It had demands for Austrian investigations within Serbia, which would have abrogated the sovereignty of Serbia. The ultimatum was designed to be unacceptable: It was going to expire in 48 hours and the Serbs had to respond yes or no. They drafted an ultimatum leveled against the Serbian government that, after a strategic delay, was sent to Serbia on July 23, 1914. The Austro-Hungarians now were emboldened to take decisive action. Germany had a modern army and a strong population of 65 million. Germany’s power as a backer of the Austro-Hungarian effort was formidable. On July 5 and 6, 1914, as a result of these communications, the Austro-Hungarian officials received what came to be called afterward a “blank check” from the German officials to act against Serbia with German support. Learn More: The Diplomacy of Imperialism Germany Issues a “Blank Check”Īustria-Hungary reacted, first of all, by consulting its far stronger ally in the Dual Alliance, imperial Germany, and asking whether Germany would support energetic action against Serbia in reaction to this atrocity. In fact, behind the scenes, the officials’ diplomacy expanded the crisis. Many people felt this was due to the sort of relaxed and laissez-faire attitude of officialdom in general. Austro-Hungarian officials were convinced that a decisive moment had arrived and they needed to take immediate action.Īt first, however, nothing appeared to happen. While the plotters did have contact with some Serbian officials, the terrorists were not directed by the Serbian government itself, which is what the Austro-Hungarian government claimed in reaction to this atrocity. The plotters belonged to a Serbian nationalist group whose aim was the union of Bosnia/Herzegovina with the neighboring kingdom of Serbia. He leapt up close to the car as it drove by and at point-blank range emptied his revolver into the car, killing the imperial couple. Then a series of accidents, in particular, a wrong turn by the driver of the car of the imperial couple, allowed one young assassin who had given up just previously, the opportunity to strike. This is a transcript from the video series War, Peace, and Power: Diplomatic History of Europe, 1500–2000. Many of the terrorists abandoned the plot. At a crucial juncture, it seemed to have failed. The conspiracy of the terrorists who had converged on Sarajevo was a bumbling one, marked by tremendous miscalculation and failure of nerve. The enemy might now be the Austro-Hungarians and the Habsburgs in place of the Ottomans, but the drama still had its emotional significance. It seemed a repetition of historical patterns. Serbia had been defeated by the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 and that date had enormous emotional significance for Serbian nationalists.īattle of Kosovo (Image: Adam Stefanović/Public domain) A Haphazard Assassination The visit came on the precise day that marked the anniversary of a battle from the Middle Ages: the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. The visit of the imperial couple was spectacularly ill-timed, and you might almost think, calculated, to further inflame the nationalist passions of Serbs living in the region. Austria-Hungary was a state of 50 million with many nationalities, some 11 or 12 major ones and many other smaller ones. Nationalism was a threatening force as far as the leaders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were concerned. Learn More: England 1485–1714, the First Modern Country Smoothed over, the situation had cooled down nonetheless, Serbian nationalists as well as their great Russian patrons had been left infuriated by the humiliation. Denounced by Serbia and Russia-who felt that their own interests were being violated-the annexation in 1908 had been a moment when it seemed that general war might very well result. The annexation of Bosnia/Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary in 1908 had itself sparked an international crisis. On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Habsburg throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife were both assassinated in the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo. (Image: Achille Beltrame/Public domain) The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg. Six weeks later, Europe found itself on the brink of the 20th century’s first world war. By Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, PhD, University of Tennessee In 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in the Balkans triggered a diplomatic crisis.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |