The world war : $b a history of the nations and empires involved and a study of the events culminating in the great conflictMarshall, Logan
History
The world war : $b a history of the nations and empires involved and a study of the events culminating in the great conflict
Marshall, Logan
Europe -- History -- 1789-1900; Europe -- History -- 1871-1918; World War, 1914-1918 -- Causes
The immediate cause, so far as apparent to us, of the war in question
was the murder, on June 29, 1914, of the Austrian Crown Prince Francis
Ferdinand and his wife, while on a visit to Sarajevo, the capital of
Bosnia, the assassin being a Servian student, supposed to have come for
that purpose from Belgrade, the Servian capital. The inspiring cause of
this dastardly act was the feeling of hostility towards Austria which
was widely entertained in Servia. Bosnia was a part of the ancient
kingdom of Servia. The bulk of its people are of Slavic origin and
speak the Servian language. Servia was eager to regain it, as a
possible outlet for a border on the Mediterranean Sea. When, therefore,
in 1908, Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, which had been under
her military control since 1878, the indignation in Servia was great.
While it had died down in a measure in the subsequent years, the
feeling of injury survived in many hearts, and there is little reason
to doubt that the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was a result of
this pervading sentiment.
In fact, the Austrian government was satisfied that the murder plot was
hatched in Belgrade and held that Servian officials were in some way
concerned in it. The Servian press gave some warrant for this, being
openly boastful and defiant in its comments. When the Austrian
consul-general at Belgrade dropped dead in the consulate the papers
showed their satisfaction and hinted that he had been poisoned. This
attitude of the press evidently was one of the reasons for the
stringent demand made by Austria on July 23d, requiring apology and
change of attitude from Servia and asking for a reply by the hour of 6
P.M. on the 25th. The demands were in part as follows:
1. An apology by the Servian government in its official journal for all
Pan-Servian propaganda and for the participation of Servian army
officers in it, and warning all Servians in the future to desist from
anti-Austrian demonstrations.
2. That orders to this effect should be issued to the Servian army.
3. That Servia should dissolve all societies capable of conducting
intrigues against Austria.
4. That Servia should curb the activities of the Servian press in
regard to Austria.
5. That Austrian officials should be permitted to conduct an inquiry in
Servia independent of the Servian government into the Sarajevo plot.
An answer to these demands was sent out at ten minutes before 6 o’clock
on the 25th, in which Servia accepted all demands except the last,
which it did not deem “in accordance with international law and good
neighborly relations.” It asked that this demand should be submitted to
The Hague Tribunal. The Austrian Minister at Belgrade, Baron Giesl von
Gieslingen, refused to accept this reply and at once left the capital
with the entire staff of the legation. The die was cast, as Austria
probably intended that it should be.
AUSTRIA’S MOTIVE IN MAKING WAR
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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