Even though there had been other issues between countries at that time, his death is said to have been the final straw which led to the war that saw millions killed, more than 30 million people injured and economies destroyed. This led to the beginning of World War 1. Other nations joined in to support the warring nations mostly because of alliances that had been formed before. Everyone suspected that Serbia had something to do with the assassination and the war started. This was to protect soldiers from heavy artillery and machine gunfire.When Archduke Ferdinand II the heir to the Austria-Hungary throne was killed by a Serbian terrorist Princip, tension started between Austria-Hungary and Serbia and Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia when Serbia could not meet its demands Russia, being an ally of Serbia declared war on Austria, Germany joined their allies Austria-Hungary to attack Russia. Having failed with their plan for a quick victory, the German army decided to hold their position, digging 400 miles of trenches from the English Channel to the border with Switzerland. The UK was also concerned about Germany winning control of Belgian ports, giving them a base to invade from.
The Schlieffen plan made several assumptions: They planned to invade France by going through Belgium and then circling back to fight Russia on the eastern front. Germany created a plan to avoid fighting on their eastern and western fronts at the same time. With France to the east and Russia to the west, Germany was surrounded by countries who had united against them in the Triple Entente. This caused a problem for Germany and led to them creating the Schlieffen Plan to try and deal with this threat.
The Triple Entente was strategically in a better position, as they encircled the countries in the Triple Alliance. This was significant when Germany made the Schlieffen Plan, as they did not believe the UK would go to war if France was attacked. It was a friendly agreement, and the three members did not necessarily guarantee to go to war to support each other. The Triple Entente was formed in 1907, including the UK, France and Russia. The fact that the UK and France were willing to put aside their differences shows how concerned they were about the ambition of Germany. This was important as they had been rivals for centuries. In 1904, the UK and France signed the Entente Cordiale. In 1894, France and Russia signed an agreement to support each other, forming the Franco-Russian Alliance, as they feared the strength of the Triple Alliance. The Triple Alliance created suspicion in other European countries. The Triple Alliance meant the three countries promised to defend each other if one of them was attacked. Germany had been at war with France in 1871 and feared further conflict. In 1882, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy entered into an agreement known as the Triple Alliance.
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