The leaders were unable to back away from their national "honor" and the entangling alliances they had agreed to. Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia, who they believed had supported the assassins. Russia, the traditional friend and ally of their fellow-Slavs, the Serbians, came to their support. Russia's ally France also mobilized for war. Germany, the ally of Austria Hungary, then came to the aid of their ally and invaded neutral Belgium to get to France. When the French violated Belgian neutrality, Great Britain entered the fray. Other  nations followed. What should have been a small local war became the first world war. 

Part of The Great War: a HistoryWiz exhibit

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