The assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, occurred on July 28, 1914. Ferdinand was next in line for the Austria-Hungary throne when the two were shot by Gavrilo Princip. Princip was part of a Serbian Nationalist-terrorist group called the Black Hand. The Black Hand had close ties to the Serbian Army and protested the Austria-Hungarian control over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The group’s first attempt to kill …show more content…
Nationalism is a feeling people have when they are loyal to and proud of their country. It is often the belief that their country is better than, and more important than, other countries. Much of the beginning of the war was based on the desire of of the Slavic people in Bosnia and Herzegovina to no longer have to deal with Austria-Hungary but, instead, be a part of Serbia. Through nationalism, the war was extented as each country tried to prove their control and power over the other.
Because each country wanted control and power, they used their mutual defense agreements with other European countries to gain more control. Before, World War I, Russia and Serbia, Germany and Austria-Hungary, France and Russia, and Japan and Britain, all had alliances. If one country was attacked, allied countries were bound to defend the countries that were attacked. Once Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, all the other European countries entered the fight because of these existing alliances. The treaties pulled the new countries into battle, prolonging the war.
While these are just a few reasons for World War I, all three played a major role. Each had significant influnece on the war’s duration and its high number of