what started wwi

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, sparked the start of World War I. However, the actual root causes of the war are much deeper and part of continued debate and discussion. One of the main causes was the system of alliances that existed between European countries at the time. Over time, countries throughout Europe made mutual defense agreements that would pull them into battle. These treaties meant that if one country was attacked, allied countries were bound to defend them. Before World War I, the following alliances existed: Russia and Serbia, Germany and Austria-Hungary, France and Russia, Britain and France and Belgium, and Japan and Britain. When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia got involved to defend Serbia. Germany, seeing Russia mobilizing, declared war on Russia. France was then drawn in against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France through Belgium, pulling Britain into the war. Later, Italy and the United States would enter on the side of the allies. Other causes of the war include imperialism, militarism, and nationalism.