In the words of Anna Akhmatova, the 20th century began exactly one hundred years ago. In the hot summer of 1914, the Peace Palace opened in the Netherlands, and already in August the cannons started talking. The immediate reason for this was that on June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand, heir to the crown of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was killed in Sarajevo.
The Archduke was to succeed the Habsburgs on the throne Franz Joseph I who ruled the empire for 68 years. It was under him that in 1867 Austria became a dualistic monarchy - Austria-Hungary (that is, the emperor began to be crowned in Budapest as the Hungarian king). The country was divided into Cisleithania and Transleithania (along the Leyte River) between Austrian and Hungarian possessions.
However, many unresolved national issues remained in the monarchy, the main of which remained the Slavic one. Poles, Ukrainians, Rusyns, Croats, Slovenes, Czechs, Slovaks and Serbs did not have their own statehood.
Some peoples, in particular the Poles, sought to create their own state, some - Czechs and Croats - were ready to be content with broad autonomy.
This issue was of particular relevance in the Balkan Peninsula, where radical changes took place in the last quarter of the 19th century. Independent Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania appeared, immediately entering into territorial disputes between themselves and with the former metropolis of Turkey. In Vojvodina, Krajina and northeastern Croatia, Serbs made up a significant percentage of the population and sought to reunite with young Serbia (which became independent after the Russo-Turkish War in 1878 by decision Berlin Congress).
The issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina added to the urgency. These two provinces were occupied by Austria-Hungary after Berlin and annexed in October 1908. The local Serb population, however, did not accept the annexation. And then the world stood on the brink of war: Serbia and Montenegro announced mobilization in October, and only the mediation of five countries (Russia, Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy) prevented the conflict from starting.
The Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire then understood that Russia was not ready for war. As a result, by March 1909, St. Petersburg and Belgrade recognized the accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Vienna.
The Bosnian crisis was not the only harbinger of global conflict. Since 1895, when the conflict between Japan and China began, local wars or armed incidents have constantly been going on in the world. Russia in January 1904 began a war with Japan, which ended in a crushing defeat. By 1907, two blocs had formed in Europe: the Entente (“cordial consent”) - the military-political alliance of Russia, England and France and the “Central Powers” (Italy, Germany, Austria-Hungary). The traditional Marxist historiography viewed the Entente as a force seeking to preserve the existing order of things in Europe and the world, seeing Germany and its allies as young wolves who want their share.
However, besides this, each country had its own local geopolitical interests, including in the explosive Balkan region. Russia has repeatedly confirmed its desire to take possession of the Black Sea straits of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. Austria-Hungary sought to prevent irredentist sentiment among Serbs and Croats in the crown lands. Germany wanted to move into the Middle East, which needed a strong rear in the Balkans. As a result, any excess on the hot peninsula led to a new round of tension.
Peculiarities of the National Hunt
In addition, it is worth noting that the beginning of the 20th century was the golden age of political terrorism.
In almost every country, radical organizations have used explosions and gunshots for political struggle.
In Russia, the organizations of the Socialist-Revolutionaries (Socialist-Revolutionaries) were especially distinguished on this front. In 1904, Vyacheslav Plehve, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Empire, died at the hands of a bomber, and in 1905, the Governor-General of Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, was killed by militants. Terrorists were active not only in Russia: the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucchini in 1898 killed the wife of Franz Joseph I, Elisabeth of Bavaria (also known as Sissi). Terrorist acts have become a part of life in Southern Europe - in Italy, Spain and the Balkans. Naturally, Serbian activists also used these methods.
Since 1911, the nationalist organization "Black Hand" has been operating in Serbia, striving to unite the Serbian lands into Yugoslavia. It included high-ranking officers of the country, so the authorities were afraid of the "black hands".
It is still unclear to what extent the activities of the Black Hand were controlled by the special services, but it is clear that Belgrade did not give consent to actions in Bosnia.
Anti-Austrian activists in this province were partly part of the Young Bosnia organization. It arose in 1912 and aimed at the liberation of the provinces from Vienna. One of its members was the Sarajevo student Gavrila Princip.
salute and bomb
It is worth adding that Franz Ferdinand spoke from the standpoint of trialism, that is, he believed that Austria-Hungary should also become the state of the southern Slavs under the Habsburg crown - first of all, this would hit the positions of the Hungarians and the numerous Hungarian nobility who owned lands in Croatia, Slovakia and Transcarpathia.
It cannot be said that the heir to the throne was a "hawk" and a supporter of the war - on the contrary, he tried to look for peaceful ways out of the crisis, understanding the difficult internal position countries.
It is believed that both Serbia and Russia were aware of the terrorists' desire to shoot the Archduke during his visit to Sarajevo. For them, his arrival on June 28 was an insult: after all, on this day, the Serbs celebrated the anniversary of the defeat from the Turks in Battle of Kosovo. However, the heir to the throne decided to show the power of the Austrian army and conduct maneuvers in Sarajevo. The first bomb was thrown at him in the morning, but it did no harm.
The already mentioned Princip, having learned about the failure of the assassination, went to the center of Sarajevo, where, seizing the moment, shot at Franz Ferdinand point-blank. He also killed his wife Sophia.
The response to the assassination was unrest in Sarajevo. In addition to Serbs, representatives of other nations also lived in the city, in particular Bosnian Muslims. During the pogroms in the city, at least two people were killed, cafes and shops belonging to the Serbs were destroyed.
