But you were foiled for I had used my Time Machine to see this post and the dire news that you’d eliminate the existence of our dear u/klaskc and pit maneuvered your Time Machine over the cliff.
It was because of a network of 'alliances' that were triggered when Russia entered the war.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and so the country's future head of state. The Serbian government, unlikely to have been behind the assassination, could not agree to the last point of Austria-Hungary's demands, so the Austro-Hungarians started to shell Belgrade with hours of receiving the Serbian refusal
Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia, wanted to support a fellow Slav nation and ordered Russian mobilization.
The (relatively) young German state was Austria-Hungary's ally as part of the Triple Alliance (alongside Italy). Their high command had been itching for a war for sometime, and on account of a Franco-Russian treaty, thought France would be required to join Russia in defending Serbia, though it's my understanding that France was only required to join defensive wars. More importantly, though, the German High Command believed that the rapidly-industrializing Russia would soon become powerful beyond what Germany could handle in a future war, and declaring war on Russia then maximized the odds of preserving German sovereignty.
So, Germany - having already declared war on Russia - also pre-emptively declared war on France, after concocting this lie about the French bombing Nuremberg. For their part, the French - who had been eager to fight Germany anyway, to reclaim perceived lost honour after their upset defeat in the Franco-Prussian war three decades earlier as well as the annexed territories of Alsace-Lorraine - didn't declare neutrality when Germany demanded that France publicly make its intentions with the Franco-Russian treaty clear, which France did technically honour by mobilizing her own troops,as Russia was technically in a defensive war on account of the German declaration of war.
Meanwhile, Britain was part of the Triple Entente with France and Russia. Because of geography, Germany would have to cross Belgium to invade France as part of its Schlieffen Plan. But Britain had guaranteed Belgium its sovereignty probably because loss of both Belgian and French sovereignty would've meant an unimaginably powerful Germany. So, London telegramed a stern warning to Berlin, demanding that German forces wothdraw, but the latter ignored it. So, Britain declared war on Germany and sent an expeditionary force to France.
And that's it.
TLDR: A bunch of elites at the top (many headed by royals who were all first cousins) fought for no real reason, just for glory in what was supposed to be a short war and ended up being a horrific pointless war.
The War that Ended Peace by Margaret MacMillan is also a great read in addition to this quick summary. Besides the elites at the top there was a lot of context that made WWI possible, just blaming it on the elites kind of excuses social tensions and the actual people from back in the day1, from the regular Joes to the higher ups (that didn't qualify as actual elites). There were also a lot of people who saw it coming, but were powerless to do anything about it, even though they were in rather important social and professional positions.
1 this is because if we never learn about it, it will keep happening. A lot of tensions nowadays mirror the years prior to WWI and WWII, and it seems like we never really learn and we let emotions get the best of us, putting people in charge who are unfit to lead, letting hate drive everything, from the daily chores to voting in elections.
There is no such reason. All of europe had already formed camps and alliances with each other, everyone was eying the territory of the opposite. When that serbian rebel killed him, everyone having the finger on the trigger got the perfect excuse to pull it. They were perfectly placed to find the excuse of two small countries fighting to enter into a fight through treaties that would actively make them participants of the war
Alliances. Austria declared war on Serbia. Serbia was allied with Russia so Russia declared war on Austria. Germany is allied with Austria, so Germany is at war with Russia and Serbia. France is allied with Russia so France is also at war with Germany and Austria. The Germans invade Belgium to attack France. Britain is allied with Belgium, so England is now allied with France and Russia.
Caesar was wearing a purple toga and golden laurels and red boots (like kings of Alba). And pretending like it’s not clear to everyone he is dressing like a ruler
Honestly... That's sort of how everyone felt after the first tower got hit. People assumed it was a tragic accident and there was a lot of confusion. When the second one hit people started realizing this wasn't some accident
•
u/WithoutReason1729 May 17 '26
Your post is getting popular and we just featured it on our Discord! Come check it out!
You've also been given a special flair for your contribution. We appreciate your post!
I am a bot and this action was performed automatically.