The Butterfly Effect of Two World Wars

The beginning of both world wars of the 20th century are an excellent example of the butterfly effect. This effect states that one small event can have enormous consequences.

"Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set a tornado in Texas?" – The Butterfly Effect Share on X

With the butterfly effect, we can see how both world wars, which have shaped our modern world, began with one driver taking a wrong turn. Simply put, the world would not be the same today if this driver had known his way around Bosnia.

The Drive

On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were touring Sarajevo (then part of the Austria-Hungary Empire).

During the tour, the driver of Ferdinand’s car made a wrong turn and got lost. He pulled over to quickly look at a map for directions. However, he failed to realize that he had pulled right in front of Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand. This Serbian group despised of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire’s rule there, and wanted to see its leaders killed.

Ferdinand’s driver had stopped in the best spot for Princip to pull out his pistol and shoot at the car. And, since the Archduke had wanted to ride in an open-top car, shooting him was fairly easy. Princip shot and killed Ferdinand and his wife at point-blank range.

Immediate Effect

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungary Empire, was the final catalyst that pushed the Empire to declare war on Serbia.

Soon, past treaties and alliances caused many other world powers to join the fight. Due to previous agreements regarding conflict, Germany backed Austria-Hungary, while Russia entered to support Serbia.

Many other European powers and their various overseas territories were dragged into the war based on agreements they had made prior. The United States even joined the war in 1917, after Germany attempted to convince Mexico to attack the Americans.

Peace and Rearmament

World War One concluded with a highly flawed treaty, the Treaty of Versailles. Within the treaty, the victorious Allies demanded that Germany pay for most reparations from the war.

On top of this, many other demands were forced on to Germany. Demilitarization was one. The Rhineland was also taken, which had been an industrial heartland for the German Empire. This led to a severe economic depression in Germany.

One leader would rise to pull Germany out of its depression and bring hope back to its people. The German people would rally to his cause as he attempted to restore German dominance in Central Europe. And his radical ideas were only accepted due to Germany’s poor state. His name was Adolf Hitler.

Another Great War

Hitler went on to commit various atrocities, such as the Holocaust. He also led Germany into the Second World War.

The end of this second great war saw two world superpowers rise up: The United States and the Soviet Union. Each power hoped to continuously best the other, which led to the Cold War. The Cold War has since impacted our modern world greatly.

Conclusion

It is often argued that World War One would have broken out regardless of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Many European powers of 1914 were ready for war. Some leaders were even excited for it, to show off their new armies and technologies after the Industrial Revolution.

Even though the Great War may have started anyway, it would have occurred at a different time, with different small events taking place. If we know anything about the butterfly effect, these small changes could have led to vastly different outcomes of both world wars, leading into our modern world.