Did Alliances lead to the Great War? 

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At around 12:15 I really like the detail of Norway splitting off from Sweden, even though it has nothing to do with the actual topic at hand (Norway and Sweden were neutral in the 1st World War), it just goes to show the attention to detail which I really appreciate.

Blackadders "How the did war begin" scene basically sums it up perfectly

Britain and France: *conquer a combined 1/3 of the Earth* Germany: Can we also get in on this colonisation business? Britain and France: They’re trying to take over the world!!!

The German Empire on the map looked like a dragons head about to eat warsaw

Japan is kinda scared of Russia, and you'll never guess who's also scared of Russia : Great Britain. So, they form an alliance to be a little less scared of Russia.

Can I just say how much I appreciate this channel. So many channels like the take, watchmojo, wisecrack, old college humor and so many others when they getting and hire more people for more regular content it really goes to Shit. But you guys are putting out content that feels like your original stuff just with great polish, you guys are out here putting out rad content multiple times a week. So thank you from the bottom of my heart for staying yourselves. Also want to say you seem to have followed the same track as, first getting into battles and military but quickly falling in love with social and political history which provides the necessary context for the battle. Other channels skip it but you always explain it great

We also can't forget the role that technology had to play in the triggering of this war. The prevailing (and correct) military doctrine of the time was that the first to mobilise would have a huge advantage, since entrenchment was such a powerful defensive move and railroads allowed for the almost immediate reinforcement of a front line. This lead to the great powers mobilising sooner rather than later, not waiting for diplomacy to resolve the situation. If they had have waited, they would have lost a lot of territory early on, which would have been hard to regain. It was called the seminal tragedy because there were so many things which could have prevented it. It was just the right time with the combination of the alliances which had formed across Europe, the technology of the day and the state of world politics. Let's hope we never see its like again.

I was gonna say something about alliances and pieces of domino, however the real reason for ww1 is that everyone was ready for it after years of peace and prosperity. The quote: "You don't know what you've got until it's gone" seems rather fitting.

Not mention of Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia in 1908 and the Balkan Wars in 1912? Those were the points where WW1 was strengthened and facilitated by the Great Powers (particularly Austria and Russia) over influence in the Balkans.

The biggest problem regarding the 'Alliances' precipitating the War wasn't so much that they existed but rather the fact that most of them were secret, hidden and downplayed. Almost every major power went into the War w/ blind spots regarding at least one or two missing facts about their enemies' alliances. If each power had bothered to advertised to one another better before the fact then it'd changed the calculus greatly. This was a lesson learned after WW2 about alliances when they made certain to tell the world about the formation of NATO, etc.

I think Blackadder said it best "The real reason for the whole thing was that it was just too much effort not to have a war"

Sir Devin has such a warm VOICE. I would love to listen it when I go to bed.

Good thing this was the war to end all wars right? We don’t need a sequel

Now all I need is a Total World War 1.

When Bismarck forced to resign, thats the beginning of the end of peace visioned by Bismarck.

Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Austria and Germany: Plotting and undermining each another. Switzerland: Sits back and chill

UK: I hate you! France: I hate you as well! Germany: Hey guys I'm gonna be a great power you don't mind right? UK: What you say froggy about a Alliances? France: Oui doggy that sounds great

Good job, except your channel failed to mention that during the July Crisis, French President Poincarre and Czar Nicholas II held a summit in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) to affirm the Franco-Russia Alliance. At the summit, Poincarre and his aides gave Nicholas II a guarantee similar to the infamous “Blanque Cheque” that Germany had offered Austria-Hungary. The point here is that both Austria and Russia could not have made the diplomatic moves they made without support from their strongest allies.

If only Family is stronger than alliances, then the World Wars would’ve been avoided.

This comes ironically after the AUKUS and the FrankoGreek Mediterranean Entente(with more countries about to step in shortly). Are we living a new 1914?

I think this should have started with the Crimean war, since Austria's refusal to aid Russia then is the reason why these two would become hostile. Before that war, it was Austrian policy to be allied to Russia since centuries before, both to prevent an attack's by Prussia, as well as to keep Russian expansion in the Balkans under control. Russia allied itself to Austria to check Prussian expansion. One can imagine how the world would have been different if Austria kept their alliance with the Russians.