The world community reacted actively to the death of Ferdinand. The first pages of newspapers were devoted to this event. However, there were no direct consequences after the assassination - only in mid-July, Austria-Hungary presented an ultimatum to Serbia. According to this document, Serbia had to close the anti-Austrian organizations operating on its territory, dismiss officials involved in anti-Austrian activities. However, there was one more clause in it - about the admission of an investigative group from Vienna to investigate the murder.
Belgrade refused to accept him - and this was the beginning of the great war.
The question of who exactly could be behind the murder in Sarajevo is still being discussed. Some, noting the strange relaxation of the archduke's guards, believe that the radicals of the Vienna court could have killed the potential federalist monarch. However, the theory about Serbian bombers is still the most popular.
The war began only a month later, in late July - early August 1914. However, after the fact, the assassination of Ferdinand became a symbol of the end of peaceful pre-war European life. "They killed our Ferdinand", - with these words, the anti-war "Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik" by Yaroslav Hasek begins.
AT
On this day, June 28, 1914, a murder was committed, which became the pretext for World War I.
The attempt was made on the life of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Duchess Sophie Hohenberg in Sarajevo by a Serbian high school student Gavrilo Princip, who was part of a group of 6 terrorists (5 Serbs and 1 Bosnian), coordinated by Danila Ilic.
Postcard with a photo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand a few minutes before the assassination attempt.
Not everyone knows that before this, a grenade was thrown into the car, which bounced off the soft awning roof, leaving a crater 1 foot (0.3 m) in diameter and 6.5 inches (0.17 m) deep at the explosion site, and injuring a general complexity of 20 people. But after the unsuccessful assassination attempt, we went to the Town Hall, listened to official reports, and then decided to visit the wounded in the hospital, on the way to which Princip was waiting.
The terrorist took up position in front of a nearby grocery store, Moritz Schiller's Delicatessen, near the Latin Bridge.
The first bullet wounded the Archduke in the jugular vein, the second hit Sophia in the stomach ...
The terrorist fired from a Belgian FN Model 1910 9 mm pistol. Terror at that time was considered the most practical and effective method solving political problems.
On the left, Gavrilo Princip kills Franz Ferdinand.
As Count Harrach reported, last words Archduke were: “Sophie, Sophie! Do not die! Live for our children!”; followed by six or seven phrases like "That's nothing" to Harrach's question to Franz Ferdinand about the injury. This was followed by a death rattle.
Sophia died before arriving at the governor's residence, Franz Ferdinand ten minutes later...
Within hours of the assassination, anti-Serb pogroms broke out in Sarajevo, which were stopped by the military.
Two Serbs were killed and many were attacked and wounded; about a thousand houses, schools, shops and other establishments belonging to the Serbs were looted and destroyed.
Princip's arrest.
The political goal of the assassination was the separation of the South Slavic territories from Austria-Hungary and their subsequent annexation to Greater Serbia or Yugoslavia. Members of the group were in contact with a Serbian terrorist organization called the Black Hand.
Report of the Russian military agent in Austria-Hungary, Colonel Wieneken, about the murder. June 15 (28), 1914.
Austria-Hungary then presented an ultimatum to Serbia, which was partially rejected; then Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. And wrap everything up ... in a war that involved 38 independent states. About 74 million people were mobilized, 10 million of them were killed and died of wounds.
Surprisingly, but again on this day, but in January 1919, an international conference gathered at the Palace of Versailles in France to finalize the results of the First World War. The Treaty of Versailles was signed.
The weapon of Princip, the car in which Franz Ferdinand rode, his bloodied light blue uniform and the couch on which the Archduke died are on permanent display at the museum. military history in Vienna.
The story is still dark. After the assassination of Ferdinand, "Young Bosnia" was banned. Ilic and two other participants in the assassination attempt were executed.
Gavrila Princip was sentenced as a minor to 20 years hard labor and died of tuberculosis in prison. Other members of the organization were sentenced to various prison terms.
different places on the internet.
The Sarajevo massacre as a pretext for the start of the First World War
The reason for the outbreak of the First World War was, as you know, the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophia Hohenberg by Serbian terrorists in Sarajevo.
Sarajevo incident
Early in the morning of June 28, 1914, after the end of military maneuvers in Bosnia, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, arrived in Sarajevo, the capital of the united principalities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Archduke was a great lover of antiques and wanted to visit the museum, as well as see the local attractions. However, the choice of the date of arrival of a high-ranking tourist was not entirely successful. It could have been taken as a challenge: it was the day of St. Vid, when the Serbs celebrated the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo. There, in 1389, the Turks defeated the Serbian army, and the country fell under the Turkish yoke for many centuries. In the same place, the Turkish Sultan Murad I was killed by the Serbian warrior Milos Obilic, who became a national hero.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
All local newspapers officially reported on the visit of Archduke Ferdinand to Bosnia and his intention to visit Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. In addition, on June 24, the route of the Archduke's trip around the city was published, indicating the time of stops in certain places, which was almost never done. This is what the terrorists decided to take advantage of.
