What events contributed to the outbreak of world war I?

On 28 June 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb student, killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo. Princip was a member of Young Bosnia, a group whose aims included the unification of the South Slavs and independence from Austria-Hungary. The assassination in Sarajevo set into motion a series of fast-moving events that escalated into a full-scale war. Austria-Hungary demanded action by Serbia to punish those responsible. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, when it deemed it had failed to comply. Major European powers were at war within a matter of weeks because of overlapping agreements for collective defense and the complex nature of international alliances. The conflict, however, also had deeper complex causes.

Arms race

The naval race between Britain and Germany was intensified by the 1906 launch of HMS Dreadnought. It was a revolutionary warship, which rendered all previous ships obsolete. Britain had also maintained a large naval lead in other areas particularly over Germany and Italy. Paul Kennedy pointed out that both nations believed in Alfred Thayer Mahan's thesis that command of the sea was vital to great nation status.

David Stevenson described the armaments race as "a self-reinforcing cycle of heightened military preparedness." David Herrmann viewed the shipbuilding rivalry as part of a general movement in the direction of war. (Herrmann 1996) Niall Ferguson, however, argued that Britain's ability to maintain an overall lead signified that it was not a factor in the oncoming conflict.

Plans, distrust and mobilization

Closely related is the thesis adopted by many political scientists that the mobilization plans of Germany, France and Russia automatically escalated the conflict. Fritz Fischer emphasized the inherently aggressive nature of the Schlieffen Plan, which outlined a two-front strategy. Fighting on two fronts meant Germany had to eliminate one opponent quickly, before taking on the other. It called for a strong right flank attack, to seize Belgium and cripple the French army by pre-empting its mobilisation.

After the attack, the German army would rush east by railroad and quickly destroy the slowly mobilizing Russian forces.

France's Plan XVII, envisioned a quick thrust into Germany鈥檚 industrial heartland, the Ruhr Valley. This would cripple Germany's ability to wage war.

Russia's Plan XIX, foresaw a mobilisation of its armies against both Austria-Hungary and Germany.

All three blueprints created an atmosphere where speed was of the determining factors for victory. Elaborate timetables were prepared. Once mobilisation had begun, there was little possibility of turning back. Diplomatic delays and poor communications exacerbated the problem.

What events contributed to the outbreak of world war I?opera songs

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What events contributed to the outbreak of world war I?secure browser opera theater

The assassination of arch duke Franz Ferdinand

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_W...
Our pals from Bosnia. Yes they were in a tiff way back when. Anyway, someone didn't like the way things were going and shot Arch Duke Ferdinand. Alliances were already in place so half of Europe jumped on the other half of Europe. Just look at how far we have come. Morons then morons now.
short term,the assassination of archduke ferdinand of austria-hungary,in1914 in bosnia,,,,,,,larger issue,,,,longterm boundary disputes of empires and ethnic nationalism%26amp; unrest among small and major european powers