Austria-Hungary's Culpability In The Assassination

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, on 28 June 1914, was one of the key events that led to World War I. The assassination was carried out by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist. Princip was part of a group of six Bosnian assassins who were coordinated by Danilo Ilić, a member of the Black Hand, a Serbian secret nationalist group.

The assassination was the culmination of a series of interrelated diplomatic and military escalations among the major powers of Europe in the summer of 1914, known as the July Crisis. Following the assassination, Austria-Hungary sought to inflict a military blow on Serbia, which it viewed as a threat to the unity of its multi-national empire. Austria-Hungary, with German encouragement, declared war on Serbia on 28 July. This declaration of war set off a chain reaction, with Russia's support of Serbia bringing France into the conflict. Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August and France on 3 August. Germany's violation of Belgian neutrality and British fears of German domination in Europe brought Britain and its empire into the war on 4 August.

The political objective of the assassination

The assassins were helped by the Black Hand, a Serbian secret nationalist group with close ties to the Serbian army. The Black Hand provided the assassins with bombs, pistols, and cyanide suicide capsules, as well as access to a clandestine network of safe houses and agents. The group included many radicals, government officials, professionals, and army officers.

The decision to assassinate Franz Ferdinand was made because of his perceived threat to Serbian independence. As the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, he was seen as a barrier to Serbian efforts to unite Bosnia with Serbia.

The role of the Serbian government

The assassination was carried out by a group of six Bosnian assassins, including Gavrilo Princip, who was a Bosnian Serb student and a member of a secret revolutionary group called Young Bosnia. The group's political objective was to free Bosnia and Herzegovina from Austrian rule and establish a common South Slav state. The assassins received support from a Serbian secret nationalist group called the Black Hand, which had close ties to the Serbian military intelligence. Major Vojislav Tankosić, a member of the Black Hand, provided the assassins with bombs, pistols, and training.

There is evidence suggesting that the Serbian government had some knowledge of the plot. Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pašić received early information about the assassination plan and ordered border guards to prevent the assassins from crossing into Austria-Hungary. However, the assassins were still able to cross the border and carry out the attack.

In the aftermath of the assassination, Serbian envoys to France and Russia initially claimed that Serbia had warned Austria-Hungary about the impending assassination. However, Serbia later denied making such warnings and denied any knowledge of the plot. The Austro-Hungarian government, perceiving Serbia's nationalist ambitions as a threat to its empire, used the assassination as a pretext for punitive action against Serbia, which ultimately led to the outbreak of World War I.

While the extent of the Serbian government's involvement remains unclear, it is evident that the assassins received support from Serbian nationalist groups and individuals with ties to the Serbian military. The assassination sparked a series of diplomatic and military escalations that ultimately led to the outbreak of World War I.

The July Crisis

The assassination of the Archduke and his wife was one of the key events that led to World War I. The news of the assassination hit "like lightning strike" in Vienna, and the reaction was one of indignant outrage. The murder of the Archduke caused widespread outrage, and the decision-makers in Vienna were motivated by a growing awareness of Austria-Hungary's increasing loss of prestige.

The assassination was immediately perceived as a Serbian provocation, even though actual evidence of Serbian involvement in the plot was hard to come by. The head of the Serbian military intelligence service, Apis, and members of the secret "Black Hand" organisation were behind this successful assassination. Princip was part of a group of six Bosnian assassins together with Muhamed Mehmedbašić, Vaso Čubrilović, Nedeljko Čabrinović, Cvjetko Popović and Trifko Grabež coordinated by Danilo Ilić.

Austria-Hungary sought to inflict a military blow on Serbia, to demonstrate its own strength and to dampen Serbian support for Yugoslav nationalism, viewing it as a threat to the unity of its multi-national empire. However, Vienna, wary of the reaction of Russia (a major supporter of Serbia), sought a guarantee from its ally, Germany, that Berlin would support Austria in any conflict. Germany guaranteed its support through what came to be known as the "blank cheque", but urged Austria-Hungary to attack quickly to localise the war and avoid drawing in Russia.

The Sarajevo trial

The trial examined the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, on 28 June 1914. The assassins were six Bosnian assassins, including Princip, who were coordinated by Danilo Ilić. All but one were Bosnian Serbs and members of a student revolutionary group that later became known as Young Bosnia. The political objective of the assassination was to free Bosnia and Herzegovina of Austria-Hungarian rule and establish a common South Slav ("Yugoslav") state.

The trial revealed that the assassins were helped by the Black Hand, a Serbian secret nationalist group, and received support from Dragutin Dimitrijević, chief of the military intelligence section of the Serbian general staff, as well as from Major Vojislav Tankosić and Rade Malobabić, a Serbian intelligence agent. Tankosić provided bombs and pistols to the assassins and trained them in their use.

The Salonika trial

The trial ended before the Great Military Court at the beginning of June 1917, and the judgement was passed on June 5, 1917. Seven defendants were sentenced to death: Colonels Dragutin Dimitrijević Apis, Milan Gr. Milovanović, Radoje Lazić, Vladimir Tucović, Lieutenant-Colonel Velimir Vemić, Majors Ljubomir Vulović and Rade Malobabić. Colonel Čedomir Popović, Vice-consul Bogdan Radenković, retired General Damjan Popović and Muhamed Mehmedbašić were sentenced to twenty years in prison. The Prince Regent commuted the death sentence for Lazić, Milovanović, Popović and Mehmedbašić to twenty years in prison, and to ten years in prison for Vice-consul Radović.

Of all the defendants, Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević Apis, Major Ljubomir Vulović and Rade Malobabić were executed by firing squad at the Salonika field on June 26, 1917. Their bones were later brought to Zeitenlik and buried in cases with nameless cover plates.

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