I am always amazed at
how decisions taken by a handful of powerful figures can alter the course of
humanity. The story of how the First World War started in 1914 fits perfectly
in the setting of the early 20th century Europe, when great
monarchies struggle to manage vast empires. The Austro-Hungary Empire appears as
the main character in the story, with the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
and his wife Sophie on the 28th June 1914 igniting a diplomatic and
military mobilization. Another important role is played by Serbia, which foster
the terrorist movement for the unification of all Serbs and was responsible for
the assassination.
Christopher Clark brilliantly
presents the course of events that lead to the murder of Franz Ferdinand and
Sophie Chotek, while detailing the background conflict between alliances forged
in the pre-war wars. Great Britain’s alliance with both France and Russia
allowed her to maintain vast colonies in Asia and Africa, while not endangering
its North African stronghold from France and Germany military advances. On the
other hand, the Russian Empire wanted to obtain control in the Bosporus
straight and also suzerainty over the newly formed Balkan states: Bulgaria and
the Kingdom of Serbia. Germany was advancing both technologically and
economically in the world stage and this enabled the empire to provide
assistance for African States in the independence struggle against France and
Great Britain. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was ethnically too vast to be united
and also employed a slow bureaucratic system that would prove to be a premise
of its demise.
When you read about
these economic and political subtleties, you cannot stop and be amazed with the
way in which the emperor and kings played such an important role in both maintain
peace and also engaging in war. Austrian-Hungarian Empire was portrayed by the
international press as an oppressor of the newly independent Balkan states and
as a dying empire, with Germany as the main supporter for its external
policies.
The book is a
monumental work on how the First World War broke in the summer of 1914, and
after reading it I gained more knowledge about the intricate political work of
empires and states. The external affair cabinets were powerful in dictating
directions for alliances and the influence with which the ministers exerted
this is astounding. Even though I cannot claim to understand all the reasons
for which Europe engaged in a global war, it is clear that all the key
decisional figures were ready and anticipating the war as necessary for the
establishment of new order. Looking back through the lenses offered by knowing
past events it is hard to imagine how such a war was necessary. Sadly it
happened and was the deadliest conflict in human history. 100 years later it is
necessary to understand how WW1 started, in the hope of preventing such
catastrophes from ever happening again.
