COMPLEX ALLIANCES LEAD to WAR I N THE EARLY 1900S European powers competed with each other for land power and resources Great Britain France and Germany wanted to control areas in Africa and the Middle East Austria Hungary and Russia were vying for domination in the Balkan coun tries of southern Europe Adding to the rivalry between nations were strong feelings of distrust Many countries established alliances with each other promising to step forward if one of them was attacked by an enemy Europe was a powder keg just waiting to explode The fuse on that keg was lit on June 28 1914 when Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand Meant to allow friendly greetings with passersby the archduke’s open car proved deadly instead
the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne in Sarajevo Bosnia Austria Hungary blamed Serbia for the act and declared war on Serbia exactly one month later That started a chain reaction Serbia had an alliance with Russia so the Russians declared war on Austria Hungary Because France had an alliance with Russia it joined the war on Serbia’s side too Meanwhile Germany came out in support of Austria-Hungary its partner in another alliance and declared war on Russia and France When German troops moved into neutral Belgium on the way toward France Great Britain honored its own agreement to protect Belgium by declaring war on Germany By September 1914 most of Europe was at war The main combatants were the Central Powers Germany Austria-Hungary and Turkey and the Allied Powers Britain France Russia and later Italy Soon blood would be shed in many parts of the world One country that decided to stay on the sidelines at least for the time being was the United States A great deal of political pressure would be put on U S president Woodrow Wilson to join the Allied Powers Another type of pressure would be exerted by German espi onage agents in the U S trying to undermine any American efforts to help the Allies Both sides wondered what America would do COVERT OPS SUCCESS ON THE SECOND TRY The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand didn’t go as planned on June 28 1914 Members of the Serbian terrorist group the Black Hand were assigned to attack the archduke as he traveled through Sarajevo that day The first man lost his nerve and let the royal party drive right by him The second threw a bomb at the wrong car and seriously wounded two of Franz Ferdinand’s close friends Later the archduke insisted on visiting his wounded friends at the hospital It was during that second trip that Gavrilo Princip spotted the arch duke’s car and fatally shot the Austrian heir and his wife 0909
10 CHAPTER ONE PROFESSIONAL SPIES on the JOB The RMS Olympic a sister ship of the ill-fated Titanic served as a troopship during the war A LONG WITH FORMING ALLIANCES in the years before World War I European nations also began an arms race Munitions factories churned out guns and ammunition shipyards manufac tured warships even some early airplanes were equipped for wartime use The arms race was public knowledge Behind the scenes another kind of buildup was going on Military leaders began posting spies un dercover in their rivals territory They hoped to discover secrets that would give them an edge if their countries went to war Although spies had been employed in wartime for thousands of years peaceful espionage was a new development So were full time professional spies In the past most wartime spies were either soldiers persuaded to go undercover in enemy territory or civilian non-military volunteers Some operatives were paid but most did not make their living by spying or by catching spies Now the field of espionage was changing In 1909 Great Britain established its first official intelligence organization called the Secret Service Bureau It consisted of two
WWI guns were classified according to the sizes of their shells such as the six-inch guns in the foreground 1111
