Serbia's Pre-Wwi Austria-Hungary Control: Examining The Past

Serbia was not under the control of Austria-Hungary before World War I. However, the two countries shared a complex history, and their relationship was a significant factor in the outbreak of the war. Serbia had gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in the 1800s and shared borders with Austria-Hungary and other Balkan states, making it strategically important. Serbia's first king, Milan Obrenovic, was pro-Austrian and aligned his country with Vienna, making Serbia economically dependent on Austria. However, this displeased Serbian intellectuals sympathetic to Russia, and King Milan's son, Alexander, who took the throne in 1889, was unpopular due to his erratic behaviour and alignment with Austria. In 1903, Alexander was assassinated, and the Serbian throne was handed to Peter, a prince from the rival Karageorgevic dynasty. King Peter I modernised Serbia, enacting a Western-style constitution and liberalising the nation. He also sought to reduce Austrian influence, angering Austrian ministers, who imposed trade sanctions. This led to calls for greater political independence and intensified Serbian nationalism, with groups like the Black Hand advocating for the protection of Slavic rights and the defence of Serbia from Austrian encroachment. These tensions culminated in the assassination of Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist in 1914, marking a flashpoint that steered Europe towards World War I.

Serbia was an independent kingdom

Serbia's first king, Milan Obrenovic, was pro-Austrian and aligned his country with Vienna, encouraging and facilitating Austrian trade and investment. During his reign, Serbia became economically dependent on Austria, and many considered Milan to be a puppet ruler, obedient to Vienna. This displeased Serbian intellectuals, who were sympathetic to Russia and feared Austrian expansionism.

Milan's son, Alexander, who took the throne in 1889, was even more unpopular than his father. In 1903, a clique of army officers captured, shot, and killed Alexander, handing the throne to Peter, a prince from the rival Karageorgevic dynasty.

Educated in Paris and a veteran of the Franco-Prussian War, King Peter was more Westernised and liberal than his predecessors. He set about transforming Serbia into a constitutional, democratic state with a modern economy. He enacted a Western-style constitution, passed a political amnesty, relaxed suppressive laws, and abolished press censorship. These changes angered Austrian ministers, who, in 1906, initiated trade sanctions, banning future purchases of Serbian pork (one of its main exports). However, Serbia's economy diversified and grew rapidly during this time, and it began to shed itself of Austrian control.

With rising economic independence from Austria-Hungary came calls for greater political independence, and Serbian nationalism intensified. Even King Peter expressed quiet support for a Slavic super-state in the Balkans, with Serbia as its beating heart. This rising tension and nationalism in Serbia contributed to the formation of several Serbian nationalist groups, which aimed to defend Serbia from Austrian encroachment and protect the rights of Slavic people.

In June 1914, members of one such group, the Black Hand, conspired to assassinate Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. This assassination was a flashpoint event that led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia on 28 July 1914, marking the beginning of World War I.

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in 1914

On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, marking the beginning of World War I. This declaration came exactly one month after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo. The assassination heightened tensions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, which had already been strained due to Serbian ambitions in the Balkans region and Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia in 1908.

In the lead-up to the war declaration, Austria-Hungary, with the encouragement and support of its ally Germany, presented Serbia with an ultimatum on July 23, 1914. This ultimatum included demands such as the suppression of anti-Austrian propaganda in Serbia and the allowance for Austria-Hungary to conduct its own investigation into the archduke's killing. Serbia accepted all demands except for one, but this was not enough to prevent diplomatic relations from breaking down. Austria-Hungary broke off relations with Serbia on July 25 and began preparing for military action.

The conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia quickly escalated into a wider European war. Russia, Serbia's ally, began mobilizing its military in response to Austria-Hungary's actions. This prompted Germany to declare war on Russia on August 1, 1914. France, Russia's ally, joined the conflict soon after, leading to a complex web of alliances and enmities that drew in other major powers such as Britain and eventually the United States.

Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia resulted in three unsuccessful offensives between August and December 1914. However, with the support of Germany and Bulgaria, they were able to breach the Serbian front in October 1915 and occupy the country. Serbia's resistance and the eventual liberation of their country in 1918 came at a devastating cost, with hundreds of thousands of military and civilian casualties and widespread destruction.

Serbia was economically dependent on Austria-Hungary

This situation displeased Serbian intellectuals, many of whom were sympathetic to Russia and fearful of the consequences of Austrian expansionism. The modernising King Peter, who took the throne in 1903, moved to realign Serbia's foreign policy, steering his country away from Austrian influence and brokering good relations and trade deals with France, Russia and Bulgaria. After two decades as an Austro-Hungarian satellite, Serbia was now free to trade with whomever it chose. This angered Austrian ministers, who in 1906 initiated trade sanctions, banning future purchases of Serbian pork (one of its main exports). The 'Pig War', as it became known, lasted three years but was a victory for Serbia, whose economy diversified and grew rapidly during this time.

However, the relationship between Serbia and Austria-Hungary was complex and multifaceted. While there were strong economic ties, there was also a history of conflict and tension, particularly over Bosnia, which Serbia wanted for itself. The annexation of Bosnia by Austria-Hungary in 1908 increased regional tensions and contributed to the outbreak of World War I.

