Download Otto von Bismarck, 1888

Europe, Summer 1914
ASSASSINATION!

Archduke
Ferdinand of
Austria Killed
by Serbian
Nationialist

How will your
nation react?
ULTIMATUM ISSUED!

Austria-Hungary Issued
Set of Demands:



Austrian police would
help suppress
subversives on Serbian
territory
Austrian courts would
help to prosecute
accused conspirators
inside Serbia.
Serbia given 48 hours
to reply

How will your nation
react?
RUSSIA TO MOBILIZE
TROOPS!

Russia announces
that it is going
to mobilize its
armed forces as
a precautionary
measure

How will your
nation react?
Chain Reaction of Immediate Causes (Do NOT memorize these
dates, but note that it all happened in just over a month!!)







June 28th: Archduke Ferdinand assassinated
July 5th: Germany gives Austria-Hungary its support,
known as “the blank check”
July 28th: With A-H confident, they pressure Serbia
w/ultimatum
July 29th: Russia Mobilized as a protective measure
Aug. 1st: Germany declares war on Russia
Aug. 4th: Germany set its war plan in motion by invading
Belgium, fearing an attack on two fronts
Alliance system dragged other nations into conflict,
Debrief

What does this alliance activity
demonstrate about the causes of World
War I?
The MAIN Causes of World War
I...
Militarism
Alliance System
Imperialism
Nationalism
Militarism

Arms
race/glorification
of armed strength;
use of military as
a tool of diplomacy


Especially between
Germany and Britain
Raised stakes and
potential for war to
break out
Total Defense Spending
for the Great Powers
[Ger., A-H, It., Fr.,
Br., Rus.]
(in millions)
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1914
94
130
154
268
289
398
Alliance System

Major powers
entered into
defensive
alliances

Although they were
intended to
provide
protection, in
reality they
ensured a largescale war
Imperialism

European powers
competed for
countries in
Africa and Asia

Competition for
colonies


Led to smaller
conflicts
Increased tension
and chances of a
large scale war
Nationalism

Nationalism acted
as both a unifying
and destabilizing
force

Countries competed
for power and
prestige


People willing to
go great lengths
for their country
Ethnic groups sought
independence

Balkans known as
“Powder Keg” of
Europe
German War Plans

Schlieffen Plan:
called for quick
action against
France to avoid
a two-front war

Take France within
6 weeks before
Russia could
mobilize
“You will be home before the leaves
have fallen from the trees.”
- Kaiser Wilhem II of Germany
11/8/13
“Once blood is shed in a national
quarrel reason and right are swept
aside by the rage of angry men.”
- David Lloyd George, British Prime
Minister during WWI
“The assassination at Sarajevo was certainly
the crucial precedent of the European war that
its conspirators had sought, but was not the
historical cause … The assassination acted as
a lever, prying the various powers into
predictable paths.”
- J. Bowyer Bell, Historian

“Anyone who has ever looked into the
glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the
battlefield will think hard before starting a
war.”
- Otto von Bismarck
“The great European War will come
out of some damned foolish thing in
the Balkans.”
- Otto von Bismarck, 1888
“The First World War killed fewer victims
than the Second World War, destroyed fewer
buildings, and uprooted millions instead of
tens of millions – but in many ways it left
even deeper scars both on the mind and on the
map of Europe. The old world never
recovered from the shock.”
- Edmund Taylor, historian.