Start of World War 1History books record that World War I started when Austria-Hungary went to war against Serbia to avenge the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand by the Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip, in Sarajevo (in Bosnia-Hercegovina), on June 28, 1914.
Some of the roots of the conflict arise out of specific ideologies which influenced the behaviour of politicians and other figures during the years leading up to the war. The main cause of war were: the rise of nationalist sentiment, social darwinism, competition for colonies and the naval arms race of the very early 1900s, German domestic politics. Some of the causes of the war lie in the structure of European society at the time, and the way it functioned, changes in Austria, material causes, colonial expansion, Web of alliances. So there is no reason to blame Serbia for WW1.
SerbiaSerbia was under the administration and the control of the Ottoman empire during 500 years, then in 1912, they made a coalition with Greece, Bulgaria and Romania for pulling away the Turcs and for getting back the integrity of the Kingdom like it was before the Turc's invasion. In the end of 1912, the London Treaty of London gaved back to the Kingdom of Serbia, a part of his old territory, including the nord of the Macedonian region and his historical birth place of Kosovo & Metohija. But unfortunately, the Bulgarian wantd the macedonian region, divided between Greece and Serbia, but finally, without any acceptation on every side, Bulgaria decided to make war against Serbia. That was called the Second Balkan War. Finally, Greece and Serbia kept Macedonia, but the old brothers (Bulgaria & Serbia) stayed enemies.
The Territory of Bosnia was since 20 years under the Ostro-Hungarian administration, and Sarajevo was the capital of this region. 50% of the population was Serbian, the others were 40% of converted serbians into Islam, and 10 % of turcs.
These people were living quietly under Pacha's administration, until the Austrian get this region. Then, serbians felt as slaves, Austrians used them like never the Turcs before. The serbians of Bosnia were not allowed to go to Serbia without autorisation.
Finally, the treatment of serbians people in Bosnia by Austrians was for them inacceptable, and happened what happened, some students decided to assasinate the Archiduke Franz Ferdinand.
5 days later, Austrians gaved an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia, in wich they included the fact that the Austrian police wil have all autority in Serbia for making investigation about the assassination of the Archiduke, and that everybody will have to accept oders from this police in the State of Serbia. no law avaible for these Austrians in Serbia. The kingdom gave agreement for 6 of the 7 points of this ultimatum, but not to the 7th concerning the Austrian's right in the Kingdom of Serbia. Austria knew that the Kingdom of Serbia would never autorize such things on her territory, it was just a "pretext" to make war. The next day, 100 000 thousands soldiers of the Ostro-Hungarian empire were ready to fight and waited on the Serbian border, they immediatly shot with all the power they had on the capital of Belgrad.
Russia, first allied of Serbia gaved an ultimatum to Austria, but Germany was gving an ultimatum to Russia,because of the friendship between Austrian and Germany. immediatly , France gave and ultimatum to Germany, because France was allied of Russia and Serbia, and had like that the pretext of the revenge for the war of 1870/71, where it lost the Alsace and Lorraine territories. Great Britain gave her help to France..
Of course, Serbia wasn't responsible for World War 1.
World War One was started because Bosnian Serb assassin Gavrillo Princip, a member of the Black Hand, a Serbian assassination group, killed the only heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Franz Ferdinand. Germany and Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia, and after 2 years and many costly victories for the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman empire) the Serbian army and 25% of the civilian population evacuated to Greece. The soldiers went to the island of Corfu, several miles off of mainland Greece, and from there, sick were sent to Vido, an island off of Corfu. They were accompanied by French soldiers, who had also retreated there, until both armies were carried back to the mainland by a French Navy fleet. Once on Greece, the Serbian army pushed back the Central Powers, taking back in 2 weeks what it took the Germans and Austro-Hungarians 2 years to capture. Shortly after, the Central Powers were surrounded by the Russian, French and Serbian armies and proceeded to surrender, ending World War One
Related Q&A：
Did Serbia win world war 1？-Well, you know, it's not that simple to say that Serbia alone won World War 1. Serbia did play a significant role and showed great bravery and determination in the conflict. But World War 1 was a huge and complex global event involving many countries and multiple factors. Serbia's resistance and efforts were important, but it was a collective outcome of the actions and contributions of many nations. So, it's not accurate to say Serbia single-handedly won the war. It was a combined effort of many.
