Within the months of july and August of 1914 the continent of Europe or thrown into the crucible of war that claimed the lives of millions of people , toppled empires, reshape the political structure of the continent, and contribute to an even more destructive conflict a generation later.
- About 65 million men were mobilized for this war, out of which 10 million met their ultimate end and 20 million were fatally injured.
"The Great War" as the conflict is also known as, saw to be bloody arms struggle and introduction to 'mechanized destruction'. whose tell-tale signs still lives on in the mustard gas devastated areas and the now shallow trenches of the war.
and
Trigger
The genesis of the war is traced to the clash between two coalitions of European countries. The first coalition, known as the Allied Powers, which included the ;
United Kingdom
France,
Belgium,
Serbia,
Montenegro,
Russian Empire
Japan (joined 1914)
Italy(joined 1915)
United states(joined 1917)
The Central Powers, which opposed them, consisted of the empires of;
- Germany and
Austria-Hungary*
Ottoman Empire (joined 1914)
Bulgaria(joined 1915)
Eventually, 32 countries joined the action out if with 28 supported the allied powers. However, most of these countries did not see actual action.
Perpetrator
The immediate cause of the war was the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, At 11:15 AM on June 28, 1914, in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, Francis Ferdinand and his morganatic wife, Sophie, duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead by a Bosnian Serb, Gavrilo Princip. The chief of the Austro-Hungarian general staff, Franz, Graf (count) Conrad von Hötzendorf, and the foreign minister, Leopold, Graf von Berchtold, saw the crime as the occasion for measures to humiliate Serbia and so to enhance Austria-Hungary's prestige in the Balkans. Conrad had already (October 1913) been assured by William II of Germany's support if Austria-Hungary should start a preventive war against Serbia. This assurance was confirmed in the week following the assassination, before William, on July 6, set off upon his annual cruise to the North Cape, off Norway.
The Austrians decided to present an unacceptable ultimatum to Serbia on july 23 and then to declare war, relying on Germany to deter Russia from intervention. Serbia replied the Ultimatum on the 25 july , by accepting most of the contents but rejecting two namely, that Serbian officials (unnamed) should be dismissed at Austria-Hungary's behest and that Austro-Hungarian officials should take part, on Serbian soil, in proceedings against organizations hostile to Austria-Hungary.
War was in fact declared on July 28, and Austro-Hungarian artillery began to bombard Belgrade the next day. Russia then ordered mobilization against Austria-Hungary.On July 31 Germany sent a 24-hour ultimatum requiring Russia to halt its mobilization and an 18-hour ultimatum requiring France to promise neutrality in the event of war between Russia and Germany.
Both Russia and France predictably ignored these demands. On August 1 Germany ordered general mobilization and declared war against Russia, and France likewise ordered general mobilization. The next day Germany sent troops into Luxembourg and demanded from Belgium free passage for German troops across its neutral territory. On August 3 Germany declared war against France.
In the night of August 3–4 German forces invaded Belgium. Thereupon, Great Britain, which had no concern with Serbia and no express obligation to fight either for Russia or for France but was expressly committed to defend Belgium, on August 4 declared war against Germany.
Soon after, many more countries joined the frenzy and an encompassing war engulfed the continent .
At this point, i drop my pen, i'll conclude this episode tomorrow.