Why did the First World War break out in August 1914?

Authors Avatar by xiexpress- (student)

Why did the First World War break out in August 1914?

On the 14th July 1914, a war broke out in the Balkans and within days spread throughout the rest of Europe. This war was expected to have come to an end by Christmas nevertheless dragged on for another four more years. At the time it was known as the ‘Great War however today we know it as World War I. But which country was to blame in starting the war? This is a very controversial topic as no one country was to blame; the majority of countries were involved in one way or another. In this essay I will outline the main causes which sparked the commencement of World War I and also analyse the effect and consequences which they had.

The first cause of the war was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. Ferdinand was heir to the throne of Austro-Hungary. He was assassinated by a Serb fanatic in Sarajevo. This resulted in Austria accusing Serbia of complicity in the murder, gaining the support of the Germans. Austria responded by refusing the accusation and a compromise with the Serbs, war was pronounced on the 28th July. The government of Serbia requested the help of Russia. The assassination had long term effects which would then increase dramatically as a result of countries like Germany and especially Russia getting involved as this was a huge country with an enormous army. This happened on 31st July 1914 when the Russians assembled their forces upon the Germans. The consequence of this was that this led to Germany declaring war on Russia on 1st August 1914. Other countries now became involved. On the same day, the British foreign secretary proposed to the Germans that Britain would stay neutral if no attacks were made on France.

Join now!

Propaganda Poster

I think that this was a significant cause of the war as it was the first one. This meant that it would be the spark which led up to all the other causes taking place as now numerous different countries had become involved. Good evidence of this is the fact that when Germany declared war on France, the Germans knew that the French would side with the Russians. As a result of this, they declared war on the French on the 3rd August. This was also when the Germans implemented their ‘Schlieffen Plan’. I also think that because ...

This is a preview of the whole essay