The war to end all wars went wrong

The First World War was the first time in history that nations from around the world fought in a single war. It started with an assassination and a series of questionable decisions. Nevertheless, there isn't a single person or country that holds all of the responsibility for the outbreak of this war. World War One lasted from 1914 to 1918 and included countries in Europe, Russia, the United States, and countries in the Middle East. The two main sides of the war were were the Central Powers which consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria, who fought against the allied powers of France, Britain, Russia, Portugal, and Japan. Later in the war, the United States would also join the side of the Allies.

Why did all these nations get involved in one of the most disastrous wars in the history of humankind? Although there were many players in World War One, the conflict started with Serbia and Austria-Hungary. The Serbian government was eager to claim more territory for the nation. Serbia was already in a state of aggression due to the Balkan Wars. After the Balkan Wars, Serbian nationalists wanted to liberate the South Slavs of Austria-Hungary, thus unifying the Slavic people under one nation. This extreme nationalism led to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand who was heir to the Austria-Hungarian Empire. This assassination ignited the First World War.

References:

Cashman, G. and Robinson, L.C., 2021. An introduction to the causes of war: Patterns of interstate conflict from World War I to Iraq. Rowman & Littlefield.