Six members of the Mlada Bosna organization, led by Danil Ilic and Gavrila Princip, armed with revolvers and bombs, positioned themselves along the route of the cortege. Of the six bombers, only one Nedeljko Chabrinovich was able to throw a bomb hidden in a bouquet. But the bomb rolled off the Archduke's car and exploded behind it. As a result of the explosion, the driver of the next car was killed, more than 10 officers of the retinue, a policeman from the cordon and several street onlookers were injured.
Chabrinovich was captured and taken to the police, the rest of the terrorists scattered around the city.
Franz Ferdinand, healthy and unharmed, went to listen to the mayor's speech at the city hall. At about 11 a.m., he changed the route of his stay and, together with his wife, went to the hospital to visit the wounded during the assassination attempt. The Archduke and Duchess rode in the second car of the cortege. The officers of the retinue rode in the first, and the car with the guards and the police followed the Duke's car. Suddenly, the first car, without reporting a change in route, turned into some lane. The Archduke's chauffeur followed her, the guards lagging behind. General Potiorek, who was responsible for receiving the Archduke in Sarajevo, demanded that the driver stop, turn back and wait for cars with security and police to arrive.
The engine of the car making a U-turn stalled, and then the terrorist Gavrila Princip, who was in a nearby store, accidentally noticed him. He rushed to the car and shot first at Ferdinand's pregnant wife (she was shielding the Archduke), and then hit Ferdinand himself in the neck.
The terrorist was immediately seized by the police who came to the rescue. Archduchess Sophia died immediately upon arrival at the residence, at 11.45 the same morning her husband also died.
At first, almost no one attached much importance to the tragic event in Sarajevo. The Austrian emperor Franz Joseph (Ferdinand's uncle), as can be seen from the diaries of his daughter Marie Valerie, "suffered this shock without much suffering." “For me,” he said, “one worry has become less.” There was no mourning mood in Vienna; music was playing in the Prater.
Of course, appropriate mourning events and ceremonies were held in all European capitals, including Belgrade. But they were carried out and forgotten at the same hour. It was time for summer holidays. As the American historian C. Seymour noted, few Englishmen could find Sarajevo on the map and even less they heard about the Archduke. The news of his murder made no more impression in London than "the voice of a tenor in the boiler shop."
As the Russian diplomat Yu.Ya. Solovyov, the foreign diplomats of Spain, France, even the Austrian ones, and “nobody at all” did not attach all its fatal significance to the news of the assassination attempt in Sarajevo. In the distant United States, the news of the assassination attempt on the Archduke became a fleeting sensation in the newspapers. The State Department considered it insignificant and did not comment. Even the messages from the ambassador from Vienna did not mention the possible deep consequences.
However, exactly a month later, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, accusing her of organizing this assassination. A few days later, the First World War began, which was entered by Germany, Russia, England, France, almost all of Europe, then Japan and China, in 1917 - the United States.
Historiography of the issue
Prominent Italian historian Luigi Albertini wrote: "The Serbian terrorist shot not only in the chest of the Austrian prince, he aimed at the very heart of Europe." This, of course, is a strong exaggeration: the causes of the First World War were of a deeper nature. Nevertheless, Gavrila Princip's shot played a sinister role. It is no coincidence that more than four thousand historical studies have been written about the Sarajevo conspiracy, it has been reflected in literary works known to the whole world, and interest in this tragic event has not weakened to this day.
Historians have studied the Sarajevo incident and its consequences diligently, down to the smallest detail. The main questions, of course, were: who and why killed the Archduke, who was behind the killers, did they understand what they were doing, why the consequences of the assassination turned out to be so tragic and grandiose?
In the hundred years that have passed since Sarajevo murder, there was a huge historiographical complex dedicated to this event. More than 400 works were published in Yugoslavia alone, and in total - about 3000 titles of studies and scientific monographs, not counting articles, notes, reviews, etc. Collections of documents and memoirs of contemporaries were published in a number of countries. Artistic works based on factual material also appeared.
Of the domestic historians, N.P. was the first to study the Sarajevo “case” in detail. Poletika. His first book was called The Sarajevo Murder as a Diplomatic Cause for War. However, Poletika took the erroneous concept of M.N. Pokrovsky, who presented Tsarist Russia as the main culprit in unleashing a world war. Based on unpublished documents from the archives of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as on the materials of the trial of terrorists in Thessaloniki (1917), Poletika, often contrary to the facts, tried to prove that the murder was organized at the instigation of the Serbian special services by the secret conspiratorial organization of Serbian officers associated with them "Chernaya hand". The Serbian government knew about it. It contributed to the assassination attempt, relying on the approval and support of Russian diplomacy and intelligence.
This version was immediately subjected to convincing criticism, but its final debunking took place only in the 1930s and 50s, when the documents seized from it were returned to the Black Hand case and the 1917 court decision was officially protested.
In the 1970s, the works of Academician Yu.A. Pisarev, who thoroughly studied the history of events in Sarajevo, found a number of new sources and energetically refuted the thesis about the involvement of the Serbian government, and even more so Russia, in organizing and carrying out a terrorist act in Sarajevo. It must be admitted, however, that in the richly documented studies of Yu.A. Pisarev, there are still “blank spots”, proving that Sarajevo history has its own secrets and riddles, its unexplored pages.