Only the fighting ended in 1918, the war itself didn't end until 1919 with the signing of the treaty of Versailles which was one of the direct causes of the second world war.

Btw, a great video summarizing how the Great War started, however some points remained unexplained: 1- The first "League of Three Emperors" included German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russian Empire. Those three formed an alliance together before all started. However, the peace treaty of Berlin reversed the gains of Russian-Ottoman War of 1877-1878 and this led Russians to leave the Emperors League. Bismarck's reassurance treaty came afterwards, in order to guarantee Russian neutrality over Germans. 2-Bismarck's fall from favour not only related with Wilhelm II's advisors to sack him, but the different political visions of these two opposing each other (Realpolitik vs Weltpolitik). Bismarck was reluctant to make more aggressive moves in order to provoke major European powers to take measures against German Empire and he was very keen to neutralize each and every major European Power against Germany. On the other hand, Wilhelm II began adapting his own "Weltpolitik" vision to his cabinet. Bismarck was strongly opposing this, and this was the major reason of Wilhelm II removing him from the Chancellor position. 3- The fail of renewing the reassurance treaty between Germans & Russians was not only due to Bismarck's extraordinary reputation, but the deliberate choice of Wilhelm II not to renew it. He was more interested to retain close relationship with Austro-Hungarians. Rather than being close friends, Wilhelm & Russian Royal Family were relatives, and Wilhelm thought they will remain neutral due to family ties. 4-Russians diplomatic interactions with France came right afterwards the cancellation of reassurance treaty. The Franco-Russian agreement was not only a political and economical treaty, but a defensive military pact as well. However, this changed right after the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austrians and Balkan Wars. Frenchs realized the strategical importance of Balkans for Russians after the annexation and both decided to support their offensive military operations against Germany and Austro-Hungarians. 5-The finalization of British Splendid Isolation was not directly related to Russo-Japanese incidents. The main reason of British Diplomacy to leave isolation was directly related with German diplomacy and the two events triggered by Germans: Scramble for Africa & Naval build up of Germans. Great Britain was on the verge of ensuring an alliance pact with both parties, but the actions of Germans pushed Britain to prefer Entente Cordiale. 6-The aim of German naval build-up was not for neutralizing the British diplomatic reactions against Germany, but to match British naval might in accordance with Wilhelm II's "Weltpolitik". Wilhelm was very eager to match British naval capabilities to carry his ideals through Africa & Asia, and to challenge British Navy in case of a hostility between them. 7-The two breaking points of "the July Crisis" (events triggered by the assasination of Archiduke Franz Ferdinand) were the stance taken by Austro-Hungarians after they received the answer of their ultimatum against Serbians and the Russian partial mobilization. If Austrians were more logical on the issue (if I'm not remembering wrong, Serbians accepted majority of the ten conditions but rejected one or two), they could still take gains over Serbians. The Russian decision of partial mobilization was the final straw for German side, and in order not to challenge full Russian might, they decided to prepare for war. German infrastructre of railways were much more advanced compared to Russians, and the vital advantage of Germans (together with their military quality) against Russians was this complex and developed logistical structure to maintain a highly effective and quick logistical supply, making them faster to mobilize compared to Russians. Exploiting this advantage was the main reason why Germans decided to mobilize, manning their borders before Russians fully mobilize and avoid getting overwhelmed en masse by Russians. Hope to see more of your WWI videos! French Mutinies of 1917 is an interesting topic ;)

This is a good overview, and I appreciate the economy of detail used. I would really like to see your take on the Anglo-German arms race in more detail at some point. From an armchair perspective; the British reaction to the threat of the German navy is massive, reshaping the navy from a force designed to occupy the worlds oceans into a gun pointed at the head of Germany, as many far flung squadrons were scrapped and major fleets reduced in order to create the grand fleet. The British agenda in doing this is not taught or really discussed here in Britain, as the culture seems to want to downplay any perception of military aggressiveness on our part. As I said, I would love to see a more thorough take from more professional historians such as yourselves gain a wider recognition.

It is rarely stated when discussing WWI the implosion of the ottoman empire was a sizable factor. That you for mentioning it.

No, it was because Archie Duke shot an ostrich because he was hungry.

