The Great War - History Book Chapter (Page 7 of 26) in pdf

A Shot Rings Throughout Europe

Into this poisoned

atmosphere of mutual dislike and mistrust stepped the heir

to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand,

The Armenian Massacre

and his wife, Sophie. On June 28, 1914, the couple paid a

One group in

state visit to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. It would be

RUSSIA

Black

Caspian

southeastern

Sea

their last. The royal pair was shot at point-blank range as

GEORGIA

Sea

Europe that

they rode through the streets of Sarajevo in an open car. The

ARMENIA

AZER.

suffered

TURKEY

killer was Gavrilo Princip, a 19-year-old Serbian and mem-

AZER.

greatly for its

ber of the Black Hand. The Black Hand was a secret society

independence

IRAN

efforts was the

committed to ridding Bosnia of Austrian rule.

SYRIA

IRAQ

Armenians. By

Because the assassin was a Serbian, Austria decided to

the 1880s, the roughly 2.5 million

use the murders as an excuse to punish Serbia. On July 23,

Vocabulary

Armenians in the Ottoman Empire had

Austria presented Serbia with an ultimatum containing

An ultimatum

begun to demand their freedom. As a

is a list of demands

numerous demands. Serbia knew that refusing the ultimatum

result, relations between the group

that, if not met, will

would lead to war against the more powerful Austria. There-

and its Turkish rulers grew strained.

lead to serious

Throughout the 1890s, Turkish

fore, Serbian leaders agreed to most of Austria’s demands.

consequences.

troops killed tens of thousands of

They offered to have several others settled by an interna-

Armenians. When World War I

tional conference.

erupted in 1914, the Armenians

Austria, however, was in no mood to negotiate. The

pledged their support to the Turks’

nation’s leaders, it seemed, had already settled on war. On

enemies. In response, the Turkish

July 28, Austria rejected Serbia’s offer and declared war. That

government deported nearly 2

million Armenians. Along the way,

same day, Russia, an ally of Serbia with its largely Slavic pop-

more than 600,000 died of starvation

ulation, took action. Russian leaders ordered the mobilization

or were killed by Turkish soldiers.

of troops toward the Austrian border.

Leaders all over Europe suddenly took notice. The frag-

ile European stability seemed ready to collapse into armed

Create a chart or

INTERNET ACTIVITY

conflict. The British foreign minister, the Italian govern-

graphic about any aspect of modern

ment, and even Kaiser Wilhelm himself urged Austria and

Armenian culture. Go to

for your research.

Russia to negotiate. But it was too late. The machinery of

war had been set in motion.

SECTION

ASSESSMENT

TERMS & NAMES

For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.

•

militarism

•

Triple Alliance

•

Kaiser Wilhelm II

•

Triple Entente

USING YOUR NOTES

MAIN IDEAS

CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING

Which event do you consider

What were the three forces at

Which of the forces at work in

6. ANALYZING CAUSES

most significant? Why?

work in Europe that helped set

Europe played the greatest role in helping to prompt the

the stage for war?

outbreak of war?

Who were the members of the

7. ANALYZING ISSUES

Was the description of the Balkans as

event

Triple Alliance? the Triple

the “powder keg” of Europe justified? Explain.

one

three

Entente?

Do you think

8. FORMING AND SUPPORTING OPINIONS

What single event set in motion

World War I was avoidable? Use information from the text

event

the start of World War I?

to support your answer.

two

four

9. WRITING ACTIVITY

POWER AND AUTHORITY

Write a brief

letter to the editor of a European newspaper expressing

what your views might have been about the coming war.

CONNECT TO TODAY

CREATING A TIME LINE

Working with a partner, use the library and other resources to create a time line of key events

in the Balkans from 1914 until today. Limit your time line to the six to eight events you

consider most significant.

844

Chapter 29

The Great War - History Book Chapter Page 7

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