Introduction Bosnia was a new province in the Austro-Hungarian Empire Archduke Francis Ferdinand was the heir to the empire Many Bosnians were unhappy with the Austro- Hungarian rule Many Serbians wanted Bosnia to be a part of Serbia On June 28, 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated while visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia Causes of World War I Imperialism Conflict among European powers over colonization of remaining areas in the world Germany envied France and Great Britains vast colonial empire Knew they would have to take land away from them to expand into Africa Militarism Less diplomacy in Europe by 1900 Greater military build-up and aggressive foreign policy Expansion of weapons Expansion of military authority over government Nationalism Two types Acting in countrys own self interest Ex: Alsace-Lorraine in France/Germany Acting in self interest based on ethnicity Ex: Diversity of ethnicities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire Alliances Created to strengthen countries Required countries to come to each others aid in the event of an attack Germany and Austria-Hungary Russia and France Great Britain and France Expansion of Conflict Declaration of War Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914 It was unhappy with its response to the assassination Chain of Alliances Russia was allied with Serbia and began mobilizing for war Austria-Hungarys ally, Germany, declared war on Russia Pulled in France First Strike Germanys plan was to strike France first and then Russia Had to cross through Belgium first A neutral country Great Britain was pulled into the war as a result of Germanys invasion of Belgium Two Sides Central Powers Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Allies Russia France Serbia Great Britain Italy Romania Early Fighting The West German forces were stopped near Paris by France and Great Britain There they reached a stalemate whereby neither side gained any significant advances The East Russia advanced to Germany Germany had planned to complete its attack of France before turning its attention to Russia Had to send troops to deal with the Russians before it was really ready Prevented a German victory in the West Modern Artillery Machine guns Grenades Poison gas No longer was the size of troops the determinate in victory Many military leaders were unaccustomed to creating warfare strategies based on modern artillery Americas Response Connection to War One third of Americans were immigrants Although a quarter of Americans identified and sided with the Germans most felt the greatest connection to the British Americans also disliked Germanys leader, Kaiser Wilhelm British propaganda also swayed Americans against Germany American Neutrality Woodrow Wilson declared that America would be neutral To protect American financial investments in Europe Congress increased taxes to prepare for the possibility of war Wilson set-up military training camps