Austria's Aggression Against Serbia: Understanding The Historical Conflict

On the 28th of June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife were assassinated by Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. This event sparked a series of diplomatic and military escalations among the major powers of Europe, ultimately leading to the outbreak of World War I. Austria-Hungary, with the full support of its allies in Berlin, pursued a hard-line policy towards Serbia, issuing an ultimatum with terms that were extremely difficult for Serbia to accept. The ultimatum demanded that Serbia suppress anti-Austrian propaganda, eliminate terrorist organisations within its borders, and accept an Austro-Hungarian inquiry into the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Serbia's defiance of the ultimatum, coupled with the complex web of alliances between European powers, set off a chain reaction that escalated the conflict.

Austria-Hungary's ultimatum to Serbia

On the evening of July 23, 1914, nearly a month after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife by a Serbian nationalist, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia. The ultimatum contained six concrete demands, which were designed to be unacceptable to Serbia, in order to provoke a military conflict.

The demands were as follows:

• The Serbian government was required to officially distance itself from the political campaign to unite the southern Slav peoples under Serbian leadership, which was seen as a challenge to the territorial integrity of Austria-Hungary.
• The purging of the Serbian army and civil service of anti-Austrian agitators.
• The suppression of anti-Austrian propaganda in the Serbian press.
• The Serbian government was called upon to track down and take legal proceedings against extremist secret organisations operating against Austria.
• The suppression of publications inciting hatred and contempt of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and the suppression of propaganda against the Monarchy in schools and public documents.
• The participation of Austrian officials in the investigation into the assassination, and in the hunting down and prosecution of the ringleaders on Serbian territory.

Serbia was given 48 hours to respond to the ultimatum, and the initial consequence of non-compliance was stated to be the breaking off of diplomatic relations. However, it was clear that military action would follow, and Austria-Hungary had the full support of its allies in Berlin.

Serbia's response arrived within the 48-hour deadline, accepting most of the demands but refusing to allow Austrian officials to participate in investigations on Serbian territory, as this would infringe on state sovereignty. This response appealed to international observers, but Austria-Hungary was unmoved, and three days later, on July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, marking the beginning of World War I.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

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 assassination precipitated the July Crisis, which led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia and the start of World War I.

The Assassination

On the morning of 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, arrived in Sarajevo by train. They were met by Oskar Potiorek, governor of Bosnia, and got into a motorcade of six cars to travel to the town hall. The motorcade's route had been published in advance, and six assassins were positioned along the route. The first three assassins failed to act as the motorcade passed them.

Nedeljko Čabrinović threw a bomb at the car carrying the Archduke, but it bounced off and rolled underneath the car behind, injuring several people. Čabrinović swallowed a cyanide pill and jumped into the river but survived and was arrested. The motorcade sped away towards the town hall, but the driver of the Archduke's car took a wrong turn and stalled the engine near where Gavrilo Princip was standing. Princip stepped up to the car and shot the Archduke and Sophie at point-blank range. The Archduke's last words were, "Sophie, Sophie! Don't die! Live for our children!" Both the Archduke and Sophie died within minutes.

The Aftermath

With tensions already high among Europe's powers, the assassination led to a rapid descent into World War I. Austria-Hungary, with German support, sent an ultimatum to Serbia, which was deliberately worded to make acceptance unlikely. Serbia proposed arbitration, but Austria-Hungary instead declared war on 28 July 1914, exactly a month after the assassination. Within a week, Germany, Russia, France, Belgium, Montenegro, and Great Britain had all been drawn into the conflict, and other countries like the United States would later enter the war.

Austria-Hungary's demands from Serbia

On 23 July 1914, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia, nearly a month after the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife by a young Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The ultimatum was delivered by the ambassador of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to Serbia, Baron Giesl von Gieslingen, to the Serbian foreign ministry.

