How did the Sarajevo crisis in 1914 lead to the first world war?
The murder of the Arch duke Francis Ferdinand at the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo in 1914 was the immediate cause of the first World War.
- 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 assassinated was planned by a secret society named ‘Black Hand’ which aimed at uniting all Serbians into single Serbian state.
- After his assassination, Austria served an ultimatum to Serbia making eleven demands. Serbia accepted most of the demands but refused some.
- As a result, Austria declared war on Serbia on July 28, 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 afterwards, many other countries joined the war. Japan declared war on Germany with an aim of conquering German territories in the Far East. Turkey and Bulgaria joined the war on the side of Germany. Italy remained neutral for sometime 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 came to be known as the Central Powers .