WWI: Alliances and the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Alliances Leading to World War I
The alliances that led to WWI were:
- The Treaty of London (1839): Article 7 of this treaty saw Great Britain pledge to protect the neutrality of Belgium.
- The Dual Alliance (1879): Following the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, a newly formed German Empire, having acquired territories from France and fearing reprisal, signed the Dual Alliance Treaty with Austria-Hungary. This was a defensive pact against potential Russian aggression.
- The Franco-Russian Military Convention (1892): This alliance formed between France and Russia.
- The Triple Entente (Early 1900s, 1904-1907): A series of agreements between the British, French, and Russian Empires. This was not a formal military alliance but rather a way to resolve colonial disputes and improve relations. They were not obligated to defend each other.
- The Triple Alliance (or Central Powers): An agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. However, Italy later switched its support to the Triple Entente side.
The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
In 1908, the Austro-Hungarian Empire formally annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, a territory it had occupied since the late 1800s as the Ottoman Empire’s influence waned.
The Ottoman withdrawal from the Balkans fueled hopes of unifying the Yugoslavic people (Southern Slavs). The independent Kingdom of Serbia served as the center of this nationalistic movement.
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, visited Sarajevo, in annexed Bosnia. A group known as the “Young Bosnians,” with ties to the Serbian nationalist group “The Black Hand,” plotted their assassination.
Earlier that day, a failed assassination attempt occurred. One conspirator tried to commit suicide with a cyanide capsule and by jumping into a river, but he was apprehended because the river was shallow.
Gavrilo Princip, another conspirator, had given up and was at a cafe in Sarajevo. A mistake in Franz Ferdinand’s route brought the car near Princip. He seized the opportunity, approached the car, and fatally shot both the Archduke and Sophie. Upon his arrest, Princip stated:
“I am a Yugoslav nationalist, aiming for the unification of all Yugoslavs, and I do not care what form of state, but it must be free of Austria.”
Ferdinand’s assassination, driven by nationalist aspirations to unite Bosnia and Herzegovina with Serbia (and potentially Croatia), is considered the primary trigger for World War I.