Good thing this video came in my recommendations. My module for uni is on 1900 to 1930 and right now I’m doing research on the origins of WW1

Since the roots of World War I is deep and complex, can I say that Napoleon's actions did have some influences and contributions to this war?

Interesting thinking about how alliances will once again pull us into World War 3. I say this as an Aussie knowing our future history students will have to study the role of AUKUS in bringing us into WW3

Europe: Catches on fire again Switzerland: I fail to see how this is my problem

I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Bismarck wasn’t removed from his position, seeing as he was a genius who predicted the Balkans being to cause and went out his way to avoid possibility of two front war

8:50 "threatened by the evergrowing aggresive Germany" You should have provide more context on the German "aggresive" action. It feel like the British just feel threatened by Germany for no reason

“For four hundred years the foreign policy of England has been to oppose the strongest, most aggressive, most dominating Power on the Continent, and particularly to prevent the Low Countries falling in the hands of such a Power.” Winston S. Churchill, Memoires

The biggest problem of the alliance system implemented by Otto von Bismarck is that - except him, no one could handle it.

Many historians speak of what lead to WWI, but few if any ever speak about what made WWI so special historically. That is to say, looking back on the history of war, WWI is a bright dividing line in the eyes of many scholars and even of casual observers and I don't recall having seen an in depth analysis of why it is so special among wars historically.

4:40 kinda sad you skipped the 2nd Sleschwig war between Prussia and Denmark in 1864. Bismarck did that with the same purpose.

One of the best books on the causes of WWI is "The Sleepwalkers" by Clark. I make several references to it in my WWI lecture

Explaining WW1 is always a rich tapestry of madness.

Its funny how you can see in the map as the years passing by that the balkan states are slowly eating the Ottoman empire

If the alliances led to war, there would have been war in 1880, 1893, or 1904/07. The alliances worked until one nation decided to break from the Concert of Europe and to refuse a diplomatic solution of any type.

Germany really is located in the worst possible spot, surrounded by 3 empires that don't particularly like it. No matter what they end up fighting on all sides.

Let’s begin incredible videos on WW1 ❤️❤️

Woooww.... the visuals are amazing!

The 19’th century is a fascinating time, but it’s a bit unexplored after the Napoleonic Wars.

Here's another factor to consider: when Serbia sent their response to Austro-Hungary, they accepted all but the last of the ultimatums. That last one involved allowing Austrian troops to enter Serbia to conduct investigations. Obviously, this is akin to giving up sovereignty and no nation would agree to this, which is what the War party in the Empire wanted. However, the Serbs did say that if Austro-Hungary didn't like these terms, they would be happy to submit to the resolution of a conference. Now you might think that the Empire would be happy with this. That surely a conference would find a reasonable solution to this and that there would be no reason not to go through with one. Right? Wrong. Problem was, due to the rise of nationalism, the empire had begun to splinter, just as the Ottomans had. And usually at these conferences, the Austrians were consistently outvoted on these matters. Seeing the state of decline the Ottomans were having and recognizing their own downward trend, the War party wanted to reverse the empire's fortunes with a glorious war of reconquest. And they weren't going to let a conference get in the way this time. Of course, all this isn't to say that there were no voices of reason within the empire. One was the Hungarian contingent. The others... were dead on the streets of Sarajevo...

Never attack Russia in the winter. Never let a VIP travel in a convertible. And most importantly: Never make an alliance with Italy.

Good conclusion: If the alliance works, war is prevented. If it doesn't, war can last longer.

Ah K&G starts the canon fire of WW1 series ❤❤

A good synopsis. A couple of pertinent points. The Germans could have held back the Austrians but instead gave them unqualified support in their invasion of Serbia. The other point is Serbia’s response to Austria effectively accepted all terms of the ultimatum but one: it would not accept Austria-Hungary’s participation in any internal inquiry, stating that this would be a violation of the Constitution and of the law of criminal procedure.

