How did World War 1 begin and what happened as a result of the war
How did World War 1 begin and what happened as a result of the war? It all
started over the ownership of Bosnia. It was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
and Serbia wanted to reunion the Bosnian people and lands with Serbia. What sparked
the war was the assassination of the Archduke (Franz Ferdinand) of Austro-Hungarian by
a group of Serbian nationalists called ”The Black Hand.” Gavrilo Princip was the man
who shot the Archduke and his wife. This event initiated the struggle between Serbia and
the Austro-Hungarian government. Rivalries started to form and tension between
European countries were about to take off. Lines were being drawn and stakes were high,
Europe was heading toward war. The atmosphere was extremely tense. Europe’s greed
led to infighting for resources in their respective colonies and the development of
independent countries soon took sides and two opposing groups emerged.
Entente Powers: Britain / France / Russia / (later the US)
Central Powers: Germany / Austria-Hungary /Ottoman Empire
Germany therefore supported its ally Austro-Hungary in the war effort and Russia had
Serbia’s back covered. These alliances led a ripple effect and other players like France,
Belgium and Great Britain became entangle in the war. Great Britain’s empire was the
strongest, largest, wealthiest and had the most sophisticated navy on earth. Germany,
strategically built up their empire to compete and challenge Great Britain’s platform.
Germany had conquered two French provinces (Alsace and Lorraine) and this caused a
bitter rivalry between France and Germany.
The war produced enormous advances in military artillery and communications. # 1
The use of nerve Gas such as Mustard and chlorine. #2 the weaponization of airplanes.
#3 the effective use of submarine as commerce raiders. #4 the upgrade of the machine
gun. #5 the mechanization of the tank. #6 the use of newly advanced radar. #7 radio
usage exploded onto the scene and the invention of cryptography. On a geographical and
political note, the war aided the destruction of colonialism and demolished the rule of the
Ottoman empire, czarist Russia, and Austro–Hungary. Another aspect was the
development of distrust of U.S towards Europe. The U.S practice of isolation was
dissolved.
There were also the economic chaos and irresponsibility that helped plunge England,
Germany, France, and Russia (civil war) into bankruptcy. Eventually The Great
Depression would enter the circle of financial strife that further throw the economic
downfall into a black hole. The effects of World War 1 helped Russia usher in the
world’s first Communist state, by two factions (Bolsheviks and the provisional) fighting
a civil war which killed millions. Later on, they would go up against their main
adversary Nazi Germany, and then the US superpower during the Cold War. Germany
forms a strong sense of Nationalism that begins, after what is considered as an unfair
settlement especially the crushing reparation payments and the shrinkage of their military
power as well as the lost of land. The Treaty of Versailles humiliated them and they
become increasingly furious and wanted someone to fix the problem. Adolf Hitler gave
rise to the nazi party and Germany found its way out of the ashes. All of this would
pave way to start World War ll. The war caused an overwhelming death toll which
included both civilians and military soldiers/personnel. The total of dead was around 16
million. The Great War had changed the way war was fought.
