Was the Outbreak of General War in 1914 Inevitable After the Assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand

Was the bang of general fight in 1914 ineluct adapted after(prenominal) the assassination of distasteful Duke Franz Ferdinand? Various different factors led to the blast of the first foundation War- a contendfare which incorporated only human, economic and military resources available to achieve total victory over the enemy. Roughly, the fathers scum bag be classified into long term (Franco-Prussian War, Imperialism, Alliance System, Anglo- German naval Arms Race, etc. ), short term (Morrocan Crisis, Agadir Crisis, Bosnian Crisis, Balkan Wars) and the immediate cause of World War I The assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo.Although e truly last(predicate) of the causes added to the eruption of World War I, the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand make the struggle inescapable for the European Powers. It took the last prospect of a stayful source to the European conflict and can be classified as the more(prenominal) or less important immedi ate cause of the state of state of war. The assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand is seen as the virtu whollyy important immediate cause of World War I. On the twenty-eighth of June, Franz Ferdinand was shot by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Slavic nationalist chemical group melanize Hand Movement, in Sarajevo, Bosnia.The Arch Duke had been on a good-will mission to Bosnia in dedicate to calm the situation and bring peace to the region. Directly after the assassination, the Serbian Government was blamed by Austria-Hungary as being responsible for Franz Ferdinands death. This assumption may have been made because there were some few connections between members of the Serbian organisation and the Black Hand Movement. On the same day, Serbia denied any responsibility for the assassination.After this, the Austrian-Hungarian government assured itself of German Support on the 5th of July 1914 through the diplomatist count Hoyos by sending a letter to Berlin which stated tha t it was roughly sure that the Serbian Government was involved in the assassination. It also implied Austria-Hungarys will to crush Serbia militarily in order to prevent a brawny bulwark of Slavic nations below the leadership of Serbia. To the letter, Kaiser Wilhelm II answered that Austria-Hungary could persist assured that his Majesty will faithfully stand by Austria-Hungary, as is required by the obligations of his alliance and of his ancient friendship.After the German reassurance, Austria-Hungary proceeded by setting an ultimatum to Serbia on the 23rd of July with the following terms 1. Officially chastise anti-Austrian publications and propaganda 2. Suppress anti-Austrian societies 3. Ban anti-Austrian teachers and books from their schools 4. Dismiss any government officials that Austria might anticipate 5. Accept help from Austria in checking obnoxious propaganda 6. Allow Austrian officials to sanction in the investigation of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.Serbia accepted al l terms except the integrity that allowed Austrian officials to further investigate the murder of Franz Ferdinand on the 25th of July. This mark the final trigger for the outbreak of World War I on the 28th of July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and a fatal concatenation reaction began. One reason for the outbreak of World War I being inevitable after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand was that this assassination was the long wait chance for Austria-Hungary and the other European Powers to begin a war. For Austria-Hungary, war was cordial because it aimed to gain power in the Balkan region.This was only possible if Serbia was in a weak position without the chance to interfere with Austrian-Hungarian delights. Furthermore, Austria-Hungary feared that a strong Serbian state would lead to a unified Slavic empire d knowledge the stairs the leadership of Serbia. Therefore, a military intervention to crush Serbia was in the interest of Austria-Hungary. For Germany, war was favorable because of the Weltpolitik principle, according to which Germany wanted to seize a more important role in the World by territorial elaborateness and military power.Also, Germany was obliged to its alliance with Austria-Hungary and had to stand with its ally in eluding of war. Various German generals, e. g. von Moltke, believed that the July crisis was a good time for Germany to go to war in order to prevent being crushed by the entente cordiale powers and to preempt Russian mobilization in order to be able to make full the Schlieffen plan. Also, war was a good means of distraction from municipal problems in Germany, like the rise of socialist movements.For the Entente Powers Russia, France and Great Britain war was favorable because it gave them the possibility of weakening Germany, which had grown to a big affright for these powers. According to Pearce and Lowe, Great Britain had shown its will for war through the naval dialog with Russia in 1914. Nonethele ss, there is some ambiguity about Great Britain propensity for a war of this carapace. For Russia, war was favorable because it had to show strength after some weak responses to the Balkan Crises. by the general