• How did Entente react to the battle of Cer?

• What was the public perception of Serbia before and after the victory at Cer?

• How well equipped were the Serbs in comparison to their A-H counterparts?

• I saw some pics on Wikipedia of the Serbian airforce, did they play a bigger part on the Balkan front or were they just used as scouts?

• What did the peoples of Western Europe think, what was the public sentiment (if there was any) to the Albanian crossing Serbia did in 1915?

• What did the heads of Entente think of the possibility of Yugoslavia and the subsequent Corfu declaration?

• How did the Central powers classify the Serbian generals, were some held in higher regard?

Thanks for donating your time, if I remember any more questions I'll edit them in, thank you very much.

EDIT:

• Did any of the Great Powers expect of Serbia to accept the disgraceful ultimatum?

I have read that at the start of the war, the public sympathy in the US was divided between England and Germany. Is this true?

Kind of a silly question, but I don't know much about the start of The War...

Could you describe the "starting position" for each of the major players right before the assassination of the Archduke?

If you were to take a snapshot of the military establishment (army, navy, air support, industry, etc.) and capacity for each of the main belligerents just before the outbreak of the war what does it look like? Who has the strongest position? Who needs to play catch up? How well did the players know each other's weaknesses?

Thanks guys.

With quick firing weaponry and machine guns, was there much theoretical discussion on the usefulness (or lack thereof) of cavalry? I know that cavalry was quickly phased out but was there an interested before hand?

How exactly did the battle of Tannenberg happen? How was such a small German force able to beat a much larger Russian one?

In WFIU Nazi Germany and the Axis nations fell into a very widespread position as being "evil bad guys." They were undoubtedly the villains in many people's points of view. Was there a similar sense of hatred towards the German nation and its allies during the Great War, or were they considered simply to be greedy land grabbers?

Why did the Archduke order his car stopped to go inspect the bomb damage? I mean, it was an assassination attempt?!? Why did he insist on going to the hospital to visit the wounded when someone (or a group) was trying to assassinate him? Why wasn't the motorcade more cautious after the first attempt (i.e., why didn't they just call it a day and cancel the days events?). It's not as if no public figures had ever been assassinated before, was there no protocol people followed back then?

I've read/heard Franz Ferdinand was in favor of increased autonomy for Slavic groups. Is this accurate and what would "increased autonomy" actually mean?

How autonomous were the German states other than Prussia just prior to the war? Did some have more autonomy than others?

To /u/an_ironic_username

How sophisticated were the U-Boats and submarines of the First World War? What were notable technological advantages made on submarine technology between the Wars? Basically, how did a WWI U-Boat compare to a WWII U-Boat?

How widespread was the pacifist movement in Britain during the war among civilians and Soldiers? Was it as prevelant as I often hear in media or is that just a product of modern beliefs about the war?

Hey, AskHistorians! We all know that life in the trenches was disgusting and filled with disease but what were the personal hygiene for the soldiers like? How often would the average soldier in the trench be able to bathe, change their underwear/socks and where would they go to use the bathroom?

Going into the war what country was considered to have the strongest and most technologically advanced military of the main powers?

How were relations between Germany and Austria-Hungary restored between the Austro-Prussian war in 1866 and the outbreak of war in 1914? As we know, Germany was Austria-Hungary's biggest ally and pledged support throughout the crisis.

Edit: Any suggested reading on the topic is welcomed!

Today, as then, we think of the war in terms of Great Power politics. Today, unlike then, we know that the Eastern Great Powers (especially Austro-Hungary) were about to see large parts of their empires dissolved into new, not-so-great powers--ones, with the exception of Austria, that were based on ethno-national identity. But how did the great powers relate to the independent Lesser Powers in the Long 19th Century? Did people expect that Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Serbia, etc. would be at risk to losing their independence to the Great Powers? Or were they seen as permanent parts of the Concert of Europe, whose independence must be defended? Did people think that the Ottomans could ever expand back into the Balkans? Or that Russia or Austria would gobble up those states? While the Germans clearly wanted to expand east, would they have been equally content expanding north or west?

Did the multi-ethnic land empires--particularly Russia, Austro-Hungary, and the Ottomans--become increasingly or decreasingly nationalistic over the course of the war? That is, did they increasingly think of all citizens/residents of the empire as increasingly equal, or did they show increasing favor to the dominant ethnic or religious groups? I know how Ottomans behaved, but I don't know much about the other groups. Particularly the Hungarians, who were in that very ambiguous position. Over the course of the war, did they feel closer or further from the K.u.K. government? What about Czechs or Ukrainians?

And what about the French and the English, who relied on troops from the Empire increasingly? I understand it helped foster Canadian and ANZAC national identity, but what about the other areas of empire?

How were the Germans able to fight a war on two front and do reasonably well on both? They were outnumbered on quite a few occasions, and had to face three major powers. Was it a superiority in weaponry, training, tactics, etc., or just luck?

There have been many cool things put online to commemorate the anniversary and WWI in general. The BBC created a page that pretends the assassination is a breaking story and the NY Times had an interesting Op-Ed yesterday, "If Franz Ferdinand Had Lived". What other cool commemorations have you seen? What are your favorites?

How would a typical naval battle during WWI be conducted? What new technology developed for naval warfare?