Writers also responded to the Sarajevo Case. Valentin Pikul devoted enough space to the Sarajevo assassination attempt in his novel I Have the Honor. The writer relied on the works of N.P. Poletiki and created a real adventurous novel about the adventures of "spies", the secrets of special services, etc. Fascinated by the topic, Pikul allowed himself a number of serious inaccuracies and even distortions. Academician Yu.A. Pisarev was forced to make a special appearance in the press so that the reader of the novel would not be "captured" by an overly free literary presentation of real historical facts.
Qui prodest? (who benefits)
In the vast literature on the assassination attempt in Sarajevo, only three versions of the preparation of a conspiracy can be clearly distinguished.
first version voiced by the son of the murdered Archduke Maximilian Hohenberg in an interview with the Paris Soir Dimanche newspaper of June 16, 1936. He hypothesized that his father had been liquidated by the German secret service: the heir to the throne of Vienna interfered with the implementation of the great plans of Wilhelm II, did not want war with Russia, was married to a Czech woman and did not differ in Slavophobia at all. The transformation of the Austrian monarchy into the Austro-Hungarian only temporarily and partially weakened the severity of interethnic conflicts in the state. Friction with Hungary did not stop. It was they who forced Franz Ferdinand to turn to the idea of trialism, that is, to granting autonomy to the South Slavs. Austria-Hungary could soon become Austria-Hungary-Slavia, which, of course, would smooth out the contradictions between the Slavic and German populations of the country. On this basis, the Archduke wanted to find mutual language with Nicholas II and try to restore the alliance of the three emperors. He said: “I will never wage war against Russia. I will sacrifice everything to avoid this, because the war between Austria and Russia would end either with the overthrow of the Romanovs, or the overthrow of the Habsburgs, or perhaps the overthrow of both dynasties. And further: “War with Russia would mean our end. If we do something against Serbia, Russia will take her side, and then we will have to fight the Russians. The Austrian and Russian emperors must not push each other off the throne and open the way for revolution.”
Ferdinand directly indicated those who would benefit from such a war, warning the chief of the general staff, Konrad von Getzendorf, who was eager to fight. "War with Russia must be avoided because France incites it, especially the French Freemasons and anti-monarchists who seek to provoke a revolution in order to overthrow the monarchs from their thrones."
It is known that on the eve of his visit to Sarajevo, the Archduke met with Kaiser Wilhelm. What they were talking about, no one knew, but if Franz Ferdinand would develop the ideas of trialism before the Kaiser and confess his sympathy for the Romanovs, it is unlikely that Wilhelm II liked it. According to contemporaries, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was known as a tough, strong-willed, rather stubborn man. It was almost impossible to convince him. In the event of his accession to the throne, Germany could lose such an ally as the Austro-Hungarian Empire. But to remove the Archduke from the political arena, and even with the hands of young Serbian nationalist patriots, is an excellent reason to push Austria and Russia together, unleashing world war.
Although the version of the murder of Ferdinand by German agents was partly refuted in the scientific literature, it looks quite logical and has a well-known reason: the Archduke was killed with the full connivance of his guards. It was as if he was deliberately framed for a terrorist bullet, the route of his movement around the city was described in detail in the local press.
Let us recall that during the visit of the elderly Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph to Sarajevo, the local authorities undertook very effective measures security: a massive “cleansing” was carried out in the city (unreliable elements were sent, entry without special passes was prohibited, soldiers patrolled the streets, etc.). Under these conditions, no bombers could approach the government cortege within a cannon shot, and Franz Joseph returned safely to Vienna.
The heir to the Austrian throne, one might say, was not guarded at all. During a visit to Sarajevo, Franz Ferdinand's retinue consisted of court officers, "parquet shufflers" who were not suitable for security function. To help them, Vienna allocated three (!) civilian detectives who did not know the city. There was also no usual escort of the Life Guards squadron. The Sarajevo police were mobilized, but there were no more than 120 people in it. This was not enough to protect the distinguished guest on narrow humpbacked streets, with dead ends, through courtyards, etc. As a result, the Archduke and his wife turned out to be an excellent target for a lone terrorist, who for a moment was distracted from buying a sandwich in a city shop, so that between business to fire seven bullets at them from his pistol.
Second(the most common) version was heard at the trial in Thessaloniki (March-June 1917). Austrian and German propaganda insisted on the participation in the assassination of the Archduke of the Serbian secret officer organization "Unification or Death", also known as the "Black Hand". The Serbian government and the Russian General Staff allegedly patronized this conspiracy.
By organizing the trial, the Serbian government pursued three goals: to defeat the opposition in the face of a secret but powerful officer union, to improve the situation in the army and at the same time to lay responsibility for the Sarajevo murder on the Black Hand in order to open the way for peace negotiations with Austria-Hungary, which planned in 1917.
The litigation was gross violations legitimacy, with closed doors, the defendants did not have defenders, the military tribunal widely used false witnesses. After the trial, the government published The Secret Conspiracy Organisation, including only the materials of the accusation, which made the publication one-sided.
The former head of the Serbian counterintelligence D. Dmitrievich (Apis), wishing to save his life and hoping for a commutation of the sentence, wrote a confession (a document known in the literature as the "Report"), in which he took full responsibility for directing the actions of the "Black Hand" during the assassination attempt in Sarajevo. Dmitrievich was shot by a court verdict, and this very controversial document, compiled by a cornered man, figured for a long time as the "queen of evidence."
