How World War I Started: Crash Course World History 209

Summary

In this Crash Course World History episode, John Green explores the origins of World War I, detailing the events leading to the global conflict. Although the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, is widely considered the catalyst, the war resulted from complex political tensions and alliances. The video provides an engaging breakdown of the timeline and factors contributing to the war, emphasizing the intricate web of cause and effect in historical events. The unfolding conflict demonstrates how seemingly localized events, like the assassination in Sarajevo, escalated into a devastating global war.

Highlights

• Franz Ferdinand's assassination by Gavrilo Princip marked a pivotal moment, sparking the war. 🔥
• Austria-Hungary's harsh ultimatum to Serbia was intended to provoke a conflict. 🎯
• The 'blank check' assurance from Germany emboldened Austria-Hungary's actions. 💌
• Russia's pre-mobilization and actual mobilization were key events in escalating tensions. 🔍
• By August 4, 1914, major powers like Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Britain were fully engaged in the war. 🌐

Key Takeaways

• The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is widely recognized as the immediate trigger for World War I. 🏴‍☠️
• Complex alliances and political tensions in Europe set the stage for the conflict. 🌍
• World War I's timeline is characterized by a rapid escalation of military mobilizations and declarations. ⏰
• The concept of a 'blank check' from Germany to Austria-Hungary encouraged the latter to act against Serbia. 📝
• Historical outcomes hinge on chains of cause and effect, often leading to alternate history scenarios. 📚

Overview

The episode begins with John Green diving into the 'how' of World War I starting, highlighting the importance of looking beyond a single event to understand the intricate chain of events that lead to war. Through engaging narration, Green explains how Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination set off a domino effect, leading to alliances and a full-scale war.

One of the key discussion points is the month-long delay after Ferdinand's assassination, during which Austria-Hungary secured Germany's support (the infamous 'blank check'), leading to an aggressive stance towards Serbia. As nations mobilized their forces, what initially seemed like a regional conflict spiraled into a global war, demonstrating the interconnectedness of European powers.

