One cause of WWI is the assassination of Archduke, Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife on June 28, 1914 by a Serbian nationalist from the Black Hand organization. Immediately this event is the trigger that set off declarations of the war. In response to the assassination of Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Austria blamed Serbia for the assassination since Serbia supported the Black Hand’s in order to be free of Austria’s rule. Due to Austria’s alliance with Germany, Serbia tried to get help from Russia. When Russia began to mobilize in result of its alliance with Serbia, Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914. Two days later Germany declared war on France. Germany swept through Belgium on its way to France, the invasion of Belgium caused Britain to declare war on Germany.
Some say that the death of one man caused the lives of 9 million men, but as you said, it was just one cause of WWI. The war would have started one way or the other. The countries in Europe were itching to fight each other, everyone was just looking for a reason and the assassination of Archduke was a perfect timing and excuse to start a war. The tensions caused in the 19th century simply spilled over into the 20th and it was only a matter of time.
by the way I think there is no main reason that cause of WWI.. there were several things like imperialism and desire to go to war.
The assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, is widely regarded as one of the biggest causes for World War I. While driving around Sarajevo, his car was ambushed by the terrorist organization called “The Black Hand”. They threw a live grenade into his drop top car, and he managed to pick the grenade up and chuck it out of the car before it exploded; thus sparing the lives of his driver, wife and unborn child as well as himself. Unfortunately as they were heading towards the palace the driver took a wrong turn and promptly made a U-Turn on a side street. That’s when Black Hand member Gavrilo Princip walked up to the car and shot his pregnant wife, Sophie, in the abdomen; ensuring that both she and the child would die. He then shot the Archduke in the jugular, thereby wiping out all of the remaining heirs to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As a result of the assassination, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia.
This was the beginning of “The War to End All Wars”. Eventually sides were taken and the Allied powers faced off against the Central Powers. The Allies mainly consisted of Russia, France, Britain and the United States; where as the Central Powers consisted of Austria-Hungary, Germany, The Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. When all was said and done the Allies suffered approximately 22.5 Million casualties, where as the Central Powers suffered 16.4 Million Casualties. In the end however, despite the seemingly overwhelming casualty difference, the Central Powers lost “The Great War”.
The archduke and his wife were shot dead by Gavrilo Princip; he was part of one of the six Bosnian Serb assassins. The objective of the assassination was to break off Austria Hungary’s south Slav provinces to be combined into Greater Serbia or Yugoslavia. Their movement was later known as the Young Bosnia.The assassins, key members of the clandestine tunnel, and the key military conspirators who were still alive were arrested, tried, convicted and punished for their actions.
The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was one of the most unforgettable causes of World War I to me. The domino effect of countries declaring war on each other was tremendous. A number of countries created alliances with one another and cause a big split among European countries. The deliberation of a group to cause chaos and break up a country worked and was significant to other countries gearing up for war.
Nationalism is one of the four main reasons that triggered WWI. During the early 20th century, the Balkan Pennisula was known as the “Powder keg of Europe” because that area was mixed with various nationalities and had become unstable. A conflict could have broken out at any moment and lead to war. At that time the Balkans were under the control of Austria-Hungary and the Austrian-Hungarian empire consisted of various nationalities but the only ethnic group that experienced political freedoms were austrians and Hungarians. One of the ethnic groups under the Austria-Hungary empire were Serbian’s. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist who wanted more political freedom was what set off the ethnic powder keg and triggered WWI.