The Franco-Russian alliance originally kept each other down. With France stating the Balkans aren't of vital interest of her, and would not support Russia in a war she provoked by meddling in the Balkans. Later, Russia said the same by claiming that North-Africa is not of vital interest to her, and would not support France in a war she provoked by meddling in N-Africa. This alliance originally toned both nations aggressiveness down. Then, somewhere in 1912-1913, after the Italian conquest of Libya and the first half of the Balkan wars, France changed it's opinion, essential giving Russia the go-ahead to meddle in the Balkans, emboldening Russia in her Balkan policy. The British parliament voted to go to war with Germany only with a relatively small majority. Had Germany not invaded Belgium, chanches are real she would have stayed out of the war. In the last couple of years prior to 1914, Anglo-German relations were thawing and were actually moving in the direction of friendship. Germany had clearly lost their naval build-up with Great-Britain and had shifted military spending from the navy towards the army somewhere around 1910-1912. All in all, it really feels as if Germany could have kept Britain out of the war had they played their cards better. Also interesting to know is that in part Germany dared to declare war on France because they felt sure Britain would stay out of the war, and in part France dared posture against Germany because she felt she had Britain's backing in case of a war. The narrow vote by which Parliament voted to enter the war, shows that both France and Germany were somewhat right and somewhat wrong.

Can’t wait for more content on WW1 🔥

I used to like Tirpitz because he had a big ship named after him, and had an even bigger beard, but imagine thinking up a plan to blackmail the world's greatest superpower, a country which had the biggest and best navy in the world, into being your friend by building up a fleet to try and threaten them, only to have a shocked pikachu face when they get the wrong idea

One small correction Gavrilo Princip was a member of Mlada Bosna (Young Bosnia) not the Black Hand.

Nice video as always. However, there is a small point in this that should have been addressed further. It is mentioned in the video that Serbia had been found to be behind the Black Hand organization and the Franz Ferdinand assassination. While certainly the Black Hand had the support of several Serbian military men and others, officially Serbia had denied any connection to the organization, and indeed it was never really proven by the Austrians. Instead the Austrians most probably found the assassination as the perfect CB for an invasion they were planning for a while. There is even the conspiracy theory (which honestly I do not know if I believe) that certain Austrian circles were behind the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, because they did not like his intention to grant more autonomy on the many ethnic groups of the Empire, when he would take the throne. Blaming Serbia then and justifying an invasion was an added bonus to that plan. All this is insinuated in the German-Austrian movie Sarajevo (2014).

Loved working with KNG for this one! Such incredible artwork and animation

France and Britain: only we can colonize the world. Deutschland: Ok we just want some tiny areas in Asia and Africa. France and Britain: The Kaiser is a mad man

If Emperor Frederick III of the German Empire lived longer…we might have avoided the 1st World War

Oh snap! We got documentaries on Great War coming! Nice. Hey THE GREAT WAR Channel on RU-vid hosted by Indy Neidell and now Alex, is a Superb learning source.

Alliances were supposed to act as deterrence, like the later nuclear deterrent strategies. However, secret alliances, paranoia about mobilisation, incompetent statesmen and misjudgements about how allies would react ultimately meant that this deterrence wasn't enough.

I think it's worth diving into what made England and France go from bitter enemies to allies

This was great, there is a trend to say that Germany was just the scapegoat for WW1 but its leaders really were on a warpath and were reckless with their blank check promises to the Austro-Hungarians.

This video couldn't have come at a better time for me and my history class 😩

Please also make such video on The Great Game, Anglo-Russian rivalry for Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Gavrilo Princip was a member of the revolutionary Yugoslav nationalist and unification movement known as Mlada Bosna (Young Bosnia), not of the Black Hand. But the two organizations did cooperate and support each other on some matters in Bosnia. Also there was no actual proof that Serbia helped out the assassination.

Alliances was already proven itself as an intensifier of skirmishs in the 7 years war, long before a minor disagreement between Serbian and the Austrian imperial courts

I think it’d be cool if you guys could do some videos centred around the generic history questions you get in secondary/high school for exams

Would love for you to explore both colonization/no-European reasons for the war, and battles outside of Europe.

Depends. War was inevitable but a war that included everyone was because of the alliances. Germany spied on Russia and their spies determined that Russia would be too powerful for them to defeat in 4 years so they had to go to war with them no matter what. It’s just that alliances turned that from a 1v1 to a global war.

- UK safeguards Belgiums neutrality - Germany invades Belgium - UK declares war on Germany - Germany: *Surprised Pikachu face

The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand must have been the worst case of toppling dominos in history.

