World War 1

Events Leading To War
The roots of World War One trace back to 1871, during the Franco-Prussian War, with France against Germany, allied with other German states. Germany then won the war and the German Empire was formed.

Germany is gradually growing stronger, economically and starting many colonies. It also forms an alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy called the "Triple Alliance".

Later, France and Russia are scared of Germany and its allies taking over Europe, so they and Britain form an alliance called the "Triple Entente".

In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia, and Serbia is threatened. The small country wants to unite the South Slavs, and Austria and Serbia begin to compete against each other.

World War One
As the Austria-Hungary was a huge empire, there was many ethnic groups wanting to get independence. The government tried to settle this down, so they sent their archduke, Franz Ferdinand and his wife on a trip to the Bosnian city of Sarajevo.

However, many assassinators were waiting to shoot the archduke. One assassinator, who was a Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip, assassinated Franz Ferdinand.

The Austro-Hungarian goverment was overwelmed by the incident, and sent a ultanium to Serbia. After the country refused, Austria-Hungary finally declared war on Serbia, starting WW1.