The Spark World War I Part 2
In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. He had been the heir to the throne of Austria Hungary.
His killer was a Serb, Gavrilo Princip, who wanted to unite all Serbs (including those in Austria Hungary) under one government. This touched off an action to punish Serbia.
So when Archduke Ferdinand was killed, Austria-Hungary was furious So when Archduke Ferdinand was killed, Austria-Hungary was furious. Austria-Hungary did not do anything to Serbia at first. Then it gave them a choice. Surrender all of your land, or go to war.
Russia, France, and England thought that all of this was a little too much. Serbia decided to surrender, but told them it would like to discuss a few of the issues first. Austria-Hungary responded by declaring War. Everyone was shocked.
The world knew what was about to go down, so the countries started jumping on sides. England, France, Russia, Serbia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, India and Australia took the side of the Allies.
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria made up the Central Powers