July Crisis

The July Crisis was a series of interrelated diplomatic and military escalations among the <a href="/facts/Great_power/KBtjXLun">major powers</a> of Europe in mid-1914, <a href="/facts/Causes_of_World_War_I/z8XEIw9t">which led to the outbreak</a> of <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">World War I</a>. It began on 28 June 1914 when the <a href="/facts/Serbs_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina/Hf9oIQ8S">Bosnian Serb</a> nationalist <a href="/facts/Gavrilo_Princip/dSoWnzLq">Gavrilo Princip</a> assassinated <a href="/facts/Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria/WlVflUd9">Archduke Franz Ferdinand</a>, <a href="/facts/Heir_presumptive/NPLIlCGB">heir presumptive</a> to the <a href="/facts/Austria-Hungary/9WPUPj0W">Austro-Hungarian</a> throne, and his wife <a href="/facts/Sophie%2c_Duchess_of_Hohenberg/3qnKvWUD">Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg</a>. A complex web of alliances, coupled with the miscalculations of numerous political and military leaders (who either regarded war as in their best interests, or felt that a general war would not occur), resulted in an outbreak of hostilities amongst most of the major European states by early August 1914.
Following the murder, <a href="/facts/Austria-Hungary/9WPUPj0W">Austria-Hungary</a> sought to inflict a military blow on <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Serbia/2HSIwdv9">Serbia</a>, to demonstrate its own strength and to dampen Serbian support for <a href="/facts/Yugoslavism/rFtdx9AJ">Yugoslav nationalism</a>, viewing it as a threat to the unity of its multi-national empire. However, Vienna, wary of the reaction of <a href="/facts/Russian_Empire/hg1g5SpV">Russia</a> (a major supporter of Serbia), sought a guarantee from its <a href="/facts/Triple_Alliance_(1882)/IhQoVYeY">ally</a>, <a href="/facts/German_Empire/lwQutJyN">Germany</a>, that Berlin would support Austria in any conflict. Germany guaranteed its support through what came to be known as the "<a href="/facts/Blank_cheque/LwKs6Nxj">blank cheque</a>", but urged Austria-Hungary to attack quickly to localise the war and avoid drawing in Russia. However, Austro-Hungarian leaders would deliberate into mid-July before deciding to give Serbia a harsh <a href="/facts/Ultimatum_of_July_23%2c_1914/z6tXrVUM">ultimatum</a>, and would not attack without a full <a href="/facts/Mobilization/XXDdQkgl">mobilisation</a> of the <a href="/facts/Austro-Hungarian_Army/XLRpwQQY">army</a>. In the meantime, <a href="/facts/French_Third_Republic/I2nlEmcn">France</a> met with Russia, reaffirmed <a href="/facts/Franco-Russian_Alliance/0y317lDV">their alliance</a>, and agreed they would support Serbia against Austria-Hungary in the event of a war.
Austria-Hungary made its ultimatum to Serbia on 23 July; Russia ordered a secret, but noticed, partial mobilisation of its <a href="/facts/Imperial_Russian_Army/eUBgLeFn">armed forces</a>. Although Russia's military leadership knew they were not strong enough for war, they believed that the Austro-Hungarian grievance against Serbia was a pretext orchestrated by Germany, and considered a forceful response as the best course of action. Russia’s partial mobilisation—the first major military action not undertaken by a direct participant in the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia—increased the willingness of Serbia to defy the threat of an Austro-Hungarian attack; it also alarmed the German leadership, having not anticipated the idea of needing to fight Russia before France.
While the <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland/yw0GUkge">United Kingdom</a> was <a href="/facts/Triple_Entente/pyxyg1cA">semi-formally aligned</a> with Russia and France, many British leaders saw no compelling reason to get involved militarily; the UK made repeated offers to mediate, and Germany made various promises to try to ensure British <a href="/facts/Neutral_country/Ig022QPh">neutrality</a>. However, fearing the possibility of Germany overrunning France, Britain entered the war against them on 4 August, and used the <a href="/facts/German_invasion_of_Belgium_(1914)/tX87u1Ie">German invasion of Belgium</a> to galvanise popular support. By early August, the ostensible reason for armed conflict—the assassination of an Austro-Hungarian archduke—had already become a side-note to a larger European war.

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July Crisis