Enemies Or Allies? Austria-Hungary And Britain's Complex Relationship

Austria-Hungary and Britain were not enemies during World War I. In fact, Austria-Hungary was part of the Central Powers, which included the German Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Britain was part of the Triple Entente, which included France and Russia.

Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Serbia in July 1914 set off a series of events that led to the outbreak of World War I. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by a Bosnian Serb nationalist was the catalyst for this declaration. This assassination intensified existing ethnic hostilities in Bosnia and led to anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo.

The complex web of alliances between European powers meant that Russia, as a supporter of Serbia, was drawn into the conflict. Germany, an ally of Austria-Hungary, assured the latter of its support, which encouraged Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia swiftly to localise the war. However, this ultimately resulted in a larger European war as Russia mobilised in support of Serbia, setting off counter-mobilisations.

Britain was semi-formally aligned with Russia and France but initially did not want to get involved militarily. However, Germany's invasion of Belgium, a neutral country, galvanised popular support in Britain, and the country entered the war against Germany on August 4, 1914.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The day of the assassination, 28 June, is the feast of St. Vitus. In Serbia, it is called Vidovdan and commemorates the 1389 Battle of Kosovo against the Ottomans. Princip, Čabrinović, and other members of the Young Bosnia were inspired by the heroism of Miloš Obilić, reenacting the Kosovo Myth.

On the morning of 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie departed their estate for Bosnia-Herzegovina. After arriving at a spa town a few miles outside of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina's capital, Ferdinand attended two days of military exercises while Sophie visited schools and orphanages. On a whim, the couple drove in one evening to check out Sarajevo's bazaars. While there, they attracted a crowd of onlookers, including Princip, but were apparently treated with warmth and politeness.

The next day, after a banquet with religious and political leaders, only one day of events remained before Ferdinand and Sophie were to return home. That morning, June 28, the archduke sent a telegram to his eldest son congratulating him on his latest exam results. He and Sophie then boarded a train for the short ride into Sarajevo. For once, Sophie was permitted to walk alongside Ferdinand during a brief troop inspection, after which the couple got in an open-topped car for a motorcade ride to city hall. The motorcade's first stop on the preannounced program was for a brief inspection of a military barracks. According to the program, at 10:00 a.m., the motorcade was to leave the barracks for the town hall by way of the Appel Quay.

Meanwhile, seven Young Bosnians had fanned out along the Appel Quay, a main avenue in Sarajevo running parallel to the Miljacka River. When the motorcade passed by, its route having been published in advance, Nedeljko Čabrinović threw a hand grenade at the car, only to watch it bounce off the folded-up roof and roll underneath the wrong vehicle. The subsequent explosion wounded two army officers and several bystanders but left Ferdinand and Sophie essentially unharmed. Čabrinović jumped into the mostly dry riverbed and made a half-hearted attempt to kill himself before being apprehended. “I am a Serbian hero,” he purportedly shouted as the police led him away. At least two other Young Bosnians also had good looks at the archduke but apparently lost the nerve to attempt an assassination.

Rather than immediately flee Sarajevo, Ferdinand decided to continue on to the planned event at city hall. Upon finishing that up, he insisted on visiting the wounded officers in the hospital. In order to dissuade any other bomb throwers, the motorcade zipped down the Appel Quay at high speeds. By mistake, however, the first three cars turned onto a side street right where Princip happened to be standing. As the cars attempted to reverse back onto the Appel Quay, Princip whipped out his pistol and fired two shots at the archduke from point-blank range, piercing him in the neck and also striking Sophie’s abdomen. “Sophie, Sophie, don’t die—stay alive for our children,” Ferdinand murmured. Within minutes, though, both had passed away. Princip, a slender, 19-year-old Serbian army reject, later admitted to killing Ferdinand but said he had not meant to hit Sophie.

The July Crisis

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand caused widespread outrage. In Vienna, the response was more varied. The official reaction to the assassination was indignant outrage, but this outward appearance was in stark contrast to the privately held thoughts of some. Franz Ferdinand had not been universally popular – the Germans within the Dual Monarchy had considered him to be too Slavophile, the Slavs too German, and the Hungarians too Austrian. Moreover, some of the decision-makers in Vienna had been keen for a "reckoning" with Serbia for some time, a move that always been opposed by the Archduke, and considered this a golden opportunity.