Green also delves into the nature of historical cause and effect, using metaphors like the butterfly effect to illustrate how complex and unpredictable the lead-up to war can be. He reflects on how seemingly minor decisions and actions can have profound consequences on world history, leaving viewers with a sense of the intricate web of historical cause and effect.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction & Context In the introductory chapter of Crash Course World History on World War I, host John Green sets the stage for the discussion about the war. He explains that the series will cover two main aspects: how World War I happened and why it happened. This episode focuses on the 'how' part. John highlights the significance of World War I, especially in the context of industrialization, nation-states, and modernity. Despite generally avoiding war topics, he underscores the importance of addressing World War I given its pivotal role in shaping history. A humorous side note involves a reference to the Mongols and a recurring gag called 'Mongol-tage'.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Assassination & Its Implications The chapter begins with a conversational tone, mentioning the absence of 'Mongols' and introducing the topic of World War I as being pertinent due to its centennial in 2014. It focuses on the common historical consensus that the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, was the catalyst for the Great War. However, it hints at the complexity and disagreement among historians concerning the implications and the chain of events that followed the assassination.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Alternate Histories & Complexity of Causes The chapter explores how the complexity of determining the causes of war, using World War I as a primary example. It suggests that historical events are often linked by cause and effect relationships, and if any event had a different outcome, it could alter the entire course of history. The discussion includes the concept of alternate histories, as illustrated by speculative scenarios like the outcome of the American Civil War changing if the South had won the Battle of Gettysburg.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Breakdown of Peaceful Relations This chapter explores the hypothetical scenario of the Nazis successfully repulsing the D-Day invasion during World War II. While the eventual outcome might remain unchanged, the chapter delves into the complexities of 'how' it could have happened. It highlights the challenges in tracing a sequence of events due to the innumerable factors and varying possibilities, akin to the 'butterfly effect.' The discussion aims to investigate some aspects of how such a scenario could have unfolded, acknowledging the intricacies and countless variables involved.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Assassination of Franz Ferdinand World War I, like all wars, began with a breakdown in peaceful relations, though it is unique in having a specific event — the assassination of Franz Ferdinand — that marks its start, unlike other conflicts where war breaks out in less defined circumstances.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Franz Ferdinand’s Role & Moderate Views The chapter explores the impact of Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination on the political climate leading to war. It highlights the significance of the event, emphasizing the complexity of historical causality akin to the butterfly effect in triggering wars. The choice of the assassination date is analyzed, linking it with significant commemorative occasions for the Slavs, illustrating the nationalist motivations behind the attack. Franz Ferdinand's visit to Bosnia coincided with cultural and historical anniversaries important to Slavic nationalists, making it a symbolic yet fatal choice.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Austria-Hungary’s Reaction The chapter discusses the selection of Franz Ferdinand as a target for assassination, due to his position as the heir apparent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Despite not being well-liked universally, including by his own uncle, the Emperor, he had the favor of the German Kaiser. Franz Ferdinand was considered a moderate, a trait that made him an unfavored figure in a growing extreme political environment. The text includes an open letter humorously addressing the plight of moderates like Franz Ferdinand in a world where extremism often overshadows moderation.
• 03:30 - 04:00: The Role of Black Hand & Serbian Involvement The chapter delves into the complexities of the political landscape surrounding Serbian expansion and Bosnian independence within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It highlights Franz Ferdinand's unique position as a moderate leader who understood both sides of the argument. His perspective presented a potential solution to the escalating tensions. However, the assassination of moderates such as Ferdinand often led to increased radicalization among remaining moderate factions. The chapter underscores the valor and peril involved in adopting a moderate stance amid rising nationalism and youth-driven activism.
• 04:00 - 04:30: The Ultimatum & Germany’s Blank Check In this chapter, the narrative focuses on the events leading up to World War I, specifically regarding the political tensions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Austrian Emperor, despite personal aversions to Franz Ferdinand, felt compelled to respond to Serbia's nationalist actions to prevent the dissolution of the empire. This chapter highlights the dynamics of early 20th-century European diplomacy, where maintaining imperial control was prioritized, and expansionist nationalism in countries like Serbia was viewed as a direct threat to imperial stability.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Russia’s Mobilization & Austria’s Declaration of War The chapter discusses the controversy surrounding whether Gavrilo Princip and his fellow assassins operated independently or with the support of the Serbian government in the assassination that led to Austria's declaration of war. It mentions the Austrian belief in a broader conspiracy due to Princip's association with the Black Hand, a group that aspired to create a greater Serbia including Bosnia. The chapter also touches upon the possibility of Serbian military intelligence's involvement and the supply of weapons by a Serbian army officer to the assassins, highlighting the ongoing debates about these events.
• 05:00 - 05:30: Germany’s Declaration of War & Invasion of Belgium The chapter discusses the events following the assassination that led to Austria issuing an ultimatum to Serbia nearly a month later, on July 23. The demands were intentionally harsh to provoke rejection and justify war. The delay is attributed to Austria's foreign minister, Berchtold, who feared a Russian attack on Austria-Hungary if they attacked Serbia.
• 05:30 - 06:00: Spread of the War to Major Powers The chapter details diplomatic maneuvers leading up to the expansion of a conflict involving major powers. The Austro-Hungarians communicated with Germany to secure a commitment of support, receiving what's termed the 'blank check' assurance that Germany would back Austria against Russia. Germany expected swift action following the assassination that triggered these events, contrasting with Austria's delayed response. The importance of timing is emphasized as a critical strategic factor in the unfolding international situation. As tensions rose, Russia began preparing for war upon receiving Austria's ultimatum to Serbia, marking the acceleration of conflict among major European powers.
• 06:00 - 06:30: Conclusion & Reflection This chapter discusses the events leading up to the declaration of war between Austria and Serbia in 1914. Despite attempts at diplomacy, Austria declared war on Serbia, surprising Germany which believed war had been avoided. Complications arose with Russia's preparatory mobilization and subsequent official mobilization, leading Germany to warn Russia.
• 06:30 - 07:00: Support & Credits On August 1, France and Germany mobilized their armed forces, with Germany declaring war on Russia. Austria and Germany were the first to officially declare war prior, but Russia had already mobilized, ready to engage before Serbia's rejection of Austria's ultimatum. On August 3, Germany declared war on France and invaded via Belgium, aiming to swiftly defeat France before turning its efforts towards Russia.

