July 28, 2008 - An ancient conflict that deserves a moment of our time, today

Tim Darnell

July 28, 2008

How many people do you know who recognize the significance of today? It was on July 28, 1914, that Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, thus beginning the deadliest conflict the world had ever (to that point) had seen.

World War I.

In 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian from Bosnia-Herzegovina, killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the crown prince of Austria-Hungary. Ferdinand was seen as a threat to the union of South Slavic people. In addition, the act was a protest of Austria-Hungary's control of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Most Serbs believed that Serbia, which lay south of Austria-Hungary, had a right to the province. The Serbs valued the region because it provided an outlet to the Adriatic Sea, which was important to their shipping industry.

The assassination caused Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. Russia promised to support Serbia. Then Germany, Austria-Hungary's ally, declared war against Russia and Russia's ally, France. Germany invaded Belgium to attack France, and Britain joined the fight in support of Belgium. World War I had begun.

Take a moment from your busy business day to reflect on the significance of today. World War I is an ancient conflict to virtually everyone living today, but we should not forget the horrors of that cataclysm, the first time in human history that global destruction had been wrought on such a massive scale.