According to modern historians, Dmitrievich's "Report" is nothing more than self-incrimination, moreover, addressed to distant descendants. The “report” was compiled with intentional, completely ridiculous factual errors (for example, Dmitrievich indicated that the principle did not fire from a Browning), and all the details of the preparation of the crime reported by Dmitrievich seemed to be taken from an adventurous spy novel. Nevertheless, it was on this document that the mythological version of the conspiracy of the Serbian and Russian governments against the unfortunate Franz Ferdinand was built for many years.
Today it is clear to everyone that in 1914 it was not profitable for either Russia or Serbia to quarrel with the Habsburgs, and even more so - to kill the heir to the throne, who did not want war with Russia and cherished plans to grant autonomy to the Slavs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. For Serbia, a war with Austria would have been suicidal. And her government, which in 1914 accepted almost all the conditions of the July ultimatum of Austria-Hungary, demonstrated not only its unpreparedness for war, but also a desperate fear of the upcoming conflict.
In 1917, the situation changed radically, and it seemed very convenient for Serbia to shift all the blame on their Russian patrons in order to quickly and with least loss get out of the war. It was also important for the Bolsheviks to give legitimacy to the myth of the anti-people policy of the tsarist government, accusing it of unleashing the First World War. This justified the “peaceful” policy of the Bolshevik government, which concluded the shameful Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and unleashed a no less bloody Civil War in Russia.
Finally, third concept proceeds from the fact that the Sarajevo assassination attempt was the work of the national revolutionary organization "Mlada Bosna" ("Young Bosnia"), a response by terrorists to the forcible annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Austria-Hungary in 1908.
The secret society of Bosnian youth "Mlada Bosna" was created in 1910, shortly after the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Turkish provinces that had a Serb population. The French newspaper Aksion wrote: “Conquering Bosnia and Herzegovina with fire and sword, Count Erenthal (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria-Hungary), before going to the grave, put weapons into the hands of terrorists and prepared the assassination of the military chief of the Austrian Empire. The attempt of 1914 is only a tragic reflex of the blow of 1908. When an entire people is oppressed, a popular explosion must be expected.” Gavrila Princip testified in court: "The main motive that guided me was the desire to avenge the Serbian people."
In addition to the Serbs, the Mlada Bosna organization included Croats and Muslims. It was created following the example of "Young Italy" and was of a conspiratorial nature. In the specialized literature, there were very interesting versions about the connections of "Mlada Bosna" with the Serbian counterintelligence, and that allegedly the head of the Serbian special services D. Dmitrievich (Apis) used young people for his own purposes, hiring Princip and others to assassinate the Archduke. The connection of "Mlada Bosna" with the Serbian special services has been repeatedly refuted by the historians of Yugoslavia. Academician Pisarev spoke about the independent activity of the organization in his research. However, many historians who cited convincing evidence of contacts between the Black Hand officer organization and terrorists have not found direct indications that the Serbian special services somehow sponsored Mlada Bosna or made terrorists an “order” to kill the Archduke.
It is officially recognized by modern historical science that there is also no evidence of direct or indirect participation of the Serbian government in the Sarajevo incident.
The Sarajevo assassination attempt was conceived and organized exclusively by the forces of the young terrorists "Mlada Bosna". One of the perpetrators of the murder was a 19-year-old high school student, an unbalanced fanatic, who was also suffering from tuberculosis, Gavrila Princip. The rest of the terrorists also had neither experience, nor sufficient endurance and composure to make a successful assassination attempt. Some of them didn't even know how to shoot. The success of the Sarajevo assassination was no doubt accidental. The complete lack of professionalism of the performers was compensated only by a fortunate combination of circumstances and criminal connivance on the part of the guards of Franz Ferdinand. If special services (Serbian, German or even Russian) were involved in the case, the picture of the crime would be completely different.
In this regard, we should mention the version of the American researcher L. Cassels, who, relying on Dmitrievich’s “Report” already mentioned by us, believed that there were connections between “Mlada Bosna” and the “Black Hand”, but they were purely formal. The very existence of the terrorist organization of young patriots could not be a secret for the secret services of Serbia, as well as Austria-Hungary. It is possible that the Black Hand organization associated with the Serbian counterintelligence actually supplied the terrorists with weapons and ampoules of poison in case of arrest (neither Čabrinović nor Princip managed to commit suicide, since the poison turned out to be old). It is possible that the Serbian (or other) intelligence agencies helped the Ilić and Princip group cross the border, but further actions"Mlady Bosny" was not controlled by their patrons. According to Cassels, the young people were only supposed to carry out an assassination attempt, that is, to scare the Austrians, sow panic, make noise, etc. Such behavior suggests, rather, the thought of a “little provocation” than a carefully planned murder. The failed assassination attempt, in which no one was hurt, was to prove to the Austrian Archduke that Serbia had not surrendered and would fight Austria for the territories inhabited by the Slavs. It could not have occurred to the secret leaders of the action that the Austrian prince would be practically not guarded, that his car would stall in a deserted lane, and that the psychopathic high school student G. Princip would be able to approach the Archduke at arm's length.
The members of the Mlada Bosna organization themselves, carrying out an attempt on the heir to the Austrian throne, also could not imagine that their action would lead to a pan-European war.
