Why Did World War Develop In 1914

Why World War Developed in the Late Summer of 1914
World War I is the event where all the Eurasian empires went at war by a domino effect. What started as a local conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia became arguably the most important war in Europe. The Balkan states became the Great Powers’ way of starting a conflict that had been building up for decades. Although the guilt of the beginning of World War I is commonly attributed to the Great Powers, past tensions in the Balkan states made the perfect set up for a high-magnitude conflict in Europe since they made Serbia a threat to Austria-Hungary’s position as a Great Power. Serbia’s threat was amplified with Russia’s mobilization in response to the conflict which ultimately caused the
spark to what is known to many of us today as The Great War.
War between Austria-Hungary and Serbia grew more wont to happen after the Balkan wars.
The First Balkan War is a clear example of the effects of nationalism, which fueled the Serbian and Bulgarian armies while weakening the enthusiasm of the Ottoman society, which had a heterogeneous composition (Glenny 232).
Due to their effective military strategies, Serbian and Bulgarian armies started to be discussed with respect among the great European powers. The idea of Serbia’s military strength was born. Serbia grew a desire to acquire territory, and they proceeded to occupy Albanian territory. Montenegro also did similar actions. Austria-Hungary and Italy also had the desire to extend their influence in Albania so they attempted to make the Serbian and Montenegrins leave with the excuse that “Serbia and Montenegro had no business in the region because it was inhabited almost exclusively by Albanians” (Glenny 240). The Balkan states’ mutual cooperation gave them a sense of connection. As their confidence grew, they started threatening other European nations by stating that Russia will come to their aid. This can be seen between Austria-Hungary and Serbia: Serbia threatened that if Austria-Hungary were to intervene in Serbian occupation of Albania, then Russia will offer Serbia military guarantees. This type of
response gave the idea that a European war could erupt anytime and alarmed both the Triple Alliance and the Entente. The animosity between Austria-Hungary and Serbia grew as Germany was backing Austria-Hungary, and Russia started mobilizing even though St. Petersburg had warned Belgrade that Russia would not go to go for the sake of Durres, Albania’s occupied territory by Serbia (Glenny 242). It was thanks to a conciliatory intervention by Great Britain that this event did not lead to World War I. The Second Balkan War focused on Bulgaria’s attempt to recover more Macedonian territory, which meant a conflict with Greece and Serbia. Bulgaria did not count with Russian support and by the time they asked Austria-Hungary for help, having in consideration the enmity between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, the war was over. Greeks, Serbs, Turks, Romanians and Montenegrins all counterattacked Bulgaria’s forces. The Second Balkan War caused Russia to lose Bulgaria’s support, which made Serbia become Russia’s only client state in the Balkans. This put Russia in a difficult position: they could either support Serbia in any future conflicts or lose influence in the Balkans (Sass). Bulgaria’s loss meant more territorial gain for Serbia; ergo, Austria-Hungary would view it as a bigger threat. As Williamson clarifies, “The clear loser in the Second Balkan War was Austria… because Serbia had now emerged stronger, and was in a position to resist pressure from Vienna” (Williamson 49). This situation greatly foreshadows the upcoming conflict that started World War I.
Even though there was already tension between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, Serbia’s lack of cooperation in the time leading to the war further endangered the peace and stability of Europe. Serbia’s attempts to stop the nationalistic group “Union of Death,” better known as “Black Hand” were either nonexistent or failures. The German White Book offers a view of Serbia’s efforts when it accuses Serbia of doing “nothing to suppress this [terrorist] movement.” Serbia did not censor the “unbridled language of the Press, glorified “originators of assassinations,” allowed “the participation of officers and officials in subversive intrigues,” and “permitted all manifestations which would mislead the Servian people into hatred of the monarchy and into contempt for its institutions” (20). Not only did Serbia failed to stop anti-monarchy movements, they encouraged groups into hating the Dual Monarchy. Needless to say, this caused both hatred and concerned with Austria-Hungary since its power as a European Great Power was continuing to weaken. Serbia proved to have a complete paucity of security as more than one attempt against the life Archduke Franz Ferdinand occurred on June 28, 1914; the archduke’s failure and naivety to protect himself, especially when visiting a resentful Serbia, also contributed to his assassination. This then allowed Austria-Hungary to go against Serbia since Austria-Hungary wanted to stop Serbia’s power from increasing; an increase in power would make Serbia a serious threat to the weakening Dual Monarchy. Again, Serbia was able to use Russia as their security blanket, but this time, a conciliatory intervention would not be enough to keep the Eurasian empires from going to war.
