History practice questions
Why did Francis Ferdinand’s assassination lead to WW1? (6-point question)
The assassination of Francis Ferdinand led to WW1 because it affected many EU countries
which caused alliances to form which led to more conflicts. Austria-Hungary and Serbia both
wanted Bosnia, so the day Prince Francis Ferdinand went to Bosnia, Serbia sent terrorists to
assassinate the Archduke. After Prince Ferdinand was assassinated, entangled alliances formed
which created 2 competing groups which led to militarism, imperialism and nationalism (other
major causes of WW1). An alliance is when there is an agreement between countries to aid and
protect one another, an example of alliances forming in WW1 is when the central powers and the
allied powers were formed. The central powers included countries such as Germany, Austria-
Hungary, the Ottoman empire, Italy and Bulgaria. The allied powers included countries such as
France, Britain, Serbia, Russia, Portugal, Japan and America (America joined the war later).
Another reason why the assassination of Francis Ferdinand led to WW1 is because it provided
Austria-Hungary with the perfect opportunity/excuse for military action against Serbia. The
emperor of Austria-Hungary demanded that severe reprisals be taken against Serbia, even if it
meant risking a war with Russia. On the 6th of July Germany offered full support to Austria-Hungary
so they could have the financial and militaristic ability to declare war. After Germany started an
alliance with Austria-Hungary, other countries felt threatened and decided to show their nations
importance by building up armies and weapons, this is called nationalism. Militarism also played a
major role in the war; militarism is the policy of building strong military forces to prepare for war.
Countries like Germany and France started building up their naves while other countries were
building up their armies to prepare for the war.
Germany started WW1, to what extent to agree with this statement? (10-point
question)
I agree with this statement, there is no doubt all the European powers played a role in
provoking WW1, but most commonly fingers point to Germany.
The first reason why Germany should be blamed for the war is because Germany alone had the
power to stop the war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. All they had to do was not have an
alliance with Austro-Hungary so they couldn’t have the financial ability to start a war with Serbia.
This would have caused Austro-Hungary to never issue their ultimatum. Germany also knew that if
Austria-Hungary went to war with Serbia, Russia and France would both get pulled in. It was almost
as if Germany needed to find a way to declare a war on their rivals in the region without doing it
themselves. Germany could never just outright declare a war on other nations, or they would risk
unifying the entire continent of Europe against them. However instead they destabilized the
Balkans, therefore Serbia would have an alliance with Russia and France allowing Germany to start
a war to suit their needs.
, The second reason why Germany should be blamed for the war is because they wanted the war
to happen. The reason for this is because Germany had peaked as a nation. If Germany had let the
rest of Europe to catch up, then they would lose power and prestige and they started the war to
avoid this from happening. This upset Kaiser Wilhem ll , who was an angry militaristic autocrat, he
believed the only way to ensure Germany’s spot of power was through war. On 5 th July 1914,
Germany gave the “blanque cheque” of unconditional support to the Austrian-Hungarian empire,
fully aware of the consequences it was probably going to bring. Germany also tried to prove their
nation's importance to the world by building up armies and weapons, they also had naval rivalry
with Britain. This suggests that Germany created competitions and made alliances to fight their
rivals which was one of the main causes of war (nationalism and militarism) Basically, the conflict
could have been avoided if Germany made better decisions and not make alliances with Austria-
Hungary.
However, there is one reason I disagree with this statement. I disagree with this statement because
there were also many other countries to blame for the war. The first country to declare war was
Austria-Hungary, and the other country that started conflict with Austria-Hungary was Serbia when
they assassinated Prince Francis Ferdinand. Germany only entered the war to come to Austria-
Hungary's aid and to offer support. However, Germany’s alliance with Austria-Hungary led to
Serbia and Russia having an alliance, Russia’s promise of support influenced Serbia's decision to
reject the Austrian ultimatum. Russia’s decision to mobilize had terrible consequences and caused
even more conflict with other countries. Russia also had dragged in their other ally France in the
war which encouraged other countries to form alliances as well. Serbia should be mostly
responsible for WW1 instead of Germany because their government had sent terrorists to
assassinate the Archduke Prince Francis Ferdinand and his wife just because they wanted Bosnia.
The war could’ve been avoided if Serbia had just accepted the Austrian ultimatum.
In conclusion, Germany is blamed for WW1 because they contributed greatly to the sequence of
events that led to the catastrophe due to extensive military buildup and the extreme
nationalism/imperialism. Germany encouraged war, invaded multiple countries and started
unnecessary conflict. Germany caused the war that killed millions even though it could have been
avoided if it weren’t for Germany’s selfish decisions. Therefore, Germany holds a lot of
responsibility for starting WW1.
Which country was most responsible for starting the war?
Germany should be blamed for the war to the great extent because Germany played a crucial
role in establishing the alliance system, creating tension and anticipation of war throughout Europe
through their militaristic practices. Germany had started an alliance with Austria-Hungary and
encouraged them to declare war on Serbia. Germany also started nationalism, militarism and
imperialism. Germany tried to show their nation’s importance by starting a naval rivalry with Britain
which encouraged other countries to also build up their armies, this is an example of nationalism.
Germany started preparing for war by creating new weapons and building up armies, this is
militarism. Imperialism is also something that happened a lot throughout the war, an example of
