Question

The 1914 and 1939 Wars that engulfed almost the entire world, were known as World Wars due to its unprecedented impact and damage. In this context, answer the following.

Explain the immediate cause of the First World War.

Answer 1

The immediate cause of the First World War was the Sarajevo Crisis. The crisis took place on 28th June 1914, when the crown prince of Austria, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated at Sarajevo (Capital city of Bosnia). It was traced that the assassination was planned by the ‘Black Hand’ – patriotic terrorists of a secret society in Serbia – because they wanted to unite all south Serbians under a single Serbian state. However, Austria sent them an ultimatum. The Serbian government refused to accept some of the demands, resulting in Austria declaring war against Serbia.