t that somehow, Serbia had been involved with and aided the assassination. Vienna decided to use the assassination as an excuse to attack Serbia. Austria-Hungary sent Serbia an ultimatum that, if accepted, would put Serbia under their control. Austria-Hungary knew that Serbia was unwilling to accept the ultimatum so it would soon go to war (Ross 6). When Serbia refused to accept all the requirements of the ultimatum, Austria-Hungary declared war. The alliances of Europe then came into effect when Russia, who pledged to protect Serbia, prepared for war. The Germans then demanded that Russia stop and when Russia refused, Germany declared war on Russia. France, Russias ally then mobilized against Germany and then Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium. Britain entered the war to help France and Belgium. Within five weeks after the Sarajevo assassination, all of the European powers had entered World War I (Ross 7-8).After the war, most countries blamed Germany for being over aggressive and causing World War I. However, later scholars believed, It was more realistic to say that the world had, in the apt words of British wartime prime minister Lloyd George, slithered in war. (Ross 9-10). Although the assassination in Sarajevo sparked World War I, by 1914, several long-term factors had made Europe ripe for war. The growing political instability among nations, the building of rivalries and alliances, and the conflict between empires and nationalism had all helped bring about World War I. These factors made World War I inevitable and while the crisis in Bosnia was the direct cause of the war, war would not have broken out without the other long-term factors in Europe.When people look back at the events leading up to World War I, it is easy to relate to present problems that exist in the Balkan region today. The Balkan Peninsula is still the tinderbox of Europe and just as it was in 1914, it is a center of political unrest and conflic...
