Causes of WWI

World War 1 was one of the most deadly wars the world had ever experienced. Milions of people were killed, injured, or taken prisoner. Tensions had been building between the European nations for years. Militarism played a big part in causing World War 1. The Europeans were rapidly building up their military in case of attack. They also formed complicated battle plans that would usually involve more countries than necessary. The building up of militaries caused tensions to form between the nations. Also, some nations formed secret alliances to support each other in case of war. This caused even more nations to be dragged into the war when it finally began. Nationalism also played a huge role in starting World War 1. In many countries, there were people of many different nationalities that lived there, but only people of a certain nationality could rule. Those people resented the fact that they didn't have any political freedom. Countries that shared a common heritage with these people wanted to support them in political disputes. The final blow that started World War 1 was the assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Archduke was the next in line to rule Austria-Hungary. While visiting Sarajevo in Serbia, he was killed by Gavrilo Princep, a member of the Black Hand. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and World War 1 had begun.