It is interesting that in Serbia, before the beginning of the great war, political parties were in the election campaign, and the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Command of the Serbian Army, Radomir Putnik, was treated in the Gleichemberg Spa in Austria-Hungary. It seems that no one even thought of war at that moment.

Post more videoa about -Aristotle teaching Alexander the Great -Tengrism -Ottoman Empire astronomy (scholars,ulema)

All those countries declaring war one after the other so fast; it almost sounds funny, except that it was so horrible.

13:30 “I will force you to become my friend!”

There's an anecdote that an American journalist was stationed in the Russian far east when cossack units there were mobilized and decided to interview the soldiers. He soon discovered that they didn't yet know who they were going to fight and asked them for guesses, which ranged fron attacking China or Japan to fighting the British in Persia or Afghanistan. When the troops discovered the truth, they at first refused to believe it, thinking it was ridiculous.

K&G: "Did 'Aliiances' lead to Great War?" Me: "That's why I choose the 'Horde' as my faction. "

The explanation of alliances has never set right with me. Nations going to war purely to honor alliance almost does not happen. Alliances are broken & rewritten like the Sunday newspaper.

Finnaly! I was losing hope in you, doing boring ancient and early mediavel videos, glad your making good ones again!

Germany: our ruler and Britain's ruler are related, they won't declare war. British Parliament: we heard you were talking shit and thought we wouldn't find out

According to M-A-I-N, Yes.

When every attempt by Germany to get better relations with the UK results in worse relations with the UK.

Every "big" European nation establishes alliances with each other to attack, again...each other; Meanwhile, Poland: *They can't attack me if I'm not on the map* (inserts Leonardo DiCaprio meme)

Wonderful topic to see covered on this channel! Thanks so much!

I believe WWI could have been less deadlier if Germany never got involved. Hear me out, after Austria declared war on Serbia, it backed down after Russia threatened to defend Serbia. Russia's involvement is important because though most nations like the U.S. and Britain hated Russia, Russia was an adversary of Germany, which made it an ally with France who hated Germany and wanted any excuse to go to war with Germany. Neither Britain nor the Americans liked the French but since France was leading the war against Germany jumped on board in hopes of gaining spoils, expecting victory over Germany.

Austria-Hungary almost went on to declared war on Serbia in 1913 and gave up when they persuaded Bulgaria, ruled by a German monarch at a time, to invade Serbia instead. When Bulgaria started losing the war versus Serbia, Greece and Montenegro, Austria-Hungary wanted to join on Bulgarian side, but was deterred when The Ottomans and Romania invaded Bulgaria. Serbia and Montenegro finally got shared border after two Balkan wars 1912-1913, and since both countries at a time considered themselves Serbian (like Austrians that considered themselves German at a time) they wanted to unite into a single country, but gave up fearing Austrian invasion. Austria-Hungary wanted to conquer Balkan peninsula for herself, and annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina that had Serbian majority in 1908, so when the Ottomans were defeated and pushed away from the Balkans, things got far worse for imperialistic Austria-Hungary. Not only were they blocked by Serbia, but also feared that Serbia could influence Serbian population within its borders to rise up in rebellion. Austria-Hungary also chose to send their heir to Sarajevo, knowing well that the tensions were high, and decided to do so on June 28, a Serbian national holyday, the most important date for Serbs and even today very important. They also banned Serbs from celebrating their national holyday because everything should be about their heir that day. Serbs were heavily dissatisfied with Austrian rule, starting an unsuccessful uprising years before this. But Austria-Hungary just kept disrespecting Serbs, who felt too weak to change their situation through an uprising, so they formed a terrorist organization that led to the Archduke's assassination. In the ultimatum Austria-Hungary sent Serbia was also the right for Austria-Hungary to determine who among Serbian ministers were involved in the assassination and even execute those they find 'responsible', so there was plenty of space for abuse by Austrian side. Serbia had no option than to refuse. Even if they wouldn't execute any ministers but just remove from power those that had anti-Austrian sentiment, they would still make Serbia into Austrian puppet state.

8:51 "Move over Bismarck! Meine mustache ist grosser zan deine mustache! " "Scheisse!"

Great summary on the role of alliances. Would also be great to do a video on the role of financiers...

Aren’t alliances just best friends

I missed the part that explained German rationale for declaring war on Russia and France. Could they not have waited for one to declare and therefore maintained the defensive clause of all the alliances?

