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The alliances that countries had made dragged Europe into war in 1914. Watch this video to find out more.

The outbreak of war

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Key points

28th July 1914 - Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
Russia mobilised to support Serbia, which led to Germany declaring war on Russia.
Germany then declared war on France as part of its Schlieffen Plan. This plan took 9 years to finalise, and was based on a war on two fronts with France and Russia.

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