Archduke Francis Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of Austria and Hungary. He was assassinated at the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand was the Immediate Cause of World War 1. In this article, we have discussed how the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand leads to World War 1?
Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand
- Archduke Francis Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of Austria and Hungary. He was assassinated at the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
- The assassination was planned by a secret society named ‘Black Hand’ which aimed at uniting all Serbians into a single Serbian state.
- After his assassination, Austria served an ultimatum to Serbia making eleven demands. Serbia accepted most demands but refused some.
- As a result, Austria declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914. Russia supported Serbia and started making preparations for war. On 1 August 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. On 4 August, Britain declared war on Germany.
- Soon afterward, many other countries joined the war. Japan declared war on Germany intending to conquer German territories in the Far East. Turkey and Bulgaria joined the war on the side of Germany. Italy remained neutral for some time and then declared war on Germany (broke the Triple Alliance).
- While Britain, France, Russia, and their allies came to be known as the Allied Powers, Germany, Austria–Hungary, and their allies became the Central Powers.
By 1918, Germany and its allies began to be routed by the combined forces of Britain, France, and the USA. This gave rise to political discontent in Austria and Hungary. While Bulgaria withdrew from the war, Turkey surrendered to the Allies in 1918. While the emperor of Austria–Hungary surrendered on 3 November 1918. A revolution broke out in Germany and he became a republic. The German emperor Kaiser William II fled to Holland. The new German government signed an armistice on 11 November 1918 and the war came to an end. About 53 to 70 million people fought in the war and about nine million people were either wounded or killed during the war. Besides, civilians were also killed because of air raids, epidemics, and famines during the war. The economy of the countries participating in the war was shattered. The Great Economic Depression of 1929–30 is mainly attributed to the war.
Also, read The United Nations
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