It could have. The reasoning was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife by the Serbian Black Hand terrorists in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. The Austrians delivered an "ultimatum" to Serbia an ultimatum that was almost guaranteed to be turned down by Serbia. The Austrians had been looking for an excuse to declare war because of lingering disputes between the two countries. On July 5, 1914, Germany (which had reasons of its own for a war) gave Austria a "blank check", or unconditional guarantee of support in its actions against Serbia.