The First World War1 was signiticant in the fact that it focused on Europe. It was
encompassed by two sides, The Triple Alliance2, comprised of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and
Italy. The opposi$on, called the Triple Entente3 included, Great Bri’an, France, and Russia. The
beginnings of World War One continue to be rather controversial even a+er all these years. One
might argue that Austria-Hungary had exploited the assassina$on of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
as an acceptable reason to invade Serbia, when in reality all the assassina$on proved to be, was
an excuse to get what Austria really wanted, a trade route to the Adria$c.
Austria-Hungary controlled the Balkans economically. To try to decrease its dependency
on Austria-Hungary, Serbia began to form trade links with France and Bulgaria. In 1906,
Austria-Hungary reacted by outlawing all imports of Serbia’s pork4. Serbia responded by selling
its pork to France, through Bosnia to the Adria$c, and then by sea to France. The Pig War
certainly started the decei6ul relationship between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, and made
Austria’s nonexistent trade route to the Adria$c apparent.