How World War I Started: Crash Course World History 209 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Hi, I'm John Green, this is Crash Course World History and today we're going to talk about World War I. We actually have two videos about World War 1. Today we're going to talk about how World War I happened. Next week we're going to talk about why. World War I is a really big deal. Especially to those of us who are really interested in like, industrialization and nation-states and modernity. So usually we don't talk that much about wars, but we're going to make an exception. Mr. Green, Mr. Green, "Exception?" Cue the Mongol-tage. [Mongol-tage] Yeah, no me from the past. We don't roll the Mongol-tage every time we use the word exception, we roll it when we're talking about how the Mongols are an exception to a lot of our assumptions about civilizations.
• 00:30 - 01:00 [Mongol-tage] Stan, Stan- No, there are no Mongols today, we are talking about World War I. [Theme music] So I'm filming this in 2014, which means that the Great War started 100 years ago and the World War I Centenary is just so hot right now, I can't miss out on it. So most historians agree that the event that started World War I was the assassination of Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, but beyond that, there's not a lot of agreement.
• 01:00 - 01:30 Others say the war really started after Franz Ferdinand bit it. Like when Germany declared war or when Russia mobilized. So looking at why a war or any historical event happened means looking for a cause and effect relationship that implicitly assumes that if one particular event in a chain of events had gone differently, the historical outcome would also be different. This is why we have alternate history novels. Right, like what would have happened in the American Civil War if the South had won the Battle at Gettysburg?
• 01:30 - 02:00 What would have happened if the Nazis had repulsed the D-day invasion? In both cases, probably eventually the same outcome but that's neither here nor there. The question we're looking at today is how. And that's a much more modest question because we can simply discuss a series of events but it's still a complicated one. Because when you're talking about how, you're always picking from an uncountable number of things that happened. You know, a butterfly flaps its wings and that leads to a series of events and then eventually across the world an archduke gets killed. So even when it comes to a relatively straightforward question like how, you'll never get to the bottom of all of it, but today we're going to discuss some of the how.
• 02:00 - 02:30 So one way or another, all wars start with a breakdown in peaceful relations between the eventual belligerents and World War I is no exception. [Mongol-tage] Oh, for the love of agriculture please stop it. Right, but World War I is a bit unusual in that we have a concrete event and a date to start our discussion. Sometimes we get lucky, historically, and there's an invasion that starts a war like in the Korean conflict or the firing on Fort Sumter in the American Civil War.
• 02:30 - 03:00 But other times, it's much more butterfly effect-y with events that might or might not lead to a war, building upon each other until one side mobilizes or declares war or there's a fight over who shot first. But here we have a specific assassination of a specific archduke, Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Now it wasn't a great day for Franz to visit Bosnia since it was the anniversary of the Serbs defeat at Kosovo Polje in 1389 and also St. Vitus's day, which was a celebration for Slavic nationalists. And a Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip and his co-conspirators chose to celebrate Slavic nationalism by killing Franz Ferdinand.
• 03:00 - 03:30 Now they didn't choose Franz Ferdinand at random. He was the heir apparent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Franz Ferdinand wasn't particularly well liked, not by his uncle who was the head of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, certainly not by Bosnian Serb nationalists, also not really by everyone else in Europe except for the German Kaiser, but Franz Ferdinand was in his way kind of a moderate. Oh it's time for the open letter. Oh look it's a collection of my favorite assassinated moderates. It's hard out there for a moderate. An open letter to moderates: Dear moderates, so one of the reasons that Franz Ferdinand's uncle didn't like him that much is that the emperor was really hardcore, whereas Franz Ferdinand, you know, he was kind of a moderate.
• 03:30 - 04:00 He was like you know, "I'm an Austro-Hungarian through and through but I see the Serbian argument." Really, Franz Ferdinand was the one leader in the empire who might have come up with a solution to the problems of Serbian expansion and Bosnian independence. And murdering moderates has a way of making other moderates, you know, more extreme. In short moderates, your work may not be romantic, it may not appeal to the youth, but it is heroic and very dangerous.
• 04:00 - 04:30 Best wishes, John Green. So even though Franz Ferdinand's uncle didn't particularly like him, as the emperor of Austria-Hungary, he felt a certain responsibility to, you know, do something. Otherwise the Serbia nationalists would feel like they could expand their territory at the expense of the empire, so despite what you often hear about World War I being pointless, this makes sense as a point sort of. Now it's a bit of schoolyard bully kind of diplomacy, but it does make a certain sense, if Serbia can get bigger, then all of the other places will think that they can have have nations too. Soon enough, you don't have an empire.
