Kirusaanth Sathiyathasan 9JPC

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the main reason for the outbreak of WW1. How far do you agree with this statement?
World War 1 was an epic battle that started in 1914, between many of the countries in Europe. Battles took place between Austria and Serbia, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which Russia joined into. Then Germany declared war on Russia after hearing about their preparations. Britain then started to assemble their fleet of warships. On the next day Germany declared war on France because they were worried about a French attack and they also had the Schlieffen Plan which was a plan to attack France by going through Belgium because the border between Germany and France was heavily protected by French soldiers. Then as German soldiers march into Belgium, Belgium asks Britain for help and Britain and Belgium declared war on Germany. Austria then after some time declared war on Russia. Finally, Britain and France declare war on Austria. This was a very important war because it started many things such as trench warfare, air warfare, etc. It was the trigger for WW2. In this essay I will be mentioning four factors that started WW1. One is mentioned in the title, the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other three are the Alliance System, Nationalism and Militarism. I personally believe that Nationalism was the most important factor. The first factor that started WW1 that I am going to talk about is the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. On the 28th of June 1914 the heir of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot dead with his pregnant wife Sophie. It all began when Austria took Bosnia by force, which wasnt popular with Bosnians. The Austro-Hungarian Empire consisted of many nationalities and these included Slavs. These Slavs wanted to break free from the AustroHungarian Empire and set up their own country. So then a top secret terrorist group called the Black Hand was set up to free all the Slavs. So the only way of freeing the Slavs was to assassinate the Archduke, who was Franz Ferdinand. So the assassination was planned for the 28th of June 1914 when the Archduke was going to visit Sarajevo to make an inspection of the troops there. The Black Hand consisted of seven young men who were trained in bomb throwing and marksmanship. They dotted themselves along the route that the car that Franz Ferdinand and his wife would follow from the City Hall to the inspection. As the car passed along the first two terrorists, they couldnt throw their grenades because the place was too crowded. But when the car passed the third terrorist who was Cabrinovic, he threw the grenade, but he forgot that it had a ten second delay and so it exploded under the car following the Archdukes. The Archduke or his wife werent hurt, but many of the spectators were, and they were taken to hospital. After having lunch, the Archduke wanted to visit the injured spectators in hospital. But on the way there, the driver took a wrong turn. Another terrorist, Gavrilo Princip had just had a sandwich and was just waiting on the road. To his amazement he saw the Archduke. He thought that this was the chance and he fired two shots. The first bullet hit the Archdukes wife Sophia in the stomach and she died instantly. The second shot hit the Archduke in the neck and he died a bit later. This factor led to WW1 because it caused Austria to attack Serbia, which led to Russia joining in and Germany then declaring war on Russia and so on. This was the cause of an alliance system, Austria on one side and Russia who promised to protect Serbia on the other side.

Kirusaanth Sathiyathasan 9JPC

Another factor was the Alliance System consisted of two groups, the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance. The Triple Alliance was formed in 1882 after Germany became a united country in 1870 and Austria joined Germany in 1879 because the Austrian Empire was in danger of falling apart so it needed a strong ally to support it. Finally, Italy saw the benefit from joining Austria and Germany and in 1882 Italy joined and the Triple Alliance was formed. The Triple Entente was formed in 1907 after France lost land in Alsace and Lorraine to Germany and they wanted their land back and in 1893 France formed an alliance with Russia. This was because Russia had borders with Germany and Austria, so it would be really easy for them to attack. Then in 1904 Britain became worried about increasing German power, so Britain reached an agreement with France. Finally, in 1907, Britain made the same agreement with Russia and the Triple Entente was formed. This contributed to WW1 because it made sure who was to attack who and who was to help who. The third factor I am going to talk about is Militarism. Militarism is when the countrys army and military forces are given a prestigious look by the government. Militarism started after Europes division grew and this lead to an Arms Race between Germany and Britain. There was a big competition between Germany and Britain to see who the master of the seas was. In 1906, Britain introduced the HMS Dreadnought which was strong, fast and powerful. Germany was really jealous, so they built four Dreadnoughts. Then there was a race gradually starting between Britain and Germany, the Naval Arms Race. This race proved who could build the best sea weapons ever. Then there was the Schlieffen Plan which meant that Germany would attack France, just to prove that they are better than Britain and have a better empire. This contributed to WW! Because why make those weapons when you dont have anything to use them for? So they had to have a war to prove who was best and also to use the weapons that they had spent money and time making. The final factor I am going to talk about is Nationalism. Nationalism is a desire to achieve political independence, especially by a country under foreign control or by people with a separate culture but no state of their own. This is exactly what led up to the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Slavs wanted to set up their own country and wanted to split up from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They wanted independence but they knew that Franz Ferdinand wouldnt let them have independence. The only way to split up was to assassinate him. This is the most important reason because it caused the Assassination of the Archduke which also caused other factors such as the Alliance system and the Arms Race. So I disagree with the statement the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the main reason for the outbreak of WW1. I think that Nationalism was the main reason for the outbreak of WW1. The reason for my belief is that if Nationalism wasnt there, why would the Black Hand have killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand in order to get independence for the Slavs? Then why would there have been an Alliance System? Why would there have been an Arms Race? Why would there have been a Schlieffen Plan? WHY WOULD THERE HAVE BEEN WW1???