Events That Led to the Outbreak of World War I

The events that caused World War I were much more complicated than most people think that they were. It all started with the assassination of arch duke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. They were assassinated by Serbian Black Hand terrorists in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. And at the time the following alliances existed: Russia and Serbia, Germany and Austria/Hungary, France and Russia, Britain and France and Belgium, and Japan and Britain.

After Franz Ferdinand was assassinated Austro-Hungary was upset at Serbia's response. Austro-Hungary then declared war on Serbia on July 18, 1914. Then the alliance between Russia and Serbia comes into play. Russia goes to support Serbia in the war against Austro-Hungary on July 29,1914. Then, due to the alliance between Austro-Hungary and Germany, Germany declares war on Russia on August 1, 1914. Germany also declares war on France on August 3, 1914. Then Germany invaded Belgium by using the Schlieffen Plan.

"The Schlieffen Plan was the German General Staff's early 20th century overall strategic plan for victory in a possible future war where it might find itself fighting on two fronts: France to the west and Russia to the east. The First World War later became such a war with both a Western Front and an Eastern Front. The plan took advantage of expected differences in the three countries' speed in preparing for war. In short, it was the German plan to avoid a two-front war by concentrating their troops in the west, quickly defeating the French and then, if necessary, rushing those troops by rail to the east to face the Russians before they had time to mobilize fully. The Schlieffen Plan was created by Count Alfred von Schlieffen and modified by Helmuth von Moltke the Younger after Schlieffen's retirement. It was Moltke who actually put the plan into action, despite initial reservations about it.[citation needed] In modified form, it was executed to near victory in the first month of World War I; however, the modifications to the original plan, a French counterattack on the outskirts of Paris (the Battle of the Marne), and surprisingly speedy Russian offensives, ended the German offensive and resulted in years of trench warfare. The plan has been the subject of intense debate among historians and military scholars ever since. Schlieffen's last words were "remember to keep the right flank strong", a request which was watered down by Moltke." (source)

After Belgium was invaded, Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914. Then on the next day (August 5th), Ausro-Hungary declares war on Russia. And then, by August 12, 1914, France and Britain had declared war on Austro-Hungary. All these events are what eventually led up to World War I.

By the end of the war, four major imperial powers (German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman empires) had been defeated militarily, as well as politically. The Soviet Union was revolutionised and emerged from the Russian empire. Europe was then made into numerous smaller states. In order to prevent another conflict like World War I, The League of Nations was formed.

I think that the war was basically caused by a "snowball effect". One event led to another and eventually the war broke out. The alliances between different countries also contributed to the break out of the war.