At the trial, which took place from October 12 to 22, 1914, and during the investigation, the young terrorists immediately named all their accomplices, denied neither the conspiracy to kill Franz Ferdinand, nor their participation in the crime. But, despite the pressure, all the defendants in the Sarajevo case firmly denied any connection of their organization with the Serbian government, as well as its contacts with the official Serbian authorities.
However, Austrian and German propaganda deliberately inflated the incident in Sarajevo, using this event for aggressive purposes. The trial was just aimed at proving the connection of the terrorists with the Serbian government, but the defendants took everything upon themselves, declaring that they acted only for ideological reasons, out of love for their people.
The verdict was passed on October 22. D. Ilić, M. Jovanović and V. Čubrilović were sentenced “for treason” to death by hanging; Y. Milovich and M. Kerovich - to life imprisonment. G. Princip, N. Chabrinovich and Tr. The death penalty was replaced with a 20-year prison sentence, due to their minority, which in the empire came at 20 years. All three died in prison from starvation, exhaustion, beatings and tuberculosis. They were buried secretly, and the graves were razed to the ground. Princip died at the age of 21 in a military prison in the spring of 1918 and was secretly buried. But later they managed to find his grave, and in the new Yugoslavia he was reburied with honor. In Sarajevo, the Gavrilo Princip Museum was opened after 1945.
And if you try again to answer the question of who benefited from the Sarajevo assassination, then all the ends will again lead to Austria-Hungary and its allies - the powers of the Triple Alliance. Of all the "suspected" participants in the events, only Austria-Hungary and Germany were ripe and ready to go to war in 1914. Only these countries benefited from the elimination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as an inconvenient figure on the way to their militaristic plans. Hence the chain of provocations committed by the authorities in Sarajevo, the strange indulgence towards the persons responsible for the safety of the Archduke during the visit (they were not punished), etc. To this day, the possibility of contact between Mlada Bosna and the group of direct perpetrators of the murder has not been seriously studied with Austrian or German counterintelligence. The possibility of the existence of a provocateur in the organization associated with persons interested in the elimination of Archduke Ferdinand, and not another, was not studied either. significant person. Unfortunately, apart from the suspicions of the Archduke's relatives, there is not yet a single document that testifies to the correctness or incorrectness of this version. And today, a hundred years later, we can say that the mystery of the Sarajevo murder is still a mystery. Her solution is yet to come.
This is how the war started
As already mentioned, Europe practically did not react to the assassination of the Austrian Archduke in Sarajevo. However, already on July 5, 1914, Germany promised to support Austria-Hungary in the event of a conflict with Serbia. The media of Germany and Austria-Hungary are actively inflating the Sarajevo incident into a conspiracy of all the Entente powers against the Habsburgs.
On July 23, Austria-Hungary, stating that Serbia was behind the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, announces an ultimatum to Serbia, in which it requires Serbia to fulfill obviously impossible conditions, including: purge the state apparatus and army from officers and officials seen in anti-Austrian propaganda; arrest suspected terrorists; allow the Austro-Hungarian police to carry out investigations and punishments of those responsible for anti-Austrian actions on Serbian territory. Only 48 hours were given for a response.
On the same day, Serbia begins mobilization, but agrees to all the requirements of Austria-Hungary, except for the admission of the Austrian police to its territory. Germany persistently pushes Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. July 26 Austria-Hungary announces mobilization and begins to concentrate troops on the border with Serbia and Russia.
Germany begins covert mobilization: without announcing it officially, they began to send summons to reservists to recruiting stations.
July 28 Austria-Hungary, declaring that the requirements of the ultimatum have not been met, declares war on Serbia. Austro-Hungarian heavy artillery begins shelling Belgrade, and regular Austro-Hungarian troops cross the Serbian border.
Russia says it will not allow the occupation of Serbia. Holidays are being stopped in the French army.
On July 29, Nicholas II sent a telegram to Wilhelm II with a proposal to "transfer the Austro-Serbian question to the Hague Conference." "Cousin Willie" did not answer this telegram.
On the same day, "a situation threatening war" was declared in Germany. Germany gives Russia an ultimatum: stop conscription, or Germany will declare war on Russia. France, Austria-Hungary and Germany announce a general mobilization. Germany draws troops to the Belgian and French borders.
On August 1, Germany declared war on Russia, on the same day the Germans invaded Luxembourg without any declaration of war. The First World War has begun.
Could Russia have avoided participating in World War I?
The First World War became a kind of starting point in the history of most European powers. It determined the paths of political development of the entire European civilization throughout the 20th century, and for Russia its consequences ultimately turned into a national catastrophe.
Could Russia have avoided this catastrophe? Could it not get involved in the world slaughter for the interests of the leading European powers and not participate in the overdue redistribution of the already divided world? This question has been hotly debated among Russian historians for more than a decade. There is still no clear answer to it.
At present, both in the scientific community and in the environment of various kinds of analysts, whose opinions are constantly heard in the domestic media, there are two views on the problem of Russia's participation in the First World War.
Some researchers believe that Russia in 1914, of course, could and had every chance to stay away from European conflicts. In their opinion, in the first decade of the 20th century, the country experienced an unprecedented economic upsurge. It did not need new colonial conquests, and nothing seriously threatened the territories annexed to it for a long time. The strengthening of the united Germany also could not cause much concern for the government of the Russian Empire. On the contrary, having entered into an alliance with Kaiser Wilhelm II, Russia could have gained much more only on military supplies to the powers of the Triple Alliance, without sending a single soldier to the front. Having no clearly defined national interests in this war, such a great power as Russia could give up some of its political prestige after the Sarajevo massacre and leave the Serbs to the mercy of the Habsburgs. Perhaps this decision would have made it possible to delay the start of a pan-European war, as well as to avoid even more huge bloody victims.
