30th July 1914

Volume IX, Issue XXLVII

Behind the Conflict...

On next pages

Warfront Update: When Would it End?

The July Crisis
The so-called "July Crisis" actually spans the period from the
assassination of the AustroHungarian heir to the throne,
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on 28
June 1914, to the general declaration of war in early August.
Elements within the AustroHungarian government had been
itching to strike at Serbia during
the immediate pre-war years,
but had lacked a credible excuse
Body of the Franz Ferdinand
lying in the State

to do so. Nationalist pan-Slav

agitation within Serbia, and

which Austria-Hungary suspected was encouraged by the Serbian government, served only to
destabilize Austro-Hungarian
influence in the Balkans.
An Excuse for War
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand provided the AustroHungarian government with a
ready made excuse to launch
what it believed would prove a
limited war against the manifestly weaker Serbians. Ferdinand's
death was not greatly mourned
either by the government or by
the Emperor himself, Franz
Josef, with whom he was frequently in political disagreement.
The Austro-Hungarian Chief of
Staff - and Commander-in-Chief
- was Conrad von Hotzendorf. For years he had been
pressing for 'surprise' attacks
against Austria-Hungary's ene-

mies, i.e. Serbia and Italy. With

the murder of Ferdinand he
pressed the Foreign Minister,
Count Leopold von Berchtold, to
declare a state of war with Serbia. Both were united in requesting Franz Josef and Prime
Minister Tisza to launch an attack against Serbia without first
declaring war in early July, thus
guaranteeing an element of
surprise.
Tisza however argued that retribution against Serbia - whose
implication in Ferdinand's murder had not (and even today has
not) been proven - should be
sought via diplomatic channels. Tisza was aware of the
possibility that war with Serbia
could rapidly escalate into a
general European conflict as a
consequence of the treaty system.

The Conflict has risen

sharply over the past
few months
One Thing Leading to
Another .
Trial update on Gavrilo
Princip
More Conflict...

Austrian Chief of Staff

Conrad Von Hotzendorf

Death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand: Basic Facts

The assassination of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand, heir to the
Austro-Hungarian throne, on 28
June 1914, set in train a series of
diplomatic events that led inexorably to the outbreak of war in
Europe at the end of July 1914.
Ferdinand - and his wife Sophie were killed by Serb nationalist
Gavrilo Princip while on a formal
visit to Sarajevo. Princip shot
Ferdinand at point blank range
while the latter was travelling in

his car from a town hall reception, having earlier that day
already survived one assassination attempt.

Archdukes car leaving town

hall at Sarajevo

Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand

A Family Photo

Page 2

Behind the Conflict...

Who Was Gavrilo Princip?

Gavrilo Princip
In Prison Cell at Terezin

Gavrilo Princip was a Bosnian

Serb nationalist, associated with
the freedom movement Mlada
Bosna (Young Bosnia).
Princip assassinated Archduke
Franz Ferdinand of Austria and
his wife, Sophie, Duchess of
Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28
June 1914.
Princip and his accomplices
were arrested and implicated a
number of members of the Serbian military, leading AustriaHungary to issue a dmarche to

I am the
son of
peasants
and I know
what is
happening in
the villages.
That is why I
wanted to
take
revenge, and
I regret
nothing.

Austro-Hungarian
Emperor: Franz Joseph

Serbia known as the July Ultimatum.

Princip attempted suicide first
with the use of his pistol after
the assassination, then by ingesting cyanide. But he vomited
the past-date poison (as did
abrinovi, leading the police to
believe the group had been deceived and bought a much weaker poison). The pistol was wrestled from his hand before he had
a chance to fire another shot.

Gavrilo Princip
Under Trial

Things are turning up quickly: Austria Hungary Response

Austria-Hungary's reaction to
the death of their heir (who is in
any case not greatly beloved by
the Emperor, Franz Josef, or his
government) was three weeks in
coming. Arguing that the Serbian government was implicated in
the machinations of the Black
Hand (whether she was or not
remains unclear, but it appears
unlikely), the Austro-Hungarians
opted to take the opportunity to
stamp its authority upon the

Serbians, crushing the nationalist movement there and cementing Austria-Hungary's influence
in the Balkans.

before seen one State address

to another independent State a
document of so formidable a
character."

It did so by issuing an ultimatum

to Serbia which, in the extent of
its demand that the assassins be
brought to justice effectively
nullified Serbia's sovereignty. Sir Edward Grey, the British
Foreign Secretary, was moved to
comment that he had "never

Austria and Hungary however,

remained unsatisfied with the
efforts and diplomatic responses
offered by Serbia overall the
ultimatum and declared war on
Serbia on 28th July 1914.

Unconditional support to Hungary Austria by Germany

Germany, who to all intents and
purposes appeared to be spoiling
for confrontation, offered what
became known as "the blank
cheque" to Austria-Hungary on 6
July. In this diplomatic communication from the German Kaiser,
Wilhelm II, Austria-Hungary was
promised unconditional support
from Germany regardless whatever action Austria-Hungary
decided to take in punishing

Serbia.
There is little doubt that this
note from Germany was the first
clear indication that Germany
was agreeable to war with - at
least - France and Russia; she
hoped however to avoid war with
Britain.
Much encouraged by this emphatic show of support, AustriaHungary issued an ultimatum to

Serbia on 23 July that effectively

revoked Serbia's national sovereignty.
The ultimatum, which was nominally intended as a means of
apprehending Franz Ferdinand's
murderers, was confidently
expected to be rejected by the
Serbians.

Page 3

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