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The Start of World War I: Causes, Alliances, and Assassination

This chapter explores the factors that led to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It examines the role of international rivalries, nationalism, and the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Key terms include militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism.

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The Start of World War I: Causes, Alliances, and Assassination

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  1. Objectives • Describe how international rivalries and nationalism pushed Europe toward war. • Explain how the assassination in Sarajevo led to the start of World War I. • Analyze the causes and effects of the European alliance system. Chapter 14 World War 1Section 1 -The Great War Begins Why and how did World War I begin in 1914?

  2. Key Terms and Places • Entente – a nonbinding agreement to follow common policies • Militarism – glorification of the military • Alsace and Lorraine – provinces on the border of Germany and France, lost by France to Germany in 1871; regained by France after WWI • Ultimatum – a final set of demands • Mobilize –to prepare military forces for war • Neutrality – supporting neither side in a war

  3. Long Term Causes of WWI Remember M.A.I.N. • M. - Militarism • A. - Alliances • I. - Imperialism • N. - Nationalism

  4. Militarism • Glorifying Military Power • Keeping a large standing army prepared for war • Arms race for military technology

  5. Signed treaties in which each nation involved pledges to defend the other if attacked by an aggressor. Alliance • Designed to keep peace in Europe, instead pushed continent towards war. • Many Alliances made in secret.

  6. Imperialism • Domination by one country over the political, economic or cultural life of another country or region. • Due to the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s, some European nations had a large portion of the world under their control. • Think colonies!

  7. Nationalism • Pride and Deep Devotion to One’s Nation • In terms of WWI, nationalism became aggressive and subsequently (because of this) a major cause of international tension.

  8. European powers created alliances in the late nineteenth century to promote peace.

  9. Key Leaders • Triple Alliance • Kaiser Wilhelm II (Germany) • Franz Joseph I • (Austria-Hungary) • Vittorio Orlando • (Italy) • Triple Entente • David Lloyd George (England) • Raymond Poincare • (France) • Czar Nicholas II • (Russia)

  10. These alliances were based on previous wars, new economic rivalries, and competition for colonies. • These rivalries increased militarism, which painted war in a romantic light. • The great powers began to increase the size of their armies and navies.

  11. Growing nationalism and economic competition also caused tensions within countries and across European borders. Germany’s industrial advances threatened Britain. Germany feared that Russian industry was catching up to its own. Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman empire struggled to survive the threat of growing nationalism within their borders.

  12. Nationalism sparked tensions all over Europe. • France sought to regain Alsace and Lorraine, provinces that it had lost to Germany in the Franco-Prussian War. • Russia supported Pan-Slavism, which held that all Slavic people, regardless of borders, shared a common nationality. • Several Balkan states fought wars, first against the Ottoman empire, then against one another. The Balkans were called the “powder keg of Europe.”

  13. An assassination on June 28, 1914, lit the fuse that set off the Balkan powder keg. • Archduke Francis Ferdinand was heir to the Austrian throne. • While on a visit to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, he and his wife Sophie were shot to death by a Serbian nationalist.

  14. Serbia agreed to most of Austria’s demands, but not all of them. After the assassination, Serbia and Austria quickly moved toward war. With the approval of the Kaiser William II of Germany, Austria issued an ultimatum to Serbia. On July 28, 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia.

  15. Germany declared war on Russia. The war between Austria and Serbia soon drew the great powers into the conflict. Serbia sought help from its ally Russia, which began to mobilize. Although Germany warned France to stay out of the conflict, France supported Russia.

  16. Days later, Germany marched through Belgium and headed south to attack France. Germany declared war on France. Britain, which had pledged to defend Belgium’s neutrality, declared war on Germany on August 4.

  17. At the onset, the war brought a renewed sense of patriotism. Patriotism is an emotional attachment to a nation which an individual recognizes as their homeland. This attachment, also known as national feeling or national pride, can be viewed in terms of different features relating to one's own nation, including ethnic, cultural, political or historical aspects. • Patriotic fever helped governments divert attention from labor disputes or nationalist disturbances within their borders. • Young men rushed to enlist in what seemed like an exciting adventure. • But this sense of optimism would not last long.

  18. Why and how did World War I begin in 1914? By 1914, Europe had enjoyed a century of relative peace. Two alliances were formed with the intention of keeping that peace. When an Austrian Archduke was assassinated, a local conflict became an international war because of alliance obligations.

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