Events in the Balkans in Bringing About World War I

Summary

The Balkan Wars began as a result of the unrest in Macedonia, which caused upheaval in Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria. The ongoing instability and violence in the Balkans created tension in Europe before the start of World War I. The development of independence in Europe and Austria-Hungarys dominance in the area were the main factors contributing to the long-term cause (Wells and Fellows 20). On its southern boundaries, the Austro-Hungarian Empire reached into the Balkans, and in the years leading up to World War I, it attempted to increase its grip over the area. On the other hand, the short-term cause was Austrias annexation of the Balkans. These areas were vulnerable to invasion due to the Ottoman Empires dissolution (Wells and Fellows 21). Bosnia was seized by Austria, angering Serbia because Bosnia had a sizable Serbian population.

Sources About German and Austrian War Guilt

Source A

Austria anticipated a war because its major objective was to persuade the Serbian authorities to end the inflammatory campaign. The irredentist South Slavic movements supported by Serbia were seen as a hazard to the security of Austria-multinational Hungarys empire. Austria intended to strike Serbia militarily after the murder to show their power. The Austro-Hungarian government chose to perform an investigation into the assassination, which would need to be approved by the Serbian authorities. Even before officials could get permission from Serbia to commence the investigations into the murder, the Austria-Hungarian authorities trespassed and began an inquiry. Austria was trying to justify its actions because the country was ready and expected war.

Source B

Source B does not demonstrate Russian responsibility for the outbreak of the conflict. This material is valuable because it presents Russia as a nation that values peace and would never take part in any activity that would jeopardize the stability of Europe. According to Wells and Fellows (23), the authorities of Austria-Hungary and Germany began the war. The source, however, omits to demonstrate that Germany sought war with Russia but lacked the justification to do so in order to gain fresh territory in the east. Therefore, despite pleas for tranquility from most of Europe, the war offered a greater chance, and Germany continued to press Austria. Moreover, the murder of the archduke provided Vienna with the chance to attack Serbia, one of its rivals in the Balkans.

Different Countries and Their Fault in Causing World War I

Germany intended to invade Russia to gain additional land in the east, and the war was a chance to acquire the tracks of land. The murder of the archduke, the heir to Austrias throne, made the country declare war on Serbia, their enemy in the Balkan war. The alliance structure and assurances of assistance to Serbia, its friend in the Balkans, drew Russia into the dispute. Britain entered the conflict to defend neutral Belgium and stop a defeat of France that would have given Germany dominance over Western Europe (Wells and Fellows 27). Considering the Germans had invaded them, the French had little choice but to join the war. The First World War can be viewed via a realist lens as a battle between independent, unitary players in a lawless international system. Therefore, the beginning of the war is the fault of Germany and its allies.

End-of-unit Activity About the Long-term Causes of the War

Long-term Causes of the War	Importance of the Cause
Economic	The most obvious effects were an increase in domestic and global debt. Furthermore, increased military spending throughout the war resulted in job creation and more economic activity and helped to develop new technology that could eventually spread to other industries.
Political: Alliances and entente	Collective security was the main concept behind the alliance system. The stakes were huge since an invasion of one country would trigger a counter-attack by that state and its allies.
Political: Nationalism	The war prompted countries to raise the size of their armies, which promoted militarization.
Political: Power balance	This cause encouraged any country to acquire overwhelming military strength to control the others.
Miscalculations by statesmen	Austria launched the war on Serbia in anticipation that it would be a local and limited conflict.

End-of-unit Activity About the Short-term Causes of the War

Incident	Why It Was Important	Importance of a Scale
The Moroccan Crisis, 1905	A precursor to the First World War, the larger battle between the great powers of Europe that is still to come.	3
The Bosnian Crisis, 1908-9	Although the issue was resolved without resorting to violence, the strained relations between Austria-Hungary and Serbia and Russias wrath over being duped and humiliated played a role in the start of World War I.	2
The Moroccan Crisis, 1911	The German gunship Panther was brought to Agadir to intimidate the French while ostensibly protecting German interests through a local native insurrection in Morocco.	1
The Balkan Wars, 1912-13	Military wars considerably eliminated the Ottoman Empires remaining territories in Europe.	3
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, 1914	Ultimately resulting in the start of the First World War.	4

Work Cited

Wells, Mike, and Nick Fellows. History for the IB Diploma: Causes and Effects of 20^thCentury Wars. Cambridge University Press, 2016.

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