On June 28, 1914, a Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo brinsit artshdok Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on the background of the escalation of tensions in the Balkans, This assassination led to a series of events that led to the outbreak of the first world war, just one month after the event, and for many people the first world war was the great war as She was known at the time, the European continent were enjoying unprecedented peace and prosperity, but in fact, planted the seeds of destructive conflict long before launching Princip fatal.
Conditions in Europe before the beginning of the first world war in 1914:
A century ago, European States meeting in Vienna Conference had established an international balance of powers continued for almost a century, and by the year 1914, the large number of troops threatens to tear, and It was the Balkan peninsula in South-East Europe, particularly volatile area, which was previously under the control of the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century, the Turks continued weak in pullout Slow motion of Europe, depends on the cooperation system in the region competing forces are Russia and Austria and Hungary.
Austria has tried (Hungary) and that small minorities (Germans in Austria, magiars in Hungary) control of large numbers of Slavic people who don't they chill on their future as a superpower, and in In 1908 the Balkan provinces annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in twin, this land grabbing and controlling the Balkan nation angered Serbia and independent Bosnian Serb homeland which was considered as well as Russia.
Ego even doubled arrived Serb territory in the Balkan wars (1912, 1913), which threatened the sovereignty of Austro-Hungarian in the region and at the same time, Russia entered into an alliance with France, angry at Annex Germany To their lands in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870-1871, either from Great Britain, whose Navy has threatened the dominance of the German fleet was, this tripartite accord was against German Hungarian-Austrian Alliance, and that means without a doubt that any regional conflict has the ability to transform into a general European war.
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand:
He met Franz Ferdinand, a great friend of Kaiser Wilhelm, 1914 in mid-June to discuss the tense situation in the Balkans, and two weeks later, Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, on June 28 In Sarajevo to inspect the armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina Empire, when Gavrilo Princip's 19-year-old and his fellow members of the youth national movement for Bosnia planned visit, Take quick action where they were provided with weapons of Serbian terrorist organization called "black hand" and "Princip and his cohorts of treason" and they went to Sarajevo in time to visit Ferdinand and his wife.
The Royal couple was running in the city in an open car, with little security amazingly, someone threw a grenade at their vehicle nationalists, but out back of the car, wounding Army officer and some passersby, and later that day, took the car quick turn Empire, during which each shot Franz Ferdinand and Sophie in an open area, caught the The person who did it, and transferred all of Ferdinand and his wife to the hospital to get quick medical rescue, but died within an hour.
The beginning of the first World War:
In order to maintain its credibility as a force in the Balkans (not to mention its status as a superpower), Austria-Hungary needed to enforce its authority in the face of this terrible crime, however, with the threat of Russian intervention On the horizon, the army was not ready for full scale war, so resorted to help Germany to support its power, the Emperor Franz Joseph wrote a personal letter to Kaiser Wilhelm, requesting support, 6 July Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg informed German Chancellor Theobald Austrian representatives that Vienna supported by Germany.
On 23 July, the Austrian Ambassador in Serbia issued an ultimatum saying that the Serbian Government must take steps to eliminate terrorist organizations within its borders, and suppress propaganda against Austria, And accept an independent investigation by the Austro-Hungarian Government in the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, or face military action, after Serbia appealed to Russia for help, alkozar Government has begun to move towards Mobilization of its army, saying that Germany used the crisis to preemptive war in the Balkans, already Hungary announced war on Serbia on July 28 and on August 1, after hearing the news about the Russian general mobilization, announced Germany war on Russia, and the German army launched his attack on Russia's ally, France through Belgium.
The first world war and its consequences:
Over the next four years, the great war as it was given to the first world war, will expand to include Italy, Japan, the Middle East, the United States and other countries, More than 20 million soldiers were killed during the first world war, and about 21 million while millions of people fell victim to a flu pandemic which helped war on its spread.
The first world war left in their wake three devastating Empire breeds (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey), Bolshevik revolutionary forces unleashed in other countries (such as Russia), and in the end It was an uneasy peace in the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, and tensions in check for at least two decades before giving way to a devastating world war.