• 04:30 - 05:00 Now there's still some debate about whether Princip and his fellow assassins acted alone or as part of a larger conspiracy organized by the Serbian government. But the Austrians certainly thought there was broader involvement which is why the whole thing ended up becoming a war. So Princip was a member of the scary sounding Black Hand, a group dedicated to creating a greater Serbia that would include Bosnia and there's some evidence that the Serbian chief of military intelligence was in on the assassination plot or at least knew about it. In fact, it's likely that the bombs and pistols the assassins used were supplied by a Serbian army officer, but this is still pretty controversial so much so that people are currently fighting about it in comments.
• 05:00 - 05:30 So almost a month after the assassination, on July 23, Austria issued an ultimatum to Serbia. And Austria intentionally made the demands so harsh that the Serbs would inevitably have to reject them and ergo war, but that doesn't explain the month long delay. What happened in that month? Well Austria's foreign minister, Berchtold, was afraid that if they attacked Serbia, Russia would then attack Austria-Hungary,
• 05:30 - 06:00 so the Austrians spent that month talking to their ally, Germany to make sure the Germans would have Austria's back. The Austro-Hungarians got assurance on July 5 or July 6 in the form of what has been called the "blank check", a promise from Germany that they would help Austria if Russia mobilized. And it was clear that the Germans expected the Austrians to move quickly in response to the assassination, not like wait for another twenty days. So usually I don't care about dates, but at this point the timing becomes pretty important. Let's go to the Thought Bubble. So when the Serbs received the Austrians ultimatum, Russia declared itself to be in a period preparatory to war,
• 06:00 - 06:30 which sounds a lot like mobilization but technically it wasn't, which Russia's foreign minister emphasized to the Germans. The Tsar proved the measure on July 25, and it went into effect on July 26. The Serbs rejected Austria's ultimatum on July 25, but they made their rejection sound like a capitulation so the Germans thought that war had been averted. And they were kind of surprised then on July 28 when Austria suddenly declared war on Serbia even though the Austrian army wasn't actually ready to start fighting. Then on July 30, Russia exited its period preparatory to war and actually officially mobilized. Germany warned the Russians to stand down,
• 06:30 - 07:00 but two days later on August 1, France mobilized its armed forces in support of Russia and that same day, Germany mobilized and declared war on Russia. So if you're keeping score at home - and good historians always do - Austria and Germany were the first to declare war on July 28 and August 1 respectively, but Russia with its pre-mobilization mobilization was actually ready to begin fighting before Serbia rejected Austria's ultimatum. Anyway, then Germany declared war on France on August 3, marched through Belgium to invade, hoping to quickly knock out the French and focus on Russia.
• 07:00 - 07:30 Sorry France but you know Russia's a big deal and you, you know. German troops crossed Belgium's border on August 4 and the British issued an ultimatum to the Germans telling them to get out of Belgium or else. Germany chose "or else" and Britain declared war. So by August 4, 1914, all the major powers involved in World War I were officially at war with each other. Thanks Thought Bubble. Now I know there were a lot of other powers that would get involved later including the United States, and Japan, and the Ottoman Empire -- even Italy.
• 07:30 - 08:00 But for the nations who did most of the actual fighting, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Serbia, France, Great Britain, the war happened both very quickly and very slowly. Now looking back, it all happened almost at once but if you're in the middle of it, a month is a long time. And at any point someone, like say the archduke, Franz Ferdinand could have come in and said, "Wait a second." Well I guess not anyone because he was dead. But that's how an act of terrorism in a Bosnian city turned into the first major European war of the 20th century. A war that still resonates today.
• 08:00 - 08:30 Now the Austrians and the Serbs probably both imagined that the war could stay localized to the Balkans especially since there had been previous conflicts in the region that hadn't blown up into a world war. You know, like in 1908 and 1912 and 1913. We'll get into what made 1914 different next week. The "why's" of course will always be very complicated, but for now please remember that we are always in the middle of a "how." Those living in June and July of 1914 could never have imagined how significant that month would be for human history. And when thinking about them, it's worth remembering that we also can't imagine what our decisions today will mean in 100 years.
• 08:30 - 09:00 Thanks for watching. I'll see you next week. Crash Course is filmed here in the Chad & Stacey Emigholz Studio in Indianapolis and it's made possible by all of our Subbable subscribers. Also by all of these nice people who actually make it. But Subbable is a voluntary subscription service that allows you to support Crash Course directly so that we can keep it free for everyone, forever. Thank you to all of our Subbable subscribers and to everyone who watches the show. As we say in my hometown, don't forget to be awesome.