The Assassination Of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

During the onset of World War I, political strife and uneasy diplomacy made Europe into a tinderbox, waiting to be set off. While it’s often noted that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to Franz Joseph, may have ignited the powder keg in the Balkans, it certainly did not start it. The individual who most likely started this reaction was Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire. Prior to the war, Wilhelm was a devout follower of militarism and was devoted to the Triple Alliance that binded Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy together in 1882. Initially viewed as a defensive pact, Wilhelm wanted to wield the bond into his favor by initiating provocative threats such as the Tangier Crisis between 1905-1906, which involved

the Kaiser landing in French-Sphered Morocco. Also in 1911, the Agadir Crisis sprung into attention when a German gunboat landed in the port of Agadir in Morocco, further putting France on edge. However, during the July Crisis in 1914, Austrian authorities were mulling about on whether the assassination of the Archduke was Casus Belli, and the Kaiser wanted to further push Austria by issuing a “blank check” on July 6, stating that Germany would guarantee Austria of assistance from Russian aggression. With this being said, Franz Josef agreed to a harsh ultimatum to Serbia but declared war on her anyway. The Kaiser, believing the time was right, urged the Oberste Heeresleitung to mobilize and initiate the Schlieffen Plan, which called for ⅞ of the German armies to invade France, crush her by six weeks, and turn around and face Russia. With the Kaiser’s attitude being hostile to Belgium, a country whose independence was guaranteed by Great Britain from the Treaty of London, he allowed OHL to invade the nation to bypass France’s frontier forts. Because of this intricate chain of events, France, Great Britain, and Russia were joined against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Despite the Kaiser trying to make the situation look defensive, Italy didn’t agree to the alliance, seeing it as an “offensive venture”. Soon enough, the Kaiser’s diplomacy will garner an alliance with the Ottoman Empire.