High School History - WW I

Germany and Austria-Hungary, together with the Ottoman Empire—an empire of

mostly Middle Eastern lands controlled by the Turks—were later known as the

Central Powers. The alliances provided a measure of international security

because nations were reluctant to disturb the balance of power. As it turned out,

a spark set off a major conflict.

An Assassination Leads to War

That spark flared in the Balkan Peninsula, which was known as “the powder keg

of Europe.” In addition to the ethnic rivalries among the Balkan peoples, Europe’s

leading powers had interests there. Russia wanted access to the Mediterranean

Sea. Germany wanted a rail link to the Ottoman Empire. Austria-Hungary, which

had taken control of Bosnia in 1878, accused Serbia of subverting its rule over

Bosnia. The “powder keg” was ready to explode.

In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to

the Austrian throne, visited the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. As

the royal entourage drove through the city, Serbian nation-

alist Gavrilo Princip stepped from the crowd and shot the

Archduke and his wife Sophie. Princip was a member of the

Black Hand, an organization promoting Serbian national-

ism. The assassinations touched off a diplomatic crisis. On

July 28, Austria-Hungary declared what was expected to be a

short war against Serbia.

The alliance system pulled one nation after another into

the conflict. On August 1, Germany, obligated by treaty

to support Austria-Hungary, declared war on Russia. On

August 3, Germany declared war on Russia’s ally France. After

Germany invaded Belgium, Britain declared war on Germany

and Austria-Hungary. The Great War had begun.

The Fighting Starts

On August 3, 1914, Germany invaded Belgium, following

a strategy known as the Schlieffen Plan. This plan called

for a holding action against Russia, combined with a quick

drive through Belgium to Paris; after France had fallen, the

two German armies would defeat Russia. As German

troops swept across Belgium, thousands of civilians fled in

terror. In Brussels, the Belgian capital, an American war

correspondent described the first major refugee crisis of

the 20th century.

A PERSONAL VOICE RICHARD HARDING DAVIS “ [We] found the side streets blocked with their carts.

Into these they had thrown mattresses, or bundles of

grain, and heaped upon them were families of three

generations. Old men in blue smocks, white-haired and

bent, old women in caps, the daughters dressed in their

one best frock and hat, and clasping in their hands all

that was left to them, all that they could stuff into a pil-

low-case or flour-sack. . . . Heart-broken, weary, hungry,

they passed in an unending caravan.”

—from Hooray for Peace, Hurrah for War

NO WNO W THEN

THEN

CRISIS IN THE BALKANS

After World War I, Bosnia became

par t of a countr y that eventually

became known as Yugoslavia.

Although Yugoslavia included vari-

ous religious and ethnic groups,

the government was dominated

by Serbs.

In 1991, Yugoslavia broke apart,

and Bosnia declared indepen-

dence in 1992. However, Serbs

wanted Bosnia to remain part of

Serbian-controlled Yugoslavia.

A bloody civil war broke out.

This war became notorious for

the mass murder and deportation

of Bosnian Muslims, a process

known as “ethnic cleansing.” In

1995, the United States helped

negotiate a cease-fire.

But peace in the Balkans did

not last. In the late 1990s,

Albanians in the province of

Kosovo also tried to break away

from Serbia. Serbia’s violent

response, which included the

“ethnic cleansing” of Albanians,

prompted NATO to inter vene.

Today, peacekeepers in the

Balkans struggle to control the

continuing ethnic violence.

B

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

B

Analyzing

Effects

Why were so

many European

nations pulled into

the conflict?

Vocabulary

refugee: a person

who flees in

search of

protection or

shelter, as in

times of war

or religious

persecution

580 CHAPTER 19