From this point of view, the weak-willed Emperor Nicholas II was dragged into the world war on the side of the Entente exclusively by agents of England and France, who had a huge influence on the Russian generals. It was to them that such an ally as Russia was beneficial, and Russian neutrality in the coming war was completely unprofitable.
The second point of view on these events admits that in 1914 Russia could have avoided entering the world war. But that would only be a delay. Having defeated the petty European allies of the Entente, the powers of the Triple Alliance (and especially the aggressive Germany) would never stop before a new redistribution of the world, which could not but affect the interests of Russia in Asia, the Balkans, the Middle East and Far East. In this case, the main theater of operations would be transferred from central Europe to the Balkans. Immediately after defeating French army in Europe, the Germans would have taken control of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. And 90% of Russian grain exports passed through the Black Sea straits. Russia, willy-nilly, would have had to take part in the war alone, because it would have been about protecting its national and economic interests from the claims of a strengthened Germany and its allies. Perhaps it would have been a completely different war, but it is also difficult to judge the results and consequences of such a confrontation today. Many researchers now claim that Russia could secure victory in the Balkans even without the help of the Entente. But it is unlikely that Germany and Austria-Hungary would have refused to send sealed wagons with revolutionaries and other ideological sabotage, as was done in 1917. Sowing political chaos, changing the government, withdrawing Russia from the war on favorable terms remained the only worthy way out for the already almost losing side. And they took advantage of this opportunity.
In our opinion, the second point of view on this issue is more legitimate. Russia could only delay its entry into the European war. However, it would never have succeeded in completely avoiding participation in the new redistribution of the world, taking the position of the “third rejoicing”, like some small Switzerland, Holland or even the backward and distant USA. At the beginning of the 20th century Russian empire, with all its unresolved foreign policy problems and internal contradictions, firmly retained the status of one of the leading world powers. Like any great power, it had something to lose, in addition to world prestige and political status. But the majority of the population of this great power, armed with populist slogans of political saboteurs-internationalists, did not want to understand the intricacies of world politics, and could not. It was this global internal contradiction that played a cruel joke on both the tsarist and the Provisional Government that came to replace it, plunging Russia into many years of chaos of revolutions and the Civil War.
Compilation by Elena Shirokova
Literature:
Poletika N.P. Origin of the First World War. (July crisis of 1914). M., 1964.
He is. Behind the scenes of the trial in Thessaloniki over the organization "unification or death" (1917) // NNI. 1979. No. 1.;
He is. The Balkans and Europe on the threshold of the First World War // NNI. 1989. No. 3;
He is. Russian counterintelligence and the secret Serbian organization "Black Hand" // NNI. 1993. No. 1.
Vishnyakov Ya.B. The Balkans - the grip of the "Black Hand" // Military History Journal. 1999. No. 5. S. 35-39, 45.
If Ferdinand and his wife had been immediately taken to the clinic, they could have been saved. But the courtiers close to the royal people behaved extremely absurdly and decided to take the wounded to the residence. Franz Ferdinand and his wife died on the way from blood loss. All the rebels involved in the assassination were detained and convicted (the main organizers were executed, the rest received long prison terms).
After the assassination of the Archduke, anti-Serb pogroms began in the city. The city authorities did nothing to oppose this. Many civilians suffered. Austria-Hungary realized the true meaning of the assassination attempt. This was the "last warning" of Serbia's independence aspirations (although the country's official authorities did not claim responsibility for the Sarajevo assassination).
Austria-Hungary even received warnings about the impending assassination attempt, but chose to ignore them. There is also evidence that not only nationalists from the Black Hand, but also Serbian military intelligence were involved in the assassination attempt. The operation was led by Colonel Rade Malobabich. Moreover, the investigation revealed evidence that the Black Hand was directly subordinate to Serbian military intelligence.
After the assassination of the Archduke, a scandal erupted in Europe. Austria-Hungary demanded from Serbia a thorough investigation of the crime, but the Serbian government stubbornly brushed aside any suspicion of participating in a conspiracy against the Austro-Hungarian heir. Such actions led to the withdrawal of the Austro-Hungarian ambassador from the embassy in Serbia, after which both countries began to prepare for war.
Franz Ferdinand von Habsburg - Archduke of Austria and heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. He was killed in 1914 in Sarajevo by a Serbian nationalist terrorist, Gavrila Princip. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand became the formal reason for the outbreak of the First World War.
Childhood and youth
Archduke Franz Ferdinand von Habsburg was born in Graz on December 18, 1863. His father was the brother of the Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Joseph, Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, and his mother was the daughter of the Sicilian king, Princess Maria, the second wife of Karl Ludwig. The first marriage with Margaret of Saxony did not bring children to the Archduke of Austria, and Franz Ferdinand became his first child. Franz had two younger brothers and a sister, Margarita Sofia.
Franz's mother died early from tuberculosis, and Karl Ludwig married a third time - to the young Maria Theresa of Portugal. The stepmother turned out to be only eight years older than Franz. A slight age difference contributed to the fact that warm friendly relations were established between Maria Theresa and her young stepson, which ended only with the death of Franz Ferdinand at the age of fifty.
