In 1908, these groups formed an organization called the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), which supported a revolution against the Sultan that took place in July 1909. As a result of this loss of land and power, nationalist movements began to form among Turks who wanted their own country. The empire’s territory was shrinking, especially in the Balkans as Slavic nations gained independence from Turkey. While Europe was busy forming alliances, the Ottoman Empire and its people were under great pressure. They had sustained massive casualties in two wars, and it was obvious to everyone that they would not be able to hold up for much longer. The author contends that historians have been too focused on who was responsible for starting the war, and his argument is that it’s more fruitful to focus on how things happened than why they happened.ĭuring the decades preceding World War I, most European powers agreed that the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires were on their last legs. The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark (2012) is a comprehensive account of the events leading up to World War I. 1-Page Summary of The Sleepwalkers Overview
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