Although the Great War began on July 28, 1914, the true beginning was a month earlier, that is, June 28, 1914. One of the long-term causes of the war was the resurgence of imperialism in the foreign policies of the great powers of Europe.

The immediate cause was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo (See inset). This event lit the fuse to a powder keg that triggered diplomatic crises when Austria-Hungary subsequently delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia.

Several alliances came into effect. Within weeks, the major powers were at war and, via their colonies, the conflict soon spread around the world.

A global war, World War I was centred in Europe and lasted until November 11, 1918, a duration of 52 months. It involved all the world’s great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the UK, France and Russia) and the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Although Italy had also been a member alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary, it did not join the Central Powers, as Austria-Hungary had taken the offensive against the terms of the alliance.

These alliances were both reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war: Italy, Japan and the US joined the Allies, while the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers.

Ultimately, 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. Nearly 10 million combatants died and eight million were declared as ‘missing’, meaning 18 million were lost in battle.

The assassination of the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary lit the fuse to a powder keg. Within weeks, the major powers were at war

This was largely due to technological advancements that led to enormous increases in the lethality of weapons without corresponding improvements in protection or mobility, causing both sides to resort to large-scale human wave attacks, which proved extremely costly in terms of casualties. It was the fifth-deadliest conflict in world history, subsequently paving the way for various political changes, such as revolutions in many of the nations involved.

On July 28, the Austro-Hungarians fired the first shots of the war in preparation for the invasion of Serbia. While the Russians mobilised, the Germans invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg on their way to France, providing a casus belli for Britain’s declaration of war against Germany.

After the German march on Paris came to a halt – the so-called Miracle of the Marne – the Western Front settled into a static battle of attrition with a trench line that changed little until 1917.

On the eastern front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, but was stopped by the Germans in its invasion of East Prussia.

In November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the war, opening up fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai.

Italy and Bulgaria went to war in 1915 and Romania in 1916.

In Russia, the Tsar’s government collapsed in March 1917 and a subsequent revolution in November brought the Russians to terms with the Central Powers.

After a 1918 German offensive along the western front, the Allies drove the Germans back in a series of successful offensives and American forces began entering the trenches.

Germany, which had its own trouble with revolutionaries, agreed to an armistice on November 11, 1918. The war ended in victory for the Allies.

A lesson from World War I and II

The result of two deadly world wars was a harsh lesson, which highlighted the importance of economic unity. This gave rise to the European Union. With all its faults and drawbacks, the EU minimised the possibility of World War III, which would be even deadlier considering the availability of weapons of mass destruction.

Background to the assassination

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie, were fatally shot in Sarajevo, Bosnia, by Gavrilo Princip, one of a group of six Bosnian-Serb assassins who were coordinated by Danilo Ilic.

The political objective of the assassination was to break off Austria-Hungary’s south Slav provinces so they could be combined into a Greater Serbia or a Yugoslavia.

Serbian military officers stood behind the attack. At the top of these Serbian military conspirators was Chief of Serbian Military Intelligence Dragutin Dimitrijevic, his right-hand man Major Vojislav Tankosic, and master-spy Rade Malobabic. Major Tankosic armed the assassins with bombs and pistols and trained them.

Following the assassinations, Austria-Hungary issued an ‘impossible’ ultimatum against Serbia, which was partially rejected. Austria then declared war, marking the outbreak of World War I.

The assassins, and the key Serbian military conspirators who were still alive, were arrested, tried, convicted and punished. Those arrested in Bosnia were tried in Sarajevo in October 1914.

The other conspirators were arrested and tried before a Serbian kangaroo court on the French-controlled Salonika Front in 1916-1917 on unrelated false charges. Serbia executed three of the top military conspirators.

Much of the information about the assassinations comes from these two trials and related records.

The price and the aftermath of war

The price of war is always greater than any victory. In fact, many feel that in war there are no real victors but only long-term losers.

• The worse off was Hungary, which after the Great War lost 72 per cent of its territory and 64 per cent of its population. This included a third of its ethnic Hungarian people. It also lost half of its largest cities and all its seaports.

• The Ottoman Empire, which had joined the war with several important victories, ended it with its annihilation and confined to modern Turkey. The worst episode was the deportation and massacre of its Armenian population.

• Austria lost its empire. The Habsburg Empire collapsed in 1918. There was an attempt at unification with Germany. When eventually annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, the people soon became aware of that political mistake.

• Germany saw the end of the Kaiser. The greatest loss suffered by Germany was in manpower. The bulk of its male population (65 per cent) had been killed or wounded. The great disillusionment of the German people led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.

• Italy gained from a certain angle, as with the defeat of the Austrian Empire it acquired more land but in turn suffered the same fate as Germany because in the 1920s there was the rise of Mussolini and Fascism.

• It might be stated that the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, established on December 1, 1918, was a winner. It lasted for over 70 years but eventually collapsed in bloody battles of utter detestation as each state wanted complete independence.

• Malta had temporarily gained from this disastrous war. During World War I, Malta was far from the fronts and thus in no danger. The islands were of logistical importance for the Gallipoli invasion (1915-1916) and the Salonika front (1915-1918). Malta saw a concentration of hospitals for the treatment of soldiers wounded in the war.

However, on the adverse side, the end of the war brought many problems. During the four years of war, the economy in Malta was booming but soon collapsed with the end of hostilities.

This was the flip-side. The Maltese islands, traditionally depending on food imports, experienced an increase in prices, most notably in the price of bread. These led to riots and the British troops fired on a mob protesting against new taxes, killing four Maltese men. The event has since been known as Sette Giugno.

Significant dates, events of the conflict

June 28, 1914	Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
July 28, 1914	First shots fired by Austro-Hungary, starting the war.
Aug 3, 1914	Germany declares war on France and moves west through Belgium.
Aug 7, 1914	War extended to Africa.
Aug 7, 1914	British government officially asks Japan for assistance.
Sep 5 to 12, 1914	The Miracle of the Marne – Germany held on its way towards Paris.
Nov 1914	Ottoman Empire joins the Central Powers extending the war to the east.
Apr 26, 1915	The Treaty of London – Italy joins the Allies.
During 1915	Bulgaria joins the Central Powers.
Aug 27, 1916	Romania joins the Allies and thus counteracts Bulgaria.
Mar 1917	Collapse of the Russian monarchy.
Apr 6, 1917	The US joins the Allies and enters the war in Europe.
Nov 1917	Russian revolution – signs terms with Central Powers.
Nov 11, 1918	End of hostilities.

The figures in human suffering

Strength, casualties/losses	Allied Powers	Central Powers	Totals
Military strength	42,959,850	25,248,321	68,208,171
Military dead	5,525,000	4,386,000	9,911,000
Military wounded	12,831,500	8,388,000	21,219,500
Military missing	4,121,000	3,629,000	7,750,000
Total casualties	22,477,500	16,403,000	38,880,500
Casualties/strength (%)	52%	65%	57%

Considering that the total strength of both sides amounted to 68,208,171, the casualties and losses meant that 57 per cent of those taking direct part in the war ended dead, missing or wounded. The Central Powers had the largest losses, which at 65 per cent meant that nearly two out of three combatants were lost or wounded.