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You are here: UK History > Britain at War > WWI > The lead up to war | WWI
In 1914, much of Europe was split into opposing alliances.
The Triple Entente consisted of Britain, France and Russia and the Triple Alliance of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. Tensions had been building for a while and finally came to a head after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Hungarian throne. His assassin, Gavrilo Princip was a rebel from Serbia, leading Serbia to be blamed for the death and Austria-Hungry declaring war. Russia stepped in and allied with Serbia, with the conflict expanding to include Germany, France and Britain, along with their colonies by the summer of that year.
By November, the Ottoman Empire joined Germany and Austria to form the Central Powers, while Italy joined Britain, France, Russia and Serbia as the Allied Powers in...Read More
In 1914, much of Europe was split into opposing alliances.
The Triple Entente consisted of Britain, France and Russia and the Triple Alliance of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. Tensions had been building for a while and finally came to a head after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Hungarian throne. His assassin, Gavrilo Princip was a rebel from Serbia, leading Serbia to be blamed for the death and Austria-Hungry declaring war. Russia stepped in and allied with Serbia, with the conflict expanding to include Germany, France and Britain, along with their colonies by the summer of that year.
By November, the Ottoman Empire joined Germany and Austria to form the Central Powers, while Italy joined Britain, France, Russia and Serbia as the Allied Powers in the following spring.
At the time that War broke out, many of the European countries that were involved were led by grandchildren of Queen Victoria. Three of her grandchildren were main players in the conflict, King George in Britain, Tsar Nicolas in Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm in Germany.
Some of the first battles of WWI took place in Africa among the British, French and German colonial forces. In the early days of the war, French and British troops stationed on the continent, invaded German controlled areas. German forces in South West Africa then attacked South Africa, leading to fighting that continued throughout the rest of the war.
German forces also attempted to use Indian nationalism as part of their campaign, instigating uprisings in India and urging Afghanistan to join the war on their side. The outbreak of the war did see continued loyalty to Britain from the Indian people, who supported the British war effort in a bid to achieve Indian Home Rule. The Indian Army actually outnumbered the British Army by the start of WWI and research has shown that the Indian army suffered huge losses and this, along with growing hostilities against the British, led to a campaign for full independence.
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