Among each of these groups, a cordial cohesion of regional ties existed among these mostly Slavic yet disparately aforementioned cultural ethnicities. For the most part the national borders of Balkan Yugoslavia were drawn along ethnic lines with each nation representing a similar ancestral tribal origin, a unique language and sepearate religious belief either Christian Orthodox, Catholic or Muslim. For half a century the delineation of borders inside Yugoslavia consisted of Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo and Albania. Czechoslovakia was too considered part of the Austrian Hungary Empire but separate from the diverse ethnic region. Within these countries an overlap of their different cultural lineage existed as the region’s majority population of Serbs oftentimes lived in bordering states like Croatia, Slovenia or Albanian while another ethnic group like the Albanians often resided in Serbia, Kosovo and so on.

Little conflict though amongst the distinct populations of Balkan people took place up to the inception of the first World War. Rather for the centuries before, a docile neighboring existence often was the norm. Then toward the beginning of the nineteenth century, the target of any opposition was mostly held against the foreign despotic rule of Austria Hungary. This perception had become more of a galvanizing force for these people as the tide of nationalism across much of Europe and North Africa grew stronger around the turn of the century. By 1914, the height of this sentiment fueled resentment against foreign rule that was most strongly held by the radical ethnic factions in the Balkans most notably the Serbian separatist Black Hand. The stakes had then grown more worrisome.

Pivitol to the unstable conditions in Central Europe at the time also were the actions of Germany. It had come to be that France was allied with Russia at the turnn of the century while the long, bitter rivalry between France and England had come to an end in 1904. As a consequence, the consortium of power constitued the formation of the triple entente in 1907, in the mutual interest that these major powers could police their continental prosperity against a major threat.

Meanwhile, the German state had made a formidable precense through it's empowering position under Kaiser Wilhelm whose relation with the Prussia(eastern side of Germany) evoked an image of villigence and sympathies with the Ottoman Empire farther to the east. Germany and the Ottomans had provided for the movement of greater German expansion of the deutch population into areas of Ottoman territory such as Jerusalem, Damascus and farther south into Arabia. German expatriotism in those days was largely practiced by members of the country's aritocratic class, particularly among the younger demographic whose families had long carried a tradition of affording life abroad for a duration of time. The German government thus became more inclined in pronouncing it's interests among these areas by establishing governmental posts and Catholic edicts.

Domestically, an accelerated build up of the German navy in the first years of the twentieth century was beginning to vy against the interests of Great Brittain for maritime dominance. Coupled with the instigating tendencies of the Prussian German forces and Ottoman friendship, coalesced to pose a major concern for the three allied European nations. Oil interests, particularly for Great Bittian at the time were becoming more of a critical issue due to the growing need of fuel imports as a transition underway for replacing the use of coal to cleaner and more efficient fossil fuels. Therefore the stage was being set for ideologiccal precedents being formed among the major powers that would seemingly shape each respective nations future position in the world.

A diplomatic visit by the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was scheduled in March of 1914. Rebuffing warnings from some of his advisors to cancel the trip because of the escalation unrest in the Serbian Capital of Sarajevo, the Archduke nonetheless kept his itinerary for no other reason than underestimating the scope of severity in the area.

Early into his visit during an afternoon speech in the town’s well adorned, picturesque esplanade, a bomb attempt was made on the life of the young Hapsburg leader. This sure would have been enough to force any prudent political figure to abandon the trip and return home but unconvinced of any lingering danger, the Archduke stayed. That evening he, his wife and another political aid were escorted in a silhouetted chauffer transport to visit the hospital where a body-guard was being held for injuries from the day’s prior incident. A member of the Black Hand, named Gavrilo Princip followed the Archduke's vehicle and fired shots upon them killing Franz Ferdinand, the Hapsburg successor.

This incident single-handedly called into being the severity of tension in Central Europe and the realization of the potential threats that could further unfold amongst the ideological differences between socialist, democratic, communist and the old world monarchies in the throes of fervent nationalism. The incident had a galvanizing force that enveloped nearly all of the Western World’s powers in a conflict that came to represent a test of political will and strength of international alliances. Asia Minor and large parts of the Arab Peninsula controlled by the Ottomans would also function as a strategic territory for German support. The Austio Hungary forces mobilized upon the Serbian border July 28, 1914 which compelled the other great nations of the world to quickly follow suit in their respective campaigns across Europe and part of the Middle East. The Western European allies were later joined by the United States, then Japan and Italy. The adversarial Central Powers included Austria Hungary, Germany, the Ottomans and members of caucaus states like Bulgaria and Romania who largely fought along the eastern front against Russia.

Also in contention for this territorial expansion of power into central Europe, North Africa and Asia was a test of political power between the diplomatic seeking allies versus an autocratic style of totalitarian rule. At great stake also was the diminishing strength of the Ottomans whose power had persisted since the thriteenth century in large parts of Asia Minor and the Arab World. The conflict's end came in November of 1918 as the Allied forces caused the final surrender of Germany which led to the Treaty of Versailles and a new perspective of world relations that would be seriously put into question during the years leading up to the second World War twenty five years later.