![]() Cohen is a history professor and director of the Center for Austrian Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Geoffrey Wawro is the author of “A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire” and Richard Ned Lebow is the author of “Archduke Franz Ferdinand Lives! A World Without World War I.” We also drew from the book “Archduke of Sarajevo: The Romance and Tragedy of Franz Ferdinand of Austria” by Gordon Brook-Shepherd. So who was Franz Ferdinand? We asked three experts who have studied that era. The killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand would trigger one of the most brutal wars in modern history, eventually pulling in the Russian Empire, Germany, France, Italy, China, the U.S., Japan and beyond into World War I. One month later, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This was to protect soldiers from heavy artillery and machine gunfire.One hundred years ago, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire and his wife were assassinated by a gunman during a drive through Sarajevo. Having failed with their plan for a quick victory, the German army decided to hold their position, digging 400 miles of trenches from the English Channel to the border with Switzerland. The UK was also concerned about Germany winning control of Belgian ports, giving them a base to invade from. The UK declared war on Germany, honouring the Treaty of London, signed in 1839, that said Belgium should be a neutral country.Russia mobilised their army in ten days, meaning Germany had to move soldiers to the eastern front.The Belgian army managed to slow the German advance, giving the French time to move their army to the border with Belgium.Russia would take six weeks to mobilise their army.There would be minimal resistance from Belgium.The Schlieffen plan made several assumptions: They planned to invade France by going through Belgium and then circling back to fight Russia on the eastern front. ![]() Germany created a plan to avoid fighting on their eastern and western fronts at the same time. With France to the east and Russia to the west, Germany was surrounded by countries who had united against them in the Triple Entente. This caused a problem for Germany and led to them creating the Schlieffen Plan to try and deal with this threat. The Triple Entente was strategically in a better position, as they encircled the countries in the Triple Alliance. This was significant when Germany made the Schlieffen Plan, as they did not believe the UK would go to war if France was attacked. It was a friendly agreement, and the three members did not necessarily guarantee to go to war to support each other. The Triple Entente was formed in 1907, including the UK, France and Russia. The fact that the UK and France were willing to put aside their differences shows how concerned they were about the ambition of Germany. This was important as they had been rivals for centuries. In 1904, the UK and France signed the Entente Cordiale. In 1894, France and Russia signed an agreement to support each other, forming the Franco-Russian Alliance, as they feared the strength of the Triple Alliance. The Triple Alliance created suspicion in other European countries. The Triple Alliance meant the three countries promised to defend each other if one of them was attacked. Germany had been at war with France in 1871 and feared further conflict. In 1882, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy entered into an agreement known as the Triple Alliance.
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