World War I

1
World War I

• Crisis in the Balkans

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Crisis in the Balkans

• Attempts to unify the Slavic people in the
  Balkans by Slavic nationalists created
  nationalists and ethnic rivalries. Serbia, a
  nation bordering Austria-Hungary, supported the
  Slavs and opposed the Austro-Hungarian empire.

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Crisis in the Balkans

• In June 1914, the assassination of the Archduke
  Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the
  Austro-Hungarian empire, destroyed the balance of
  power in Europe. Within weeks, World War I began
  in Europe.
• Gavrilo Princip and other Serbian nationalists
  plotted the assassination to secure freedom from
  Austria-Hungary and unify the Slavic people.
• The rulers of Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for
  the killing and moved to crush the Serbian
  nationalist movement.

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Crisis in the Balkans

• As opposing nations declared war on one another,
  the alliance system caused the war to spread.
• Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in July
  1914.
• Russia prepared for war because it had agreed to
  protect Serbia.
• Germany, as Austria-Hungarys ally, declared war
  on Russia in August.
• Germany then declared war on France (Russias
  ally)
• When Germany invaded neutral Belgium in August,
  Great Britain declared war on Germany because it
  had promised to protect Belgium.