The nation responsible for the outbreak of the First World War is Austria-Hungary due to the territorial and political positions with Serbia which resulted in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand . After Ferdinand's death, Austria-Hungary issued a request for support to the Germans regarding problems in the Balkans, resulting in Germany confirming their assistance by issuing a "blank check". Austria subsequently gave Serbia a list of ultimatums which consisted of extreme demands in the hope that Serbia would reject it. Since Serbia is a country where Slavic nationalism was idealized, he rejected the idea that Austria gained the right to control the investigation into the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and to have authority over the state of Serbia and this effectively forced Serbia to reject ultimatums. Austria knew that Serbia would not accept this list of ultimatums and therefore sent it as a rational reason to declare war. Not long after, Austria declared war on Serbia, and Germany, Austria's ally, declared war on Russia, Serbia's ally. The underlying causes of the First World War can be traced back to the conflicts involving Austria-Hungary and the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Herzegovia. In 1878 Serbia became independent from the Ottoman nation. With this independence, Serbia expected that its region would include the South Slavs in Bosnia and Herzegovia. Slavic nationalists in Serbia hoped to secede from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1879, the Congress of Berlin placed Bosnia-Herzegovia under Austrian rule, shattering the nationalists' hopes of conquering that territory. Bosnia did not want to be ruled by a multinational state like Austria, and the Austrians did not like the fact that Serbia promoted Slavic nationalism. The Austrian Government...... middle of sheet......9, Appendices 1 and 2, 1914. The Great War Primary Documents Archive, Inc. 1995Conklin, Dennis. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (28 June 1914). The University of Southern Mississippi. Lesson. 4 April 2012. Franz Joseph. Autograph letter from Franz Joseph to the Kaiser, Vienna, 2 July 1914. The Great War Primary Documents Archive, Inc. 1995. 7 April 1996 Conklin, Dennis. Tactical and technical developments. The University of Southern Mississippi. Lesson. 4 April 2012The Serbian Blue Book. No. 37, 11 July 1914. Primary Document Archive of the Great War, Inc 1995Austro-Hungarian Red Book. Section 1, nos. 1-19, appendices 1 and 2, 1914. Archive of Primary Documents of the Great War, Inc. 1995 German White Paper. The reasons for Germany's war with Russia. Messrs. Liebheit and Thiesen of Berlin. The Archive of Primary Documents of the Great War, Inc. 1995