How Is World War 1 Justified

World War I (WWI) began on July 28, 1914, when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, leader of a radical group whose purpose was to end foreign rule over Bosnia and Serbia. Austria-Hungary used the assassination as justification to launch a war on Serbia, blaming them for the radical groups’ actions. This regional conflict sucked in most of the great countries of the world. The countries took sides and it became a power play where no one wanted to back off, they all wanted to win. Ultimately, World War I could have been avoided had these nations not let their pride get in the way and were willing to negotiate their differences and interests. Since this war did not make the world a better place these sacrifices cannot be justified.
European countries maneuvered for support and positions, like a game of chess, and Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary wrote a letter to Kaiser Wilhelm leader of Germany, requesting his support (July 6, 1914). On July 23, 1914 Serbia received an ultimatum to destroy terrorist organizations within its borders, censor anti-Austrian propaganda, and comply with a full investigation of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination or face military action. Rather than negotiate the demands, Serbia turned to Russia for military backup. Austria-Hungary took the next move to mobilize its army and declared war on Serbia on July 28th. On August 1, after hearing news of Russia’s general mobilization, Germany declared war on Russia who was backing Serbia. The German army, with help of Austro-Hungary, planned an attack on Russia’s ally, France. The decision was made to approach through Belgium, violating Belgium neutrality and bringing Great Britain into the war as