The ultimatum contained the following demands:

• Serbia was required to officially distance itself from the political campaign to unite the southern Slav peoples under Serbian leadership, which was seen as a challenge to the territorial integrity of Austria-Hungary.
• Serbia was to purge its army and civil service of anti-Austrian agitators and suppress anti-Austrian propaganda in the Serbian press.
• Serbia was called upon to track down and take legal action against extremist secret organisations operating against Austria, specifically the Black Hand, which was believed to have aided the assassins by providing weapons and safe passage.
• Austria-Hungary demanded to take part in the investigation and prosecution of the ringleaders on Serbian territory, which would infringe on Serbia's state sovereignty.
• Serbia was to suppress all publications that "incite hatred and contempt" of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and were directed against its territorial integrity.
• Serbia was to dissolve the Serbian nationalist organisation Narodna Odbrana ("The People's Defence") and all other such societies in Serbia.
• Serbia was to eliminate from schoolbooks and public documents all "propaganda against Austria-Hungary".
• Serbia was to remove from its military and civil administration all officers and functionaries whose names the Austro-Hungarian government would provide.
• Serbia was to accept "representatives of the Austro-Hungarian Government" for the "suppression of subversive movements".
• Serbia was to bring to trial all accessories to the assassination and allow "Austro-Hungarian delegates" to take part in the investigations.
• Serbia was to arrest Major Vojislav Tankosić and civil servant Milan Ciganović, who were named as participants in the assassination plot.
• Serbia was to cease the cooperation of its authorities in the "traffic in arms and explosives" across the frontier and dismiss and punish the officials of the frontier service "guilty of having assisted the perpetrators".
• Serbia was to provide "explanations" regarding "Serbian officials" who had expressed themselves in interviews "in terms of hostility to the Austro-Hungarian Government".
• Serbia was to notify the Austro-Hungarian Government "without delay" of the execution of the above measures.

The ultimatum gave Serbia 48 hours to respond and demanded an "unconditionally positive answer". If Serbia failed to comply, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador would break off diplomatic relations and leave the embassy.

Serbia's response to the ultimatum

On the 25th of July 1914, the Serbian government responded to the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum, agreeing to most, but not all, of Vienna's demands. The response was delivered by Serbian Prime Minister Nicola Pasic to Baron Giesl von Gieslingen, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Serbia, just before the 6 p.m. deadline.

The Serbian response began by expressing the belief that their reply would "dissipate any misunderstanding which threatens to destroy the friendly and neighbourly relations between the Austrian monarchy and the kingdom of Serbia". Serbia then went on to address each of the six points of the ultimatum, one by one.

Firstly, Serbia agreed to condemn any propaganda against Austria-Hungary and expressed regret over the "lamentable consequences" of such propaganda. They also agreed to suppress publications that incite hatred or contempt for the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

Secondly, Serbia agreed to dissolve the Narodna Odbrana ("The People's Defence") and similar organisations.

Thirdly, Serbia agreed to eliminate propaganda against Austria-Hungary from schoolbooks and public documents.

Fourthly, Serbia agreed to remove officers and functionaries from the military and civil administration, but only if Austria-Hungary provided the names of these individuals and the facts with which they were charged.

Fifthly, Serbia agreed to participate in the investigation of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and to communicate the results to Austro-Hungarian officials. However, they refused to allow Austro-Hungarian officials to participate directly in the investigation, as this would violate their constitution and criminal procedure.

Sixthly, Serbia agreed to arrest Major Vojislav Tankosić and to issue a warrant for the arrest of Milan Ciganović, who was believed to have participated in the assassination.

Finally, Serbia agreed to suppress the smuggling of arms and explosives and to punish officials who had allowed the perpetrators of the crime to cross the border.

While Serbia's response accepted most of the demands, it crucially rejected the demand for Austro-Hungarian officials to participate directly in the investigation on Serbian territory. This rejection was based on the grounds that it would violate Serbia's constitution and criminal procedure.

Despite Serbia's willingness to accept most of the demands, Austria-Hungary was not satisfied with the response and broke off diplomatic relations, leading to the outbreak of World War I.

The outbreak of World War I

On July 23, 1914, nearly a month after the assassination, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia with a 48-hour deadline. The ultimatum included demands such as suppressing anti-Austrian propaganda, rooting out terrorist organizations, and accepting Austro-Hungarian participation in the investigation of the assassination. While Serbia agreed to most of the terms, it rejected the demand for Austro-Hungarian officials to be involved in investigations on Serbian soil as a violation of its sovereignty. This rejection provided the pretext for Austria-Hungary to break off diplomatic relations with Serbia.

The crisis quickly escalated as Russia, France, and Britain became entangled in the conflict. Russia ordered a partial mobilisation of its armed forces, while France reaffirmed its alliance with Russia and agreed to support Serbia. Germany, which had assured Austria-Hungary of its support, grew alarmed at the prospect of facing a war on two fronts and urged Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia quickly. On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, marking the beginning of World War I.

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