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.

Austria-Hungary made its ultimatum to Serbia on 23 July; before Serbia replied, Russia ordered a secret, but noticed, partial mobilisation of its armed forces. Though Russia's military leadership knew they were not yet strong enough for a general war, they believed that the Austro-Hungarian grievance against Serbia was a pretext orchestrated by Germany, and considered a forceful response to be the best course of action.

Russia’s partial mobilisation—the first major military action not undertaken by a direct participant in the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia—increased the willingness of Serbia to defy the threat of an Austro-Hungarian attack; it also alarmed the German leadership, having not anticipated the idea of needing to fight Russia before France.

The Balkan Wars

The First Balkan War was caused by the Ottoman Empire's inability to reform itself, govern satisfactorily or deal with the rising ethnic nationalism of its diverse peoples. The loss of Libya to Italy in 1911 and the revolts in the Albanian Provinces showed that the Empire was deeply "wounded" and unable to strike back against another war. The Great Powers (Britain, France and Russia) failed to ensure that the Ottomans would carry out the needed reforms, leading the Balkan states to impose their own solution. The Christian populations of the European part of the Ottoman Empire were also oppressed by the Ottoman Reign, forcing the Christian Balkan states to take action.

The Second Balkan War was caused by Bulgaria's territorial ambitions. Although the Balkan states had united to fight their common enemy, they still nursed a mutual dislike of each other. When Serbia and Greece announced their intention of keeping the territories they had conquered, the Tsar of Bulgaria invaded his former allies. However, the Bulgarians were defeated and lost even more territory as a result.

The Triple Entente

Russia had previously been a member of the League of the Three Emperors, an alliance in 1873 with Austria-Hungary and Germany. The alliance was part of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck's plan to isolate France diplomatically. However, the League faced great difficulty due to growing tensions between Russia and Austria-Hungary, mainly over the Balkans. To counter Russian and French interests in Europe, the Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary was concluded in October 1879 and with Italy in May 1882.

In the last decade of the nineteenth century, Britain continued its policy of "splendid isolation", with its primary focus on defending its massive overseas empire. However, by the early 1900s, the German threat had increased dramatically, and Britain thought it was in need of allies. London made overtures to Berlin, which were not reciprocated, so London turned to Paris and St. Petersburg instead.

In 1904, Britain and France signed a series of agreements, the Entente cordiale, mostly aimed toward resolving colonial disputes. That heralded the end of British splendid isolation. France and Britain had signed five separate agreements regarding spheres of influence in North Africa in 1904, the Entente cordiale. The Tangier Crisis later encouraged co-operation between the two countries from their mutual fear of apparent German expansionism.

Britain, traditionally having control of the seas, by 1909 saw the German navy as a serious threat to its Royal Navy. Britain was well ahead in terms of Dreadnought technology and responded with a major building program. They built a Royal Navy that Germany could never rival.

The Entente, unlike the Triple Alliance and the Franco-Russian Alliance, was not an alliance of mutual defence, and so Britain was free to make its own foreign policy decisions in 1914.

The Central Powers

Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy, or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was a military and diplomatic alliance, consisting of two sovereign states with a single monarch who was titled both Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary.

Austria-Hungary was one of the Central Powers in World War I, which began with an Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on the Kingdom of Serbia on 28 July 1914. The war began when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated by a Bosnian Serb nationalist. 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.

The Austro-Hungarian army was dependent on agriculture, and agriculture was dependent on the heavy labour of millions of men who were now in the army. Food production fell, the transportation system became overcrowded, and industrial production could not successfully handle the overwhelming need for munitions. Germany provided a great deal of help, but it was not enough. Furthermore, the political instability of the multiple ethnic groups within the empire now ripped apart any hope for national consensus in support of the war.

By the summer of 1916, the supreme command was taken over entirely by the Germans. Once Vienna had been compelled to give its agreement to a common high command, the Germans had the say over the Austrian generals. Although in public there was a highly emotive emphasis on ‘Nibelung loyalty’ between the two allies, off the record, the Austrian Chief of General Staff Conrad von Hötzendorf referred to Germany as ‘our secret enemy’.

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