Everything necessary for World War I is in place. Archduke Ferdinand has just been killed. Europe's tangled web of alliances ensure that any war will turn into a continent-wide conflict, and Austria-Hungary is frothing at the mouth with unreasonable demands from Serbia.
But in the end, someone blinks. Someone takes to time to actually estimate how devastating a war would be and backs down. The July crisis is resolved amicably. Germany convinces Austria-Hungary to be more reasonable. Serbia makes a show of cracking down on terrorism and arresting conspirators.
No one is happy with the results, but they avoid a war, and seeing how close they came to a continent-enveloping conflict, they rethink their alliances and decide to form some sort of League of Nations to meet regularly and deal with such crises peacefully before they blow out of proportions.
But in the end, someone blinks. Someone takes to time to actually estimate how devastating a war would be and backs down. The July crisis is resolved amicably. Germany convinces Austria-Hungary to be more reasonable. Serbia makes a show of cracking down on terrorism and arresting conspirators.
No one is happy with the results, but they avoid a war, and seeing how close they came to a continent-enveloping conflict, they rethink their alliances and decide to form some sort of League of Nations to meet regularly and deal with such crises peacefully before they blow out of proportions.