Austria-Hungary's Demands: The Spark Of Wwi?

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife in June 1914 was the catalyst for World War I. Austria-Hungary, with the backing of its powerful ally Germany, delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, which was only partially accepted, and subsequently declared war. This declaration set off a chain reaction of military mobilizations and counter-mobilizations, ultimately leading to the outbreak of World War I. Austria-Hungary's strategic vision for the war was deeply flawed, and its invasions of Serbia and Russia were largely unsuccessful, with the latter only being halted with German support. The Austro-Hungarian Empire suffered severe casualties and eventually collapsed, leading to the formation of multiple independent nation-states.

Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia

The invasion of Serbia by Austria-Hungary was a series of military expeditions launched in 1914 and 1915. The conflict was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip in June 1914. This event led to escalating tensions and ultimately, war.

On July 23, 1914, Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an ultimatum containing ten demands, including the suppression of the Pan-Serbian movement and punishment for those involved in the assassination. Serbia accepted all but two of the demands, which infringed upon its sovereignty, and offered to submit these to arbitration. Austria-Hungary was unsatisfied with this response and declared war on July 28, marking the start of World War I.

The first invasion of Serbia, led by Austrian General Oskar Potiorek, was unsuccessful, with three attempts repelled by the Serbians and their Montenegrin allies. This was considered one of the great upsets of modern military history.

In October 1915, a second campaign was launched under German command, with Bulgarian, Austro-Hungarian, and German forces successfully invading Serbia from three sides. This resulted in the Great Retreat through Montenegro and Albania, the evacuation to Greece, and the establishment of the Macedonian front. Serbia was then occupied and divided between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Bulgaria, giving the Central Powers temporary control over the Balkans.

The invasion of Serbia was part of a broader effort by Austria-Hungary to punish Serbia and prevent the ethnic breakup of the Empire. The conflict also had significant implications for the course of World War I, drawing in other major powers and ultimately leading to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

The July Ultimatum

On the 23rd of July 1914, nearly a month after the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Serbia, Baron Giesl von Gieslingen, delivered an ultimatum to the Serbian foreign ministry. The ultimatum was issued with the full support of Germany, Austria-Hungary's ally, and was designed to provoke a military conflict with Serbia. The ultimatum demanded that Serbia accept an Austro-Hungarian inquiry into the assassination, suppress all anti-Austrian propaganda, and take steps to root out and eliminate terrorist organisations within its borders. Notably, one such organisation, the Black Hand, was believed to have aided Franz Ferdinand's killer, Gavrilo Princip. The Dual Monarchy demanded an answer to the note within 48 hours.

The ultimatum was issued in the hopes that Serbia would refuse, giving Austria-Hungary a casus belli. Indeed, Serbia's response, delivered just before the deadline, accepted all terms of the ultimatum but one: Serbia would not accept Austria-Hungary's participation in any internal inquiry, stating that this would be a violation of the Constitution and of the law of criminal procedure. Gieslingen, who had already packed his bags in anticipation of Serbian defiance, promptly broke off diplomatic relations and left the embassy. Three days later, on the 28th of July, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, beginning the First World War.

Austria-Hungary's alliance with Germany

The alliance was surprising to many, as Austria-Hungary and Germany were often driven apart, most notably during the Austro-Prussian War. Additionally, the promotion of nationalism by Germany was viewed as a threat to the multinational empire of Austria-Hungary. However, their common distrust of Russia united the two empires for a common cause.

The alliance was an important element of both German and Austro-Hungarian foreign policy until 1918. In 1882, Italy joined the alliance, forming the Triple Alliance. However, Italy did not immediately go to war with its allies in World War I and instead stayed neutral, eventually joining the Entente powers in 1915 and declaring war on Austria-Hungary, and on Germany in 1916.

Over time, Austria-Hungary became increasingly dependent on Germany, and by late 1917, Vienna had essentially become a satellite of Germany. By mid-1918, the monarchy's chief goal was simply to survive, even if it meant virtual German dominance.

