What events led to the outbreak of world war 1 in Europe?

Answer 1

Which war? We Europeans have been fighting each other for over 2000 years. It's kind of a pastime.

As this is filed under US history, we can assume it must be one of the European wars in which the USA was involved. So take your pick:

First World War (The Great War) 1914-18, US participation from 1917: The heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian throne was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Austria-Hungary subsequently presented an ultimatum to Serbia that could not accept, leading those two countries to war. Russia then mobilised to support Serbia, then Gemany to support Austria, then France and Britain to support Russia.... this greatly over-simplifies the political situation in Europe in the period immediately before 1914, but you get the idea.

Second World War 1939-1945, US participation from 1941: Germany and the USSR invaded Poland, prompting Britain and France to declare war on Germany due to their comittment to defend Poland. things went downhill from there.

Kosovo war 1999: The US was involved in a NATO war against Yugoslavia to force it to withdraw from Kosovo.

Answer 2

The outbreak of war in Europe in 1914 was caused by several forces. The Bosnian/Serbian ambition for greater freedom and political integrity was a primary force. Another primary force was the alliance system, which bound major nations throughout Europe to become combatants despite facing no direct threat to their national security.

Answer 3

The particular event was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This provided the pretext for the Austrian empire to start a war in the Balkans.

The system of alliances resulted in Germany being in a state of war with France, and the attempted invasion of France violated Belgian territory. The British alliance with Belgium meant the UK entered on the side of France.