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Tag: Serbia

Detonation

On 28th June 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie were assassinated during a state visit to Sarajevo. Their murderer, Gavrilo Princip, although born in the Empire of Austria-Hungary, was also a Serb. Austria-Hungary, therefore, used the assassination as an excuse to issue the Serbian government with a demand that a full investigation should be carried out. Serbia denied responsibility for the assassination and refused to comply. Austria-Hungary, keen to dispose of the perceived Serbian threat once and for all, then approached her ally, Germany, to seek support. Germany, in fact, offered a ‘blank cheque’, stating that she would back her neighbour in any action against Serbia. Both countries knew that Russia would support the Serbs, so a show of joint strength was essential.

Austria-Hungary then issued the Serbian government with a series of demands, knowing that some of these would be unacceptable. Serbia, having received support from Russia, rejected the ultimatum. On 28th July 1914, Austria-Hungary, therefore, took the next step and declared war on Serbia. From this moment on, events began to move on quickly. Russia announced the mobilisation of her vast army, forcing Germany, who regarded this as a direct threat against her ally, to declare war on Russia on 1st August. France, bound by its treaty with Russia, was also drawn into the conflict.

The Beginning

Europe, at the start of the twentieth century, was becoming an increasingly tumultuous place to live. Germany had developed into a powerful, industrialised and mechanised nation, with Kaiser Wilhelm II standing as a national figurehead of pride and ambition. Throughout most of his life, despite physical disabilities, he had longed for greatness and harboured hopes of emulating his British royal cousins. This was especially so, when it came to the ownership of a great and powerful navy. Therefore, when he came to power in 1888, Wilhelm quickly dismissed his Chancellor, Bismarck, and set out constructing a mighty military power.

Bismarck had kept peace in Germany for many years, by the careful construction of alliances and treaties, through which there had been an effective balancing of the powers in Europe. Wilhelm’s actions undid this, as his desire to build up powerful military forces alienated both Russia and Great Britain. France had regarded Germany as her natural enemy for many years and longed for revenge following her humiliating defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71. Even the French civilians regarded Germany as a common enemy and all believed that one day they would recapture their surrendered territories of Alsace and Lorraine.

This situation left Germany feeling both surrounded and isolated at the same time, which in turn, encouraged the population of that country into feelings of nationalism, as they looked to the Kaiser to inspire the nation to greatness and superiority.

In the meantime, however, the whole of Europe also faced great social unrest. In Britain, Asquith’s government had to deal with uprisings as the Suffragettes were campaigning, sometimes violently, for the right to vote. Women came to regard themselves as being ‘tortured’ by men and some of the punishments meted out to Suffragettes would seem to bear this out. There was also great dissatisfaction relating to the problems regarding Home Rule in Ireland. Many European countries were also experiencing an increase in industrial disturbances. By 1914, for example, one million Frenchmen had joined trade unions and Socialists were speaking out against the amount of money which was being spent on the military, while the working classes lived in poverty.

In Russia, the ruling Romanov dynasty was facing great upheaval. Socialist revolutionaries were undermining and threatening the authority of the Tsar, Nicholas II, leading to the creation of a Parliament, the Duma, in 1905. This only partially quelled the revolutionaries, who still sought greater powers and radical reforms.

German workers, maybe, experienced some of the most considerable changes of all. Berlin grew to become a thriving, mechanised city. The workers, however, were extremely powerful and demanded a greater degree of equality with the ruling classes. This posed a great threat and Socialism was regarded with fear and distrust.

Austria-Hungary not only faced industrial unrest, but also had to contend with rising tensions between the various nationalities who lived within her boundaries, particularly the Serbs.

Many in Europe, therefore, saw the need for change and realised that it would take a tumultuous event or explosion to really bring that about. Only in this way, it was believed, could order be restored. Many of Europe’s leaders were, therefore, looking for an excuse to ‘light the touch paper – and stand well back’.