June 28, 1914...the world is about to go insane due to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria, who was next in line for the throne of the Austria-Hungary Empire. Could the Bosnian Serb assassain, Gavrilo Princip, have any idea of what was going to happen when he pulled the trigger, killing Ferdinand and his wife? Is there any way he could have known that just five weeks after he shot the couple Europe was going to be forever changed?
While this is not a comprehensive timeline of every event that occurred at the outset of World War I, this is a good place to start when looking at the events starting that fateful day in June of 1914...
- June 28, 1914--Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated by a 19 year old Serb named Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Serbian terrorist organization called The Black Hand.
- July 5, 1914--Austria-Hungary sought out the assistance of Germany if the empire chose to retaliate against the Serbs.
- July 23, 1914--The Austria-Hungarian government sends an ultimatum to Serbia which contained ten basically unreachable demands. The Austro-Hungarians said that if Serbia didn't meet each of these demands war would follow. (This was intentional...Austro-Hungary WANTED to go to war at this point...)
- Serbia, expecting the worst, asked Russia for help if they should have to defend themselves against Austro-Hungary. Russia was not wanting to go to war at the time and basically told Serbia that they would not give military support. The Austro-Hungarian army, by the way, is bombing Serbia's capital of Belgrade at this time.
- July 25, 1914--Serbia does the unexpected: they don't reject the ultimatum and actually agree to 8 of the 10 demands. Austro-Hungary is now in a sticky spot...do they go ahead and declare war, even though to everyone involved it will be obvious that Serbia is at least trying to work things out?
- July 28, 1914--Austro-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
- July 29, 1914--In something of a shocking move, the Russian leader, Tsar Nicholas, changed his mind and decided he would assist Serbia by mobilizing his army. This meant not only that Russia was now going to war against Austro-Hungary but also against Germany. This was a VERY sticky situation because Tsar Nicholas and the German leader, Kaiser Wilhelm, were cousins and very close friends.
- July 30, 1914--France, noting the mobilization of Germany's army and still angry over the outcome of a previous war (the Franco-Prussian War), decides to mobilize their own army and sides with Serbia and Russia. On this same day, Germany declares war against Russia.
- July 31, 1914--Tsar Nicholas writes a letter to his cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm, strongly urging the Kaiser to reconsider his declaration of war "in the name of our old friendship" and asks him to "do what you can to stop your allies from going too far". Germany all but thumbed her nose at Russia, BECAUSE....
- Aug. 1, 1914--Germany declares war against Russia. On this same day, Great Britain told Germany that they would stay out of the war if Belgium was left out of the war and if France was not attacked by Germany. However...
- Aug. 2, 1914--Germany invaded Belgium in an attempt to get to France (which, of course, violated BOTH of the things Great Britain asked Germany not to do...). THEN...
- Aug. 3, 1914--Germany declares war against France...which of course meant that...
- Aug. 4, 1914--France declares war on Germany! On this same day, Great Britain gave Germany one more chance, demanding a German promise to pull out of Belgium. The Germans were given until midnight to respond, but, since they failed to do so, Great Britain declared war on Germany.
GOT ALL THAT?!
So, why did Germany invade Belgium and declare war on France? Weren't they just asking for a WHOLE LOT of trouble from Great Britain to go along with the mess they were already in with Russia? To answer this, we have to look at what is called the "Schlieffen Plan".
The Schlieffen Plan, oddly enough, was a plan that Germany had previously come up with that was like a playbook for what to do if Germany found itself fighting a war on two fronts (something they will find themselves doing AGAIN in World War II...). The Schlieffen Plan was put in place in case of an eventual war between Germany and France and Russia at the same time. The theory was that the Germans would quickly crush the French and then load their army onto trains and head to the east where they would then attack the Russians. It seemed like a great plan with little chance of failure. Germany had already proven they were more than a match for France (remember, Germany routed France in 1870 in just under three months!), and Russia, much as we have explained, was much like a hibernating bear...big and slow...which would give Germany plenty of time to attack and win against the giant to the east.
This Schlieffen Plan seemed like a nearly flawless plan with little chance of failure...except for a couple of things.
1. For the Schlieffen Plan to go as expected, France needed to attack. France wasn't attacking...at least not yet.
2. Russia was getting their act together...FAST! If Germany hesitated too long, Russia would be at full strength too quickly for Germany to have the advantage they were after. This is why Germany declared war on Russia so quickly.
3. The Germans did NOT expect the Belgians to resist! Germany though Belgium would just let them move their armies across Belgium without any resistance. The Germans were wrong...
4. The Germans had not anticipated Great Britain being part of the equation when the Schlieffen Plan was created.
5. France had a far better rail system than Germany had anticipated. As such, France could move their troops around a LOT faster than Germany had been prepared for. So, by the time the German army arrived in France to attack, the French army was already assembled and waiting.
These things, and some other problems, caused the Schlieffen Plan to fall apart. Instead of wiping out French resistance in a matter of weeks, the French and Germans became engaged in some of the nastiest fighting in modern history as trench warfare set in for several brutal, bloody years.
Okay, so now that we have a bit of an idea as to who was fighting who...and a bit of why...at the start of World War I, the question would become "who's fault is all of this?" Who was really to blame for World War I blowing up like it did? Interestingly enough, a cartoon drawn by an American (remember, America was NOT to be in the war for several more years at this point) had an intriguing point of view regarding the War that was now raging in Europe.
Consider the cartoon below...
This cartoon originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune in 1914, when our timeline was going into effect. There are a couple of things that I think you should take notice of when looking at this cartoon. First, check out who is pointing at whom: Serbia is pointing at Austria; Austria is pointing at Serbia, Russia is pointing at Germany; Germany is pointing at Russia; France and England are both pointing at Germany, as is Belgium. Second, notice that Italy is standing there with his arms crossed, not pointing at anyone and not being pointed at. Third, what direction are all of these men facing? If you notice, the are all facing "west", or across the ocean, apparently at the United States. Why? Do you think they are all trying to tell us who is to blame and who we should side with, or is there some other reason? Or, is it just coincidence they are looking in our direction?
Things are getting nasty in a hurry in Europe...so what is going to happen next??? Hang on...we're getting there...
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