An Analytical Essay On The Ultimatum Austria — страница 4

their post. Finally, Serbia was directed to notify Austria-Hungary with the actions they were taking in accordance to the ultimatum immediately. Austria attached the conclusion of their investigation into the murder of the Archduke, as an appendix to the ultimatum. Austria believed that the plot was formed in the Serbian capitol of Belgrade. The result of the investigation stated that training for the assassination occurred on Serbian soil and the weapons used were furnished from the armories of Serbian military forces. Austria-Hungary accused five individuals Gavrilo Princip (the assassin), Nedeljko Cabrinovic, Milan Ciganovic, Trifko Grabesch, and Major Voija Takosic of directly participation in the plot against Archduke Francis Ferdinand. Historical Context The tension arose

between the two governments of Austria-Hungary and Serbia after the congress of Berlin in 1879. The German Kaiser Bismark negotiated a peace treaty, which entitled Austria-Hungary to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were primarily inhabited by Serbians. The archduke was chosen as a target for assassination because Serbians feared that he would heighten persecution of Serbs living within the boundaries of the Austrian-Hungarian empire if he claimed the throne. The Serbian terrorist organization, the Black Hand, had trained a small group of teenage operatives to infiltrate Bosnia and carry out the assassination of the Archduke. It is unclear how officially active the Serbian government was in the plot. However, according to Larry MacDonald in his book ?The First Months of

Fighting? the leader of the Black Hand was Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic, the head of Serbian military intelligence. The Austro-Hungarian government feared attack from Russia. In 1879 Austro-Hungary and Germany agreed to form a Dual Alliance. This became the Triple Alliance when in 1882 it was expanded to include Italy. The three countries agreed to support each other if attacked by either France or Russia. In 1907 Russia formed a union with England and France in an alliance known as the Triple Entente. In 1914 Serbia was under the protection of the Russian government. Russia vowed to use military force to protect Serbia if Austria-Hungary decided to invade. The Austro-Hungarian government waited for over 3 weeks after the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand to issue

their ultimatum. During this time the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II, and his Imperial Chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg vowed that Austria-Hungary could rely on German support whatever for whatever action was necessary to deal with Serbia, in effect offering Austria-Hungary a blank check After Austria received confirmation of German support they issued their ultimatum to Serbia. After Serbia rejected the ultimatum a domino effect occurred, on July 28th 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Germany declared war on Russia and France with in days of Austria?s declaration and World War I erupted. Criticism: Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with a lengthy list of demands, with only a 48 hour period in which to comply. After the Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand I

believe that Austria should have reacted to the threat that this situation presented. The demands to abolish all propaganda against the Austria-Hungarian Kingdom and take legal action against certain officials, that the preliminary investigation concluded were guilty of committing the murder, were all in my mind reasonable requests. There is evidence that supports that the Serbian Government supported the movement by turning a blind eye and secretly provided training to the Black Hand Assassins. With officials like Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic, the head of Serbian military intelligence, actively participating in terrorist activities it is rational to demand removal of certain government officials from their offices. However given the Alliance System that had been established and

the continuing bad blood that has been boiling in the Baltic Peninsula; I believe that forcing agents of the Triple Alliance to control all investigations and proceedings concerning the murders in Sarajevo was too harsh. Prince Alexander, from Serbia, responded by stating ?compliance is an absolute impossibility for any nation that has the slightest regard for its dignity?. I agree with this statement, the terms of the ultimatum were unacceptable for any independent nation to accept willingly. Our textbook ?The Western Heritage, Seventh Edition? states that it is speculated that Germany was secretly preparing for war. I don?t believe any nation state realized the sheer amount of devastation and loss of human life as a result of these alliances. Perhaps this document was created