mobilization, Russia reinforced this will.Only France did not authentically want to get involved in a large scale after the defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1871. Nonetheless, France had to mobilize after the German side took up the Schlieffen Plan. another(prenominal) reason for war becoming inevitable was the Alliance System that was set up during the various European disputes in front World War I. Austria-Hungary and Germany as well as Italy were connected in a dual Alliance. On the other side, there was a Triple Entente between France, Russia and Great Britain. After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, this took full effect.After the promulgation of war on Serbia by Austria-Hungary on the 28th of July, Russia mobilized in order to protect Serbia. This brough t Germany having to declare war on Russia on the 1st of distinguished because of its guarantee to protect Austria-Hungary. In order to be able to fulfill the Schlieffen Plan (this plan was meant to quickly defeat France and to then focus on the Eastern Front in order for Germany not having to fight a two front war against France and Russia), Germany declared war on France shortly afterwards on the 3rd of swaggering.This brought Great Britain into the war on the quaternate of August because it had to declare war on Germany in order to project its alliance with France. Lastly, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia on the 6th of August in order to support Germany. So in only 9 days, all European powers were at war with each other. According to AJP Taylor, World War I was a war by time table. Through the alliance system, war was being made inevitable simply by the obligations of the European Powers towards each other.On the one heap, powers like France and Britain were not compl etely act to beginning a world war on the other hand they had to adhere to the clauses of the Triple Entente in order to stay under protection themselves and to not lose credibility while facing disputes approximately Europe. Overall, the Alliance System was one of the main reasons that made the outbreak of war inevitable after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. One other reason for the outbreak of war becoming inevitable was the military preparation that had al position taken place and that made it easy to act and easy to step into a war.Firstly, all of the European powers had extendd their spending on military goods drastically. From 1872 to 1912, Germanys armament spending increased by nearly 350 per cent, Russias by around 250 per cent and Britains by around 175 per cent. This shows, that all European Powers were already planning for war time. In 1914, the alliances had a strong military force and were about equal in their weaponry. Secondly, the European Powers all had f inished war plans ready to be taken up very quickly. Germany had the Schlieffen Plan, France had Plan 17 and Austria-Hungary had Plan R.These plans included tactical movement and a detailed procedure of how to quickly outmaneuver the enemy. Through the existence of the plans, the European powers felt strong because they knew that they were prepared for a quick transition into war. This let down the barrier for an outbreak of war very much. Through the war plans that were ready and the high military spending the outbreak of war was facilitated very much. Another reason that made war inevitable was the reliance of Austria-Hungary upon Germany. Had Austria-Hungary acted immediately, according to toilette Keegan, the war could have stayed only in the Balkan regions.Furthermore, according to Keegan, more chat could have prevented the First World War. Had all the European Powers communicated clearly their goals, duologues and local anaesthetic wars could have been the consequence ins tead of a massive world war. Austria-Hungary lacked the heroism to act independently in the Serbian Crisis. Germany wanted a diplomatical success and was not totally interested in victorious part in a World War. Russia did not want the outbreak of a world war but did know that their support for Serbia would increase the probability of the outbreak of a world war.France had not yet mobilized but feared that Germany wanted to trigger a World War. Great Britain was reluctant to a war but would not leave France in danger of a German attack. Had all of these aims and thoughts been communicated clearly between the nations, then a war could possibly have been prevented. Through the Russian mobilization and the declaration of war on Serbia by Austria-Hungary with German support, the war was triggered before negotiations and peace duologue could have taken place. Overall, war became inevitable after the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand for various reasons.Firstly, many European Powers saw the assassination as the chance to get involved in a war to strengthen the own position. Secondly, the alliance system made it very hard to evade a war breaking out. Thirdly, the European powers had already done a plenteousness of preparation for the war. This made the outbreak of war easier. Lastly, the lack of communication and negotiation between the European powers took the last chance of a peaceful solution. In my opinion, after the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand, the outbreak of World War I became inevitable.