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[A Map of Europe in August of 1914. The Central Powers, their vassals, and occupied countries are red. The Entente Powers are blue. Confirmed neutral countries are green.

June
Tensions between the Austrian Empire and it's inhabitants peak in the city of Sarajevo on the 28th. The Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the Archduchess Sophia are both brutally murdered by a Serbian nationalist after a long day of failed assassination attempts. The perpetrator of these murders, a man named Gavrilo Princip, is arrested immediately and is revealed to be tasked by a Serbian nationalist group known as the Black Hand. Meanwhile, the Imperial couple is rushed to a hospital as fast as possible. Alas, it is too late - the two were deader than the steak that had graced their plates the night before. The Austrian government considers what to do next as the world watches.

July
The month of July is marked by grieving for the fallen Imperial family. Many heads of state of different European nations attend the Archduke's funeral. Karl Franz, Franz Ferdinand's second cousin, succeeds him to the Imperial throne. Austria begins the planning of an invasion of Serbia - only problem is the Russian Empire's defensive alliance with Serbia. The Austrians seek help from the Germans, and the two Empires strike up an alliance: if Russia declares war on Austria, then Germany will declare on Russia. The blame of this tragic occurrence is largely based on the Serbian government, and on the 23rd, the Austrian government releases an ultimatum to the Serbs. Their reply is seen as unsatisfactory, and it is to no ones surprise when the Austrian Empire declares full war on Serbia. Russia begins mobilization as per their alliance with Serbia. The German Empire issues a warning to Russia to end their militarization, and when Russia refuses, the German Empire declares on Russia, beginning the Great War. The Netherlands is the first nation to announce full neutrality in the upcoming conflict.

August
The war truly starts in August, when several other nations join the fray. On the first, the Kingdom of Italy follows the Netherlands by announcing their full neutrality and the Germans lasso the Ottoman Empire into a secret alliance. Shortly following that, the German Empire invades Luxembourg in order to open a front in which they could pull a preemptive invasion of France. Germany declares war on France the next day and asks Belgium to open their borders to German troops. Belgium rejects and Germany declares war on Belgium, despite British protests. The British Empire declares war on Germany, and all Great Powers of Europe have officially joined the war. The United States of America joins the neutral party as Montenegro declares war on Austria-Hungary, and later on Germany. At this point, the two sides have fully coalesced into two sides; Austria-Hungary and Germany make up the Central Powers while the enemy party (France, the United Kingdom, Serbia, Russia and Montenegro) make up the Entente Powers. Border skirmishes begin, Russia moves into Eastern Prussia, and a campaign to gobble up the German colonies in Africa begins with Togoland. The Japanese jump on the Entente bandwagon and begin to annex German islands in the Pacific Ocean while the Kaiser is all tied up in Europe. The rest of the month has the two opposing side making small gains as they all declare on their allies' enemies and their enemies' allies'. [I]

While the rest of the world plunges into war, the Kingdom of Sweden watches in distaste - Sweden had pledged itself to full neutrality after the Napoleonic Wars. However, early on in the month, the Russians decide to do a show of the naval strength in the Baltic. Admiral Nikolai Essen, one of the highest ranking officers in the Russian Baltic Fleet, goes rogue and decides to take out the Swedish Royal Navy in a preemptive strike [II], assuming that the Swedes would cuddle up to the Germans and join the Central Powers. He launches an attack on what he assumes would be the majority of Sweden's naval forces, only to find a few cruisers and fishing vessels [III]. Despite the misunderstanding, several Swedish lives are taken in the bombardment, and when news reaches Stockholm, the people of Sweden go crazy! While King Gustaf V supported the Central Powers, the Socialist-leaning politicians that held the majority of Sweden's power supported their Neutrality in favor of the Entente. This attack and violation of neutrality by the Russians fully push them into the Central Powers camp, and Sweden accepts the German offer of reclaiming lost land in Finland and the Baltics by declaring war on Russia on the 15th. This act did not just contribute to the Central Powers with manpower but also with propaganda; Russia attacking a neutral nation lowered the Entente to the same moral ground as the CP. The level moral factor of this reaffirmed the United States staying neutral in the conflict. Admiral Essen had singlehandedly changed the fate of the Great War.

Afternotes
[I] All of this has been OTL information in order to set up the TL. The paragraph afterwards about Sweden takes place August 9th - 15th, while the first one includes the entire month of August, including after the Swedish entry into the war. I just wanted to clear up that all of that didn't take place before the 9th.
[II] The POD. Admiral Essen doesn't receive the message telling him to back off, so he goes ahead with the attack on Russia.
[III] This is IOTL - Essen had the wrong location. However, I think the naval bombardment of Swedish citizens (aka the fishermen) along with minor naval ships would push the Socialists into the King's camp even more.

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