Japan, allied with Britain, followed suit.Īt first, the United States declared itself officially neutral, and President Woodrow Wilson counseled his fellow countrymen: “The United States must be neutral in fact as well as in name during these days that try men’s souls. That inspired Germany to declare war on Russia and France, and Great Britain to respond with a declaration of war on Germany. With nationalist elements threatening to pull its empire apart, Austria-Hungary struck back at Serbia, who then called on its ally Russia for aid.
These conflicting alliances from previous wars pulled and tugged at the structure until it came tumbling down on June 28, when a Serbian nationalist killed the visiting Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Britain, France, and Russia were bonded in a “Triple Entente,” while Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were bound in a Triple Alliance. This story appears in the March/April issue of National Geographic History magazine.Īs simple as it may sound, the European world collapsed on itself like a matchstick castle in summer 1914.
0 kommentar(er)
