Introduction
WW1 was unlike any other war fought up until that point in history ; many new weapons where used for the first time like chemical warfare and tanks. Over the course of the war 15 million people where killed and 20 million were wounded and huge areas of Europe were devastated. World War 1 (WW1) started on the 4th of august 1914. It had another name which was the
The Triple Entente finally gained victory on November the 11th 1918 the fighting ended.
The spark that started the war
The descent into war
After the assassination, Austria-Hungary issued a list of demands to Serbia and issued an ultimatum giving Serbia forty-eight hours to comply. Serbia refused. Then Russia, who had signed a military agreement to aid Serbia if the nation was attacked by the Austrians. asked Austria Hungary to give Serbia more time to comply with ultimatum. Austria Hungary refused.
So Russia declared war on Austria- Hungary.
At this point Germany , who was an ally of Austria- Hungary, sent a note to Russia to stop troop movements within twelve hours or it would be considered as a act of war. Germany also sent a message to France to ask what their intentions where if Germany should declare war on Russia.
Britain entered the fray that next day when German troops invaded Belgium because Britain had signed an agreement to protect the neutrality of Belgium back in 1839. On August 6, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia and six days later entered into hostilities with France and Britain.
So within two months of the events in Sarajevo, the conflict had escalated into a major European war because of the complicated system of alliances and treaties that had been set up between countries meant that once one declared war their allies were bound to follow.
The influence of imperialism and nationalism
The popular song “Land of Hope and Glory” expresses the idea that Britain had the right and even a duty to continue to expand its empire:-
How shall we...