How did the war begin? World War I began with the assassination of the Austrian Emperor's grandson, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife , on June 18, 1914, while they were visiting Sarajevo, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The assassination by a Serbian nationalist led the Austro-Hungarian Empire to plan to start war against Serbia. Instead of reacting quickly to the incident, Austria-Hungary made sure to make a treaty with Germany. This allowed Serbia to create a treaty with Russia. Russia also had a treaty with France and Great Britain. Austria-Hungary declared war on July 28, 1914, more than a month after the assassination. By then much of Europe was involved. The two main sides of this war were the Allied Forces and the Central Powers. The Allied forces consisted of France, the United Kingdom and Russia, while the Central Powers were Germany and Austria Hungary. The First World War lasted from 1914 to 1919 and caused 10 million military deaths and 20 million injuries. Initially the Allied forces wanted the United States to enter the war, but the United States was neutral. However, two events changed this opinion. In 1915, a German submarine sank the British liner RMS Lusitania. This was a neutral passenger ship and the Americans were furious when it was sunk, as 159 passengers were Americans. Additionally, in 1917, Mexico was sent a coded message from Germany, which was intercepted by the British and shown to the United States. The message promised parts of American territory in exchange for entering the war on Germany's side. On April 6, 1917, the United States entered the war. Russia, at this time, was planning to exit the war. In 1917, a revolution occurred that removed the tsar from power. The new communist government wanted to focus on interns... middle of paper... Australians died during the war and many were injured and unable to work. This discouraged many potential recruits from enlisting. Works Cited http://history1900s.about.com/od/worldwari/p/World-War-I.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_Australia http://localhistory .kingston.vic.gov. au/htm/article/264.htm http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/conscription/ww1/ http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/ page.cfm?u=1022 http://www.1914-1918.net/recruitment.htm http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-14_u-42_t-47_c-139/propaganda/nsw/propaganda/ australia-and-world-war -i/recruitment-and-conscription http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/enlistment/ww1/ http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets /fs161.aspx http:/ /spartacus-educational.com/FWWarmies1914.htm?menu=FWWstatistics http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww1/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Australia_during_World_War_I