Why Was Bosnia So Key in the European Conflict

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The Answer is The Balkans were,in general,a volatile area of contention that was fought over by several larger empires such as the Russians and the Austro-Hungarian empire for strategic benefit.However,the province of Bosnia was especially volatile as it was home to many ethnic groups,including Serbs,Croats,and Bosnian Muslims.Many of these groups had hoped to secede to join independent kingdoms of shared ethnic or religious background,but were prevented by the Austro-Hungarian empire,which feared the loss of strategic lands.When Archduke Ferdinand toured the nation in 1914,it was a prime opportunity for dissidents to act out their anger and frustration.When the archduke was assassinated by a member of a Serbian national liberation group,Austria reacted by issuing an ultimatum demanding the Serbian government denounce the aims of the Bosnian Serbs.The demands were deliberately unreasonable in expecting the Serbs to denounce their Bosnian brothers.Austria purposefully provoked war in order to tame Bosnia and crush Serbia.Although the conflict in Bosnia seemed isolated,it proved to be a match to the powder keg that was Europe in 1914.It revealed tensions and renewed alliances that had long been dormant.Immediately Russia,which had long ties to Serbia through a cultural Slavic connection,became involved on behalf of Serbia.The total mobilization of Russian troops provoked German fears as Germany sat geographically in a precarious position between the Austro-Hungarians and Russia.Germany sided with Austria but,in its fear of invasion,forced France to declare allegiance to a side of the conflict.France sided against its traditional enemy of Germany.In order to catch France unaware,the Germans invaded not through the Alsace region,but through Belgium.Although this was tactically innovative,it was diplomatically destructive as the invasion of neutral Belgium proved to be a rallying cry for other countries,such as Britain,to get involved.Although the crisis began as a specialized conflict within Bosnia,the complex webs of alliance and competition turned this localized dispute into a European war.

Why Was Bosnia So Key in the European Conflict

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