How WW1 Began: Causes & Crisis of 1914 🌍

How did the First World War begin? By the summer of 1914, Europe was in a crisis.

Just a few weeks before, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, had been assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serbian-backed terrorist. Now, the continent’s largest armies were mobilising against each other with new nations joining the fight seemingly every week. The world watched with bated breath as Europe marched to war.

So what happened? How did a seemingly irrelevant local conflict in South-East Europe become a World War? And why did Britain decide to get involved?

How the world went to war: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-the-world-went-to-war-in-1914

First of the First World War: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/firsts-of-the-first-world-war

Women in the First World War: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/5-inspirational-stories-of-women-in-the-first-world-war

When did the First World War really end?: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/when-did-the-first-world-war-really-end

IWM Live
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0:00 Intro
1:12 Britain and the Empire
02:34 Irish Home Rule
3:18 Tensions in Europe
04:07 Naval arms race
04:53 Alliances
05:42 The July Crisis
07:13 British Involvement
08:17 Conclusion

Flag_of_Italy_(1861-1946) by FLANKER // CC-BY-2.5 - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en

#history #ww1 #war