, France, and …show more content…

As being the most fearful, they tried to limit Serbia’s expansion. However, in 1908, Austria-Hungary took over Bosnia. Bosnia was right beside Serbia, and the territory takeover led the Serbs so angry, that they declared war. The Russians also supported the Serbs as the Serbs declared war. However, Emperor William II of Germany demanded that Russia accept the takeover of Bosnia, or face war with Germany. Russia backed down. In June 1914, in Bosnia, there were many people gathered around to see Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. However, as Archduke was driving through the streets of a small town named, “Sarajevo,” Archduke and his wife, Sophie both were shot and killed. They were shot and killed by a young Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip. He belonged to a nationalist group named, “The Black Hand.” Nobody knew that Gavrilo assassinated him, because everyone were focused on thinking that the Serb government was behind the death. In conclusion, there are many theories on why the war started, or even what caused the war. Although the real reason the war started was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. However, even today, historians and socialist believe that there are more