How about aerial warfare? How were early planes and blimps used in battles?

What happened to the German population in Alsace-Lorraine after 1918? From what I recall when the French initially seized Mulhouse the local French cheered, however when they pulled out and the Germans retook the city, many French who had "cheered the loudest" were rounded by the Germans, told on by immigrant Germans. Did the Germans in Alsace-Lorraine flee when cease fire came or did they suffer any French reprisals?

Also, was Sophie, the wife of Franz Ferdinand ethnic Czech or Bohemian German?

I once heard that when Ottomans entered war, they declared Jihad, a holy war on Entente so that all muslims in their colonies would start revolting, is this true, and If so did it have any significant effect?

I wonder how much influence had espionage in this conflict.

In popular culture, "modern" military intelligence is mainly associated with the second world war. We have those romanticized undercover spies and infiltrators, extensive code-breaking efforts, even armed units operating behind the enemy lines.

Of course, neither spying nor scouting were new techniques employed in warfare, far from it, but I'm talking about the necessary organized intelligence and counter-intelligence efforts we're all so familiar with from the later conflicts. Was that a already a thing? If so, what and how big was the role it played and how did it develop during the war?

Thanks for the AMA guys.

At the outbreak of the First World War, what was the reaction in the US? Where did sympathies lie in different ethnic/religous groups?

Did people really believe it was actually the war to end all wars?

What front or battle do you feel does not get the attention it deserves?

How did the people in European colonies react to the war?

What type of a security detail did the arch duke Franz Ferdinand have when he was at the parade and then latter was with him when he was killed? Were there police and secret service around trying to prevent violence and his death?

There a lot of posts in /r/badhistory about WWI being a "useless" and "pointless" war. This idea seems to be ingrained in the popular memory of the war, what do you say to people who argue it was indeed "useless"?

There's a famous post by Samual_Gompers that argues (rather convincingly to a lay person like myself) that Germany deserves the most blame for WWI, do you agree with his argument?

How many years into the war did they go before either side began to rotate troops off the front line periodically. I know that the tactics didn't call for it early on because that concept hadn't been invented yet, I'm just wondering how long those initial troops had to be directly in the Line of fire.

Why was World War I skipped over in getting a monument on the National Mall in DC?

What is Gavrilo Princip's historical reputation? I.e. - why or why isn't he perceived as a hero/terrorist?

In your opinion, what is one thing that people should know about World War I that they should?

I wanted to ask about the famous right wing. If they hadn't turned early and exposed their flank to allies could they have beaten them?

Secondly would the overall plan ever have worked, at some point the men were going to be exhausted and out run the lines of communication that is part of the reason the Marne turned out the way it did, did the German general staff not consider this?

What is the consensus of historians regarding how much war guilt belongs to the superiors of Dragutin Dimitrijević for having knowledge of his involvement with the Black Hand and/or his conspiracy to assassinate one of the leaders of another sovereign state?

Where there any armed resistance movements behind enemy lines during the war?

On the special BBC website they're presenting an interpretation for the events after the shooting whereby the Monarchs did not desire to go to war, but were powerless to stop it. According to them, this was due to the interference of the political and military elites who wanted to go to war (or at least saw it as inevitable).

I was wondering how this interpretation fits within the context of current scholarship.

Thanks!

What was the "point of no return" in the July Crisis? Meaning, up until this point there was still hope of war not happening, and after that point war was going to happen?

How accurate is the historical information in this article published today in the NYT, and how plausible are their predictions: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/28/opinion/if-franz-ferdinand-had-lived.html

What did Germany have in the way of overseas colonies when the war broke out? How long did they holdout? How serious were Germany's attempts to hold on to them?

At the beginning of the war did any armies try to fight in the Napoleonic fashion, with lines of infantry standing in the open and firing musket volleys?

Why were the Germans inflexible when it came to the schlieffen plan. Was it because Kaiser W. II did not listen to the advice of Bismarck when it came to foreign policy or did the military have a greater say in the matter than the kaiser's opinion.

How much did the Italian front in WWI shape the political and military movement on the rest of the fronts? I know basically nothing other than that it exists

Thanks for doing this. The question I have been thinking all day is whether the war was likely to happen and the killing of the Archduke hastened it, or was this all that was necessary to set off the war?

I've heard it said that Franz Ferdinand had planned to 'open' up the Empire into more of a federal state. Is there any validity to that?

Assuming Austria-Hungary wanted war rather than arbitration, could Serbia have asked other countries for arbitration at The Hague?

Sorry if I'm late with a question, but my biggest fascination with the Great War is trench warfare. My question(s) is what was the daily routine for a soldier (on any front's) and is there any literature you would recommend that gives a detailed description of life in the trenches? Also thank you for the special centennial AMA.

If Franz Joseph was unhappy with what he thought Franz Ferdinand would do as the next emperor, why didn't he make someone else his heir?

What effect did the arrival of American soldiers have on the French and British troops? What did the Germans think? What was America's biggest contribution to the war?

Why was the British Foreign Secretary "angry with the French Government on the subject of the French arms traffic through Jibuti to Abyssinia and to the Somali Mahdi"? (quotation from The origins of the First World War by Annika Mombauer, (102) 27 June 1914: Bertie Memorandum)