Heir to the throne
Franz Ferdinand began preparing for the accession to the throne at the age of 26, after the only son and direct heir of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, Crown Prince Rudolf, committed suicide in Mayerling Castle. So Franz Ferdinand was next after his father in line for succession to the throne. And when Karl Ludwig died in 1896, Franz became a pretender to the throne of Austria-Hungary.
The future of the young Archduke required a good knowledge of what was happening in the world, so in 1892 he went on a long trip around the world. The route ran through Australia and New Zealand to Japan, and from there, changing the ship, Franz Ferdinand went to west coast Canada, from where he had already sailed to Europe. During the trip, the Archduke took notes, on the basis of which a book was later published in Vienna.
The Archduke was also entrusted with the role of deputy emperor for the supreme command of the troops. By the will of Franz Joseph, the Archduke went abroad from time to time on representative missions. In the residence of Franz Ferdinand - the Belvedere Palace in Vienna - the Archduke's own office, consisting of advisers and close associates, operated.
Personal life
The Archduke married Sofia Chotek, a countess from the Czech Republic. The future spouses met in Prague - both were present at the ball, where their love story began. The chosen one was lower in origin than the archduke, which entailed a difficult choice - the archduke had to give up either the right to the throne or his plans for marriage. According to the law of succession, members of the imperial family who entered into an unequal marriage lost their rights to the crown.
However, Franz Ferdinand managed to negotiate with the emperor and convince him to leave the rights to the throne for himself in exchange for the renunciation of these rights, which the archduke will give for his own unborn children from this marriage. As a result, Emperor Franz Joseph gave permission for the marriage of Sofia Chotek and Franz Ferdinand.
The Archduke had two sons and a daughter, who, like her mother, was named Sophia. The Archduke's family lived now in Austria, now in Czech castle southeast of Prague. The court elite reacted unkindly to Sophia Hotek. Emphasizing the "inequality of the clan", Sophia was forbidden to be near her husband during official ceremonies, which negatively affected Franz Ferdinand's relations with the Viennese court.
Murder and its aftermath
At the beginning of the 20th century, the revolutionary nationalist organization "Young Bosnia" operated on the territory of Serbia, whose members decided to kill the Austrian Archduke while visiting the city of Sarajevo. For this, six terrorists armed with bombs and revolvers were chosen. The group was led by Gavrilo Princip and Danilo Ilic.
Franz Ferdinand arrived in Sarajevo with his wife by the morning train. The couple got into the car, and the cortege moved along the route. Throughout the journey, the Archduke was greeted by crowds of people, and for some unknown reason there were few guards. The terrorists were waiting for their victim on the embankment.
When the car containing Franz Ferdinand approached the place where the conspirators were hiding, one of them threw a grenade into the motorcade. However, the terrorist missed, the explosion injured bystanders, police officers, as well as people who were traveling in another car.
Happily avoiding the first assassination attempt, Franz Ferdinand and his wife went to the city hall, where the Archduke met with the burgomaster. After the official ceremonies were over, one of the Archduke's close associates advised, for the sake of safety, to disperse the people who were still crowding the streets.
The Archduke planned to go further to the hospital, and from there to the Sarajevo Museum. After the assassination attempt, it seemed unsafe for the archduke's close associates to move along the route surrounded by a crowd. To these fears, the Hungarian governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Oskar Potiorek, replied that Sarajevo was not at all teeming with murderers and there was nothing to be afraid of.
As a result, Franz Ferdinand decided to go to the hospital to visit the people who were injured during the assassination attempt, and his wife wished to go with him. A strange incident occurred along the way: it was decided to change the route, but for some reason the driver drove along the previously agreed route, and this mistake was not immediately noticed. When the driver was ordered to turn onto the embankment, he braked sharply and stopped the car at the corner of Franz Josef Street, and then began to slowly turn around.
Exactly at that moment, the terrorist Gavrilo Princip came out of the store nearby, ran up to the car with a pistol and shot Franz Ferdinand's wife in the stomach, and then shot the Archduke himself in the neck.
Having committed a double murder, the terrorist tried to poison himself with potassium cyanide, but nothing happened - he only vomited. After that, Gavrilo Princip tried to shoot himself, but did not have time to do this, because the people who ran up disarmed him. There is an opinion that the driver in the car of the Archduke was in some way connected with the conspirators and helped them, but there is no reliable and convincing information on this matter.
The wife of the Archduke died on the spot, and Franz Ferdinand himself died a few minutes after being wounded. The bodies of the spouses were taken to the governor's residence. After the death of the Archduke through the fault of the Serbian nationalist revolutionaries, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia. The Russian Empire provided Serbia with support, and this conflict marked the beginning of the war.
Memory
Now the archduke is reminiscent of the beer brand Sedm Kuli, which is produced by the Ferdinand brewery. The Archduke himself was once the owner of this brewery, and the name of the beer refers to the seven bullets fired at the Archduke by a terrorist.
In 2014, marking the centenary of the First World War, the postal authorities of the countries participating in the war issued themed stamps dedicated to this event. Several stamps depicted portraits of the Archduke and his wife.
A British rock band was named after Franz Ferdinand in 2001.
