Question

Describe what made World War I a total war.

Answer 1

In June 1914, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie traveled to Bosnia. On June 28, they narrowly escaped death when Serbian terrorists threw a bomb at their open-topped car. Later that day, Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Franz Ferdinand and his wife at point-blank range. Austria-Hungary was furious and, with Germany’s support, declared war on Serbia on July 28. Within days of the assassination, Germany declared war on Russia (who was Serbia's ally) and invaded France via Belgium, which then caused Britain to declare war on Germany. The United Kingdom, France and Russia (aka the Triple Entente), was opposing Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (aka the Triple Alliance). Although Italy had been a member of the Triple Alliance since 1882, it ended up switching sides and joining the Triple Entente.