Causes of World War I

World War I

There were many causes to World War I, most of them very frightening and disheartening. This essay will describe two different causes of “The Great War”. First, there was a clash between two coalitions of European countries. Second, the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Francis Ferdinand, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist.

One of the causes of WWI was the clash between two coalitions of European countries. The first coalition, known as the Allied Powers, included the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro, and the Russian Empire. The Central Powers, which opposed them, consisted of the empires of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Japan joined the Allied Powers in 1914. The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in 1914, as did Bulgaria in 1915. The same year, Italy entered the war on the Allied side. Although the United States initially remained neutral, it joined the Allies in 1917. Some of these nations, however, did not participate in the actual fighting.

The main cause of the war, however, was the assassination of Francis Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria-Hungary. On June 28, 1914,