History Fact Finder | War and Conflict: Twentieth Century - How Did World War I Begin?

How did World War I begin?

Called the Great War until World War II (1939–45), World War I (1914–18) was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary (1863–1914) on June 28, 1914. Ferdinand was shot by Serbian political activist Gvrilo Princip (1894–1918) in Sarajevo, which was then the capital of Austria-Hungary's province of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Princip assassinated the archduke because Ferdinand angered Serbian nationalists, among others, when he tried to expand the Austro-Hungarian monarchy into a triple monarchy that included a Slavic kingdom under Croatian leadership. Since Princip was known to have ties to a Serbian terrorist organization, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Both sides believed the battle would be decided quickly. Instead the warfare spread, eventually involving more countries and lasting for four years. World War I was considered to be the war to end all wars...

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