he assassination Austria Hungary reached out to Germany for advice on how to respond Germany's leader Kaiser Wilhelm II encouraged Austria Hungary to deal harshly with Serbia in retaliation for the assassination But Wilhelm II believed a solution could be reached without bloodshed In reality however Austria Hungary planned to go to war with Serbia Wilhelm II pledged Germany s support to Austria Hungary but he did not realize doing so would lead his country into war as well WILLY NICKY TELEGRAMS Serbia fearing an attack from Austria Hungary immediately sought the help of its ally Russia Russian leader Czar Nicholas II advised Serbia to mobilize its Wilhelm II the leader of Germany and Nicholas II the leader of Russia were third cousins The two leaders maintained friendly communication during the diplomatic crisis in 1914 that eventually led to war They signed telegrams as Willy and Nicky while their countries prepared for conflict When war seemed imminent Wilhelm Il sent his cousin a telegram pleading with him to stop the full mobilization of Russian troops The note worked but only for a day military On July 28 Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia In support of Serbia Russia prepared to mobilize its own military In the days that followed Germany's leaders debated how to respond to Russia's mobilization This situation posed a double a threat to Germany Germany s alliance with Austria Hungary meant Germany would come to the aid of Austria Hungary if Russia declared war But Russia was also an ally of France which bordered Germany in the west Therefore German
leaders worried war with Russia would also bring war with France Russia refused to stop the mobilization of its troops So on August 1 Germany declared war on Russia Two days later Germany declared war on Russia's ally France Only a week later Belgium and the United Kingdom had also joined the war siding with Russia and France World War I had begun Wilhelm II ruled Germany from 1888 to
EUROPEAN BORDERS BEFORE AND AFTER WORLD WAR NORWAY SWEDEN 0 ALLIES DENMARK CENTRAL POWERS NEUTRAL NETHERLANDS GERMANY UNITED KINGDOM BELGIUM LUXEMBOURG RUSSIA AUSTRIA HUNGARY SWITZERLAND FRANCE ROMANIA SERSA ITALY WHENEGRD BULGARIA SPAIN PORTUGAL ALBAN GREECE OTTOMAN EMPIRE ALGERIA TUNISIA MOROCCO LIS VA EGYPT 1914
NORWA ESTONIA SWEDEN LATVIA DENMAI LITHUANIA RUSSIA NETHERLANDS ITED KINGD GERMANY POLAND BELGIUM LUXEMBOURG ZECHOSLOVAK UKRAINE AUSTRIA FRANCE swiTZERLAND HUNGARY ROMANIA YUGOSLAVIA ITALY BULGARIA ALBANIA PORTUGAL SPAIN GREECE OTTOMAN EMPIRE ALGERIA JNIST 1921 After World War I ended in 1918 smaller wars continued in eastern Europe By 1921 European borders were relatively stable and remained in place until World War II began in the late