Russian mobilization caused misunderstanding and ruined the efforts to stop the war. As soon as war between Serbia and Austria-Hungary became a reality, Germany attempted to convince Austria-Hungary to keep the war localized. Other Great Powers, like Great Britain and France, firmly announced that an Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia would lead to imminent war. Great Britain’s Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey proposed mediation several times with the hope to stop Russia and Germany from amplifying the magnitude of the war. Germany’s, Great Britain’s, and the other Great Powers’ attempts to stop the war were shattered when Russian mobilized, forcing Germany to take defensive military actions. The German White Book explains, “The Russian Government through its mobilization, menacing the security of our country, frustrated the laborious efforts at mediation of the European cabinets. The Russian measures of mobilization… show clearly that Russia wanted war” (17). The Nicky-Willy telegrams caused paranoia to both leaders, making them believe they were plotting against each other. Russia’s Czar Nicholas II, also referred as Nicky, sent vague messages to the Kaiser of Germany, Wilhelm II, also referred as Willy. Willy is also at fault. Assuming that Russia will not intervene in Serbia’s favor, he went on vacation, oblivious to the upcoming crisis. Willy’s delay to face the conflict made the situation more unstable. The threat of Russian mobilization became clear, as the German ambassador in St. Petersburg was told to “warn Sazonov that ‘Russian mobilization measures would compel us [Germany] to mobilise and that then European war could scarcely be prevented’” (Keegan 63). In one of the telegrams, the Czar replies to the Kaiser by suggesting to give over the Austro-Serbian conflict to the Hague conference, which was scheduled to meet a year later. More ambiguous telegrams were given between both leaders, and both desired to maintain peace. While Russia wanted Germany to stop Austria-Hungary from attacking Serbia, Germany firmly told Russia that mobilization will be seen as a threat and make peace unfeasible. This worked at first, making Nicky change the full mobilization to a partial one. Germany was not completely satisfied and neither were the Russian officers: “Stronger personalities like Foreign Minister Sazonov and Minister of War Sukhomlinov determined the Russian government responses as war neared” (Heyman 155). Sazonov convinced the Czar to start full mobilization, which ultimately made war unstoppable. Germany would now approach its Schlieffen plan, making France come to the aid of Russia and counterattack Germany. Great Britain will not allow the invasion of neutral Belgium, making them join the war against Germany. Russia’s mobilization was the last piece of the puzzle needed to start the First World War. The enmity between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, which started during the Balkan Wars, and Serbia’s lack of control of its own people produced the conflict that led to the First World War, and it was Russia’s mobilization that made mediation unfeasible. All of these events made the war develop in the summer of 1914 since it was at that point that all the previous tension was released. Previous tension came from distrust among the European Great Powers, separation between the Triple Alliance and the Entente, but it all got released when war began between two nations: Austria-Hungary and Serbia. All Eurasian empires were attached one way or another to a participating country, making then either voluntarily or forcibly enter the Great War.

Works Cited
Germany. Auswärtiges Amt. The German White Book. Berlin: Liebheit & Thiesen, 1914. Print.
Glenny, Misha. The Balkans: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers, 1804-1999. New York: Viking Penguin, 2000. Print.
Heyman, Neil. World War I. Westport, CT: Greenwood P, 1997. Print.
Keegan, John. The First World War. New York: Knopf, 1999. Print.
Saas, Erik. "World War I Centennial: The Second Balkan War Begins." Mental Floss. Mental Floss Mag., 29 June 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.
Williamson, David G. War and Peace: International Relations 1878-1941. 3rd ed. London: Hodder Education, 2009. Print. Access to History.