The Balkan Crisis

The First Balkan War

The First Balkan War was fought between the members of the Balkan League—Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Montenegro—and the Ottoman Empire. The Balkan League was formed under Russian auspices in the spring of 1912 to take Macedonia away from Turkey, which was already involved in a war with Italy. The Balkan allies were soon victorious. In Thrace, the Bulgarians defeated the main Ottoman forces, advancing to the outskirts of Constantinople and laying siege to Adrianople (Edirne). In Macedonia, the Serbian army achieved a great victory at Kumanovo that enabled it to capture Bitola and to join forces with the Montenegrins and enter Skopje. The Greeks, meanwhile, occupied Salonika (Thessaloníki) and advanced on Ioánnina. In Albania, the Montenegrins besieged Shkodër and the Serbs entered Durrës.

The Ottoman collapse was so complete that all parties were willing to conclude an armistice on December 3, 1912. A peace conference was begun in London, but, after a coup d’état by the Young Turks in Constantinople in January 1913, war with the Ottomans was resumed. Again, the allies were victorious: Ioánnina fell to the Greeks and Adrianople to the Bulgarians. Under a peace treaty signed in London on May 30, 1913, the Ottoman Empire lost almost all of its remaining European territory, including all of Macedonia and Albania. Albanian independence was insisted upon by the European powers, and Macedonia was to be divided among the Balkan allies.

The Second Balkan War

The Second Balkan War began when Serbia, Greece, and Romania quarreled with Bulgaria over the division of their joint conquests in Macedonia. On June 1, 1913, Serbia and Greece formed an alliance against Bulgaria, and the war began on the night of June 29–30, 1913, when King Ferdinand of Bulgaria ordered his troops to attack Serbian and Greek forces in Macedonia. The Bulgarian offensive, benefiting from surprise, was initially successful, but Greek and Serbian defenders retired in good order.

The Serbian army counterattacked on July 2 and drove a wedge into the Bulgarian line. Greek reserves advanced to the front on July 3, and a series of attacks over the following days threatened to turn the left flank of an entire Bulgarian army. In an effort to save their force from being cut off entirely, the Bulgarians launched a desperate attack on the Serbian lines. Once again, the Bulgarians achieved momentary success, but by July 10 the offensive had completely stalled. On July 11 the Romanian army crossed the Bulgarian frontier and began an unopposed march on Sofia, the Bulgarian capital. The following day, the Turks violated their armistice with Bulgaria and entered Thrace. The Greeks and the Serbs launched a general offensive on July 15, and the Turks reoccupied Adrianople on July 22. With enemy columns converging on Sofia, the Bulgarians bowed to the inevitable. On July 30 they concluded an armistice to end hostilities, and a peace treaty was signed between the combatants on August 10, 1913. Under the terms of the treaty, Greece and Serbia divided most of Macedonia between themselves, leaving Bulgaria with only a small part of the region.

The Balkan Wars were marked by ethnic cleansing, with all parties being responsible for grave atrocities against civilians, and inspired later atrocities including war crimes during the 1990s Yugoslav Wars. The Balkan Wars brought to an end Ottoman rule of the Balkan Peninsula, except for eastern Thrace and Constantinople (now Istanbul). The Young Turk regime was unable to reverse their Empire's decline, but remained in power, establishing a dictatorship in June 1913.

The Balkan Wars had important consequences for the outbreak of World War I. The partitioning of the sanjak of Novi Pazar between Serbia and Montenegro made it impossible for Austria-Hungary to intervene in the Balkans during the July Crisis of 1914. The Austro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia on July 23, 1914, was thus made to appear as naked aggression. The wars also altered the structure of alliances in the Balkans. Dissatisfied Bulgaria henceforth looked to Austria-Hungary for support, whereas Romania tended to move out of the influence of the Triple Alliance and toward the Triple Entente.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The assassins were aided 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.

On the day of the assassination, 28 June 1914, the Archduke and his wife were travelling in an open-topped car as part of a motorcade through Sarajevo. Čabrinović threw a grenade at the car, but missed. About an hour later, when the car took a wrong turn, it stopped right next to where Gavrilo Princip was standing. Princip shot and killed Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie.

The July Crisis

The Outbreak of World War I

The declaration of war set off a series of cascading declarations that led to World War I. By the following week, Germany, Russia, France, Belgium, Montenegro, and Great Britain had all been drawn into the conflict, and other countries like the United States would enter later. Overall, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians—died in fighting that lasted until 1918.

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