However, Germany was not solely responsible for the outbreak of war in 1914, as their were other long-term and short-term causes of tension in Europe which Germany was not involved with.
Balkan nationalism was a cause of the major long-term cause of tension in Europe, and was one of the most dangerous causes of friction. It created many crises, which served to heighten tension, and was the factor behind the immediate short-term event that triggered off the war.
Serbia had ambitions of uniting all Serbs and Croats in a South Slav kingdom. This caused tensions as it would involve taking territory from Austria-Hungary and if the Serbs and Croats achieved inde.
We'll start with the facts and work back: it may make it all the easier to understand how World War One actually happened. The events of and early 1914 are a classic case of "one thing led to another" - otherwise known as the treaty alliance system.
The explosive that was World War One had been long in the stockpiling; the spark was of Archduke , heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. ( to view film footage of Ferdinand arriving at Sarajevo's Town Hall on 28 June 1914.)
Ferdinand's death at the hands of the , a Serbian nationalist secret society, set in train a mindlessly mechanical series of events that culminated in the world's first global war.
Austria-Hungary's Reaction
Austria-Hungary's reaction to the death of their heir (who was in any case not greatly beloved by the Emperor, , or his government) was three weeks in coming. Arguing that the Serbian government was implicated in the machinations of the Black Hand (whether she was or not remains unclear, but it appears unlikely), the Austro-Hungarians opted to take the opportunity to stamp its authority upon the Serbians, crushing the nationalist movement there and cementing Austria-Hungary's influence in the Balkans.
It did so by issuing an which, in the extent of its demand that the assassins be brought to justice effectively nullified Serbia's sovereignty. , the British Foreign Secretary, was moved to comment that he had "never before seen one State address to another independent State a document of so formidable a character."
Austria-Hungary's expectation was that Serbia would reject the remarkably severe terms of the ultimatum, thereby giving her a pretext for launching a limited war against Serbia.
However, Serbia had long had Slavic ties with Russia, an altogether different proposition for Austria-Hungary. Whilst not really expecting that Russia would be drawn into the dispute to any great extent other than through words of diplomatic protest, the Austro-Hungarian government sought assurances from her ally, Germany, that she would come to her aid should the unthinkable happen and Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary.
Germany readily agreed, even encouraged Austria-Hungary's warlike stance. Quite why we'll come back to later.
