Ferdinand Assassination

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On the 28th of June 1914 the Arch Duke of the Austrian Hungarian Empire Frans Ferdinand was assassinated by a rebel Serbian group the Black Hand. The Austrians saw this as premise for war and issued an ultimatum to Serbia in which they had 48 hours to reply. The Austrians declared war on Serbia, although the Serbs agreed to all the terms bar one. The German government had already given Austria their “blank cheque” which entailed their full militant support of Austria. Russia honoured their alliance with Serbia and declared war on Austria and Germany, France followed suit, and after Germany invaded Belgium, the British entered the war to complete the Triple Entente. Many historians see the assassination of the Arch Duke as the main cause of…show more content…
(Source 3) The assassin Gavrilo Princip was part of a secret society, which wanted to unite all of the territories with a South Slavic majority, and killed Frans Ferdinand in demonstration of this. Serbia wanted to form a new Balkan state with Bosnia, which was under Austrian rule. Serbia supported the Black Hand with arms and encouraged the assassination of the Arch Duke. Austrian Arch Duke Francis Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian throne and his assassination sent shockwaves through Europe. The Austrian Empire sent an Ultimatum through to Serbia, as they believed Serbian officials hadn’t done enough to stop rebel societies. The Austrians had although had different motives for the ultimatum. The Austrians saw the murder as a perfect pretext to crush Serbia. The Austrians believed the Serbians would never accept such a harsh treaty. The Austrians had been ensured of the support of Germany as Germany wrote Austria a “blank cheque”. Although the assassination is considered by most historians as the immediate cause for the Great War many historians argue that other factors formed the foundations for war to erupt on such a grand…show more content…
The alliance system is seen as the cause for a small conflict in the Balkans to escalate into a war that included the whole of Europe. Each country had ulterior motives for going to war. The major powers of Europe had been preparing for war and all thought that they gain could from the war. The French had lost the Franco-Prussian war in 1871 and had to pay reparations to Germany, then Prussia, which amounted to $1 Billion and the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. The French were angered by the loss of their two most prosperous provinces. France had a plan to regain their lost territories . War with Germany with the support of her allies was the most efficient way of retrieving their lost land. Russia and Japan had fought a war from 1904-1905 in which Russia experienced humiliating defeats at Mukden and Tsushima. This caused civil unrest within the country and pushed the Tsar into the Great War in order to regain the respect he had lost during the war with
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