Thank you , K&G .

14:40 Lord Helmet, is that you?

15:14 'The German General staff would support an all out war.' This theory that the WW1 and WW2 was to do with alliances and timetables is purely British historians perspective. Germany would have to attack anyway. The real markets for manufactured goods were British India, Central Asia, East Indies (Malaysia & Indonesia), Indochina and large parts of Africa. The Germans were locked out by the British Empire, French Empire, Dutch Empire and the Russian Empire. If those Empires didn't come to an end, then WW1 and WW2 would happen in the 21st century.

It was a mistake by Bismarck to annex Alsace-Lorraine, following that decision there was no peace possible on the long term with France. A new war was just inevitable. It would have been wiser to just unify Germany and not taking any French territory.

Interesting video as always !

My step dad, gave me a FN Model 1910, like the one used to assassinate the archduke. Not being an expert, by my estimate, based on the various markings, it was manufactured between 1916 and 1920. So it could have actually been used during the war.

Wilhelm II totally botched his foreign relations.

What Islam says about jihad --- 1. The opponent must always start the fight first. This war should not be fought for the benefit of the region. (That is, it should not be the main purpose). It must be conducted by a religious leader. This fight must be done to bring peace back to the society (not to warm the society further) something that Allah will approve. 2. Betrayal cannot be done. Or deviate from the right path can not be done. Corpses cannot be mutilated. A child or a woman or an old man cannot be killed. No damage can be done to the trees, or they can not be burned, especially those that are fruitful. 3. The Qur'an describes two types of jihad (struggle), and in none of them is terrorism allowed but strictly forbidden. These two types of jihad are: jihad against oneself (ie, jihad against the devil who devises conspiracies) - and another jihad against the people (who openly declare war Against Islam and seek to eradicate Islam). 4. The rules of war in Islam, also known as international humanitarian law: those who are not fighting must be protected, such as civilians, medical personnel or aid workers. Those who are like wounded soldiers or prisoners (not able to fight) must be protected. Prohibition of targeting civilians. 5. The rights of the citizens protected from the danger of war must be recognized and they must be given the necessary assistance. They or their homes cannot be damaged or their livelihoods such as water sources, crops, livestock, etc. cannot be destroyed (if required, fines must be paid). 6. Medical services for civilians (sick and wounded) should not be stopped for war), no matter which side they are on (ie if they are in favor of the opposition in their minds, nothing can be done to them. Because they are unarmed). Attacks on employed hospitals are prohibited. 6. Torture and abusive treatment of prisoners is prohibited. 6. Prisoners must be given food and water and allowed to communicate with their loved ones.(if possible) 9. Weapons and tactics used in war can be limited to avoid unnecessary suffering.(if possible) 10. Rape or other forms of sexual violence are strictly prohibited in the context of armed conflict. Allah the Almighty has clearly declared that Muslims will never be forgiven for engaging in (extremism or terrorism) or (fitna in Arabic). So Islamic jihad can never be compared to terrorism. Because Islam is the religion of humanity which has provided the rightsl of all Muslims(men and women) and non-Muslims. Suppose an external enemy attacks Muslims. Muslims are being killed atrociously. So what will the western media say? Willn't Muslims think of protecting themselves? Why will they be shot like birds? Don't they have the right to live peacefully ? The rules of jihad are the rules given by Allah. So whoever breaks them is never a true warrior. Even jihad is obligatory on Muslims to defend the country. . And it applies to all Muslims. 70 out of 100 people do not know the rules of jihad in Islam. So it should be known from those who know.(real muslims).Not from the western media or anyone else who don't know anything about Islam.

OH MY GOD, just yesterday, just yesterday, I had to make a project about world war 1 and was going through all the sources including u and miraculously you've published a video today as if u heard me, hows this happening...

From what I understand, the main factors were: a. Austro-Hungarian expansionism in the Balkans, and b. German fears of Russian industrialization, especially in regards to Russia's rail network. The assassination of the Archduke was thus the perfect spark for the war. It gave Austria-Hungary a casus belli against Serbia, which also brought Serbia's ally Russia in to the war against Austria-Hungary. Germany then had a casus belli against Russia to defend its ally Austria-Hungary. From there, the pieces fell into place.