Serbia was a harbour for nationalism and pan-Slavism

Under King Peter I, crowned in 1903, the Serbian nation modernised and liberalised, and it experienced economic growth as it began to shed itself of Austrian control. Serbia's first king, Milan Obrenovic, was pro-Austrian and aligned his country with Vienna, encouraging and facilitating Austrian trade and investment. However, this displeased Serbian intellectuals, many of whom were sympathetic to Russia and feared the consequences of Austrian expansionism.

King Peter set about transforming Serbia into a constitutional, democratic state and a modern economy. He enacted a Western-style constitution, passed a political amnesty, relaxed suppressive laws and abolished press censorship. This political liberalisation proved enormously popular not just with native Serbians but with other Slavic peoples in the Balkans. Many Slavs came to see Serbia as a safe harbour for Slavic identity and culture. The Greater Serbia movement called for the reclamation of Serbian territory from the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires. Pan-Slavism called for the liberation of millions of Slavs still trapped under Austrian rule. Some even believed Serbia should form the nucleus of a future Yugoslavia, a single nation for all the Slavic peoples of southern Europe.

Pan-Slavism, a movement that took shape in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with promoting integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had ruled the South Slavs for centuries. Pan-Slavism co-existed with the Southern Slavic drive towards independence. The Southern Slavic movement advocated for the independence of the Slavic peoples in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. Most Serbian intellectuals sought to unite all of the Southern, Balkan Slavs, whether Catholic, Muslim, or Orthodox, as a "Southern-Slavic nation of three faiths".

The changes in Serbia presented several problems for Austria-Hungary. The modernising King Peter moved to realign Serbia’s foreign policy, steering his country away from Austrian influence and instead brokering good relations and trade deals with France, Russia and Bulgaria. After two decades as an Austro-Hungarian satellite, Serbia was free to trade with whomever it chose. This angered Austrian ministers, who responded with trade sanctions, banning future purchases of Serbian pork (one of its main exports).

With rising economic independence from Austria-Hungary came calls for greater political independence. Serbian nationalism intensified, and calls for Slavic liberation and unity increased. Even Serbia’s King Peter expressed quiet support for a Slavic super-state in the Balkans, with Serbia as its beating heart.

Tensions between Vienna and Belgrade were further poisoned by the Bosnian crisis (1908-09) and the Balkan Wars (1912-13). In October 1908, Vienna moved to absorb Bosnia and Herzegovina into the Austro-Hungarian Empire, enraging Serbia, which saw the annexation as both an expansion of Austrian power and a threat to Slavic independence in the Balkans. Serbia mobilised its military in response to the annexation but later backed down after failing to secure Russian backing.

Serbia’s military victories in the Balkan Wars caused the balance of power to shift again. The country gained a considerable amount of territory and people, almost doubling in size and growing by 1.6 million people. This expansion made Serbia one of the largest states in southern Europe and the most militarily powerful nation in the Balkans.

By now, Serbian and Austro-Hungarian relations were at a dangerously low ebb. Expansionist Austrians saw Serbia as a nation of troublemakers whose actions could destabilise its fragile empire. Military planners in Vienna spoke openly about crushing its insolent neighbour; the only task was to find a pretext for war against the Serbians.

In Serbia, many believed their nation’s interests, as well as the welfare of Slavic people in southern Europe, were being threatened by an expansionist, imperialist power. Pan-Slavic nationalist groups began to form and flourish. These groups aimed to defend Serbia from Austrian encroachment and protect the rights of Slavic people. Groups like the People’s Defence (Narodna Odbrana), the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) and Young Bosna (Mlada Bosna) became more violent in their approach. Though comprised mostly of students and young radicals, these militant nationalist groups enjoyed some support from Serbian bureaucrats, military officers, and even members of the royal family.

In June 1914, it was a handful of young Black Hand members who conspired to assassinate Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo – a flashpoint event that would steer Europe into a catastrophic war.

Serbian nationalist groups aimed to defend against Austrian encroachment

Serbian nationalism asserts that Serbs are a nation and promotes the cultural and political unity of Serbs. It is an ethnic nationalism that arose in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule. Serbian nationalism was an important factor during the Balkan Wars, which contributed to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, and it also played a role in the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during and after World War I.

After 1878, Serbian nationalists merged their goals with those of Yugoslavists, claiming that Serbia sought not only to unite all Serbs in one state but also to be a South Slavic Piedmont that would unite all South Slavs in a state known as Yugoslavia. In 1914, when Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by Bosnian Serb revolutionary Gavrilo Princip, Austria-Hungary accused Serbia of involvement and subsequently declared war on Serbia, resulting in a clash of alliances and the eruption of World War I.

The origins of Serbian nationalism date back to the 19th century, beginning with the 1804 uprisings against Ottoman rule that eventually led to the creation of an independent Serbian state in 1878. However, Serbian nationalists themselves cite the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 as the origin of their movement. This battle, which holds important symbolic meaning for Serbian nationalists, took place on the Serbian national and religious holiday, Vidovdan.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was increasing antagonism between Serbia and Austria-Hungary due to Serbian nationalists' views that their peoples in Habsburg-ruled Austria-Hungary were under occupation. This antagonism, along with Serbian nationalism's promotion of a centralized Yugoslav state, contributed to unstable governance in Yugoslavia during the interwar period.

While Serbian nationalism has evolved over time and been a factor in various conflicts, it has consistently asserted the cultural and political unity of Serbs and sought to protect them from perceived threats, including Austrian encroachment before World War I.

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