Franz Joseph I
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- Emperor of Austria-Hungary
- Austria-Hungary was declining as one of "The Great Powers"
- Wanted to stop spread of nationalism
- Pushed for nationalities to rule themselves
- Worried about the Serbians in Austria wanting to join Serbia
Franz Joseph's role in the cause of the World War I was that he pushed to end Serbian's spread of nationalism from leaking into Austria-Hungary. Many of the conflicts among Serbia and Austria-Hungary angered Franz Joseph and this led him to sign the declaration of war with Serbia.
Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf
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- Chief of the Austrian General Staff
- Wanted to crush and annex Serbia
- Feared Serbian's nationalism and Bosnian Crisis
- Did not want Nationalism to weaken Austria-Hungary
Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf pushed Austria-Hungary to go to war with Serbia. He played a major role in wanting to declare the war. Serbia's nationalism was spreading throughout and this created great fear among Hotzendorf. He wanted to modernize and transform the Austrian army.
Image Credit:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Joseph_I_of_Austria
http://austria-forum.org/af/Wissenssammlungen/Biographien/Conrad_von%20Hötzendorf,_Franz
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Joseph_I_of_Austria
http://austria-forum.org/af/Wissenssammlungen/Biographien/Conrad_von%20Hötzendorf,_Franz