92 Years ago today.........

[captskillet]

June 28, 1914

Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated

In an event that is widely acknowledged to have sparked the outbreak of World War I, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is shot to death along with his wife by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on this day in 1914.

The great Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck, the man most responsible for the unification of Germany in 1871, was quoted as saying at the end of his life that “One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.” It went as he predicted.

The archduke traveled to Sarajevo in June 1914 to inspect the imperial armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Ottoman territories in the turbulent Balkan region that were annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908 to the indignation of Serbian nationalists, who believed they should become part of the newly independent and ambitious Serbian nation. The date scheduled for his visit, June 28, coincided with the anniversary of the First Battle of Kosovo in 1389, in which medieval Serbia was defeated by the Turks. Despite the fact that Serbia did not truly lose its independence until the Second Battle of Kosovo in 1448, June 28 was a day of great significance to Serbian nationalists, and one on which they could be expected to take exception to a demonstration of Austrian imperial strength in Bosnia.

June 28 was also Franz Ferdinand’s wedding anniversary. His beloved wife, Sophie, a former lady-in-waiting, was denied royal status in Austria due to her birth as a poor Czech aristocrat, as were the couple’s children. In Bosnia, however, due to its limbo status as an annexed territory, Sophie could appear beside him at official proceedings. On June 28, 1914, then, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were touring Sarajevo in an open car, with surprisingly little security, when Serbian nationalist Nedjelko Cabrinovic threw a bomb at their car; it rolled off the back of the vehicle and wounded an officer and some bystanders. Later that day, on the way to visit the injured officer, the archduke’s procession took a wrong turn at the junction of Appel quay and Franzjosefstrasse, where one of Cabrinovic’s cohorts, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, happened to be loitering.

Seeing his opportunity, Princip fired into the car, shooting Franz Ferdinand and Sophie at point-blank range. Princip then turned the gun on himself, but was prevented from shooting it by a bystander who threw himself upon the young assassin. A mob of angry onlookers attacked Princip, who fought back and was subsequently wrestled away by the police. Meanwhile, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie lay fatally wounded in their limousine as it rushed to seek help; they both died within the hour.

The assassination of Franz-Ferdinand and Sophie set off a rapid chain of events: Austria-Hungary, like many in countries around the world, blamed the Serbian government for the attack and hoped to use the incident as justification for settling the question of Slav nationalism once and for all. As Russia supported Serbia, an Austro-Hungarian declaration of war was delayed until its leaders received assurances from German leader Kaiser Wilhelm that Germany would support their cause in the event of a Russian intervention—which would likely involve Russia’s ally, France, and possibly Britain as well. On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the tenuous peace between Europe's great powers collapsed. Within a week, Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Serbia had lined up against Austria-Hungary and Germany, and World War I had begun.

PS......and the world is still suffering from the repercussions of this act!!

[Big B]

ORIGINAL: captskillet

June 28, 1914

Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated

That dosen't bode well for European summer vacations..[X(]

ORIGINAL: captskillet
PS......and the world is still suffering from the repercussions of this act!!

That's for sure![:(]
WWI created the 'modern world' and it's political messes[8|]

[niceguy2005]

Great post as always captskillet. Thanks much! [:)]

Just an observation, I think you are correct that much suffering resulted from that event. It is unfortunate however that great leadership and imagination didn't succeed the war. Much of today's modern geopolitical conflicts flow down from colonial policies of the time (dividing up the territorial spoils for the vicotrs). I suppose it is easy now to look back and say this is true, while it was much harder to view the consequences at the time Still, much misunderstanding could have been avoided.

[niceguy2005]

ORIGINAL: Big B

ORIGINAL: captskillet
PS......and the world is still suffering from the repercussions of this act!!

That's for sure![:(]
WWI created the 'modern world' and it's political messes[8|]

Or, is it possible that WWI was the symptom of flawed thinking? It didn't so much cause a mess, as it was the result of one.

[rtrapasso]

while it was much harder to view the consequences at the time

Not sure about this last one as there were plenty of folks warning of the consequences of the Tr. of Ver. (Pres. Wilson, US Congress, etc.) - it was just some folks got greedy and were determine to go ahead with their plans no matter what, and so we end up with a mess.

Puts some of the stuff going on today in an interesting light, though (i.e. - nations going what is expedient rather than what is right.)

[niceguy2005]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

while it was much harder to view the consequences at the time

Not sure about this last one as there were plenty of folks warning of the consequences of the Tr. of Ver. (Pres. Wilson, US Congress, etc.) - it was just some folks got greedy and were determine to go ahead with their plans no matter what, and so we end up with a mess.

Puts some of the stuff going on today in an interesting light, though (i.e. - nations going what is expedient rather than what is right.)

Wilson was a strong voice for a longer view way of thinking and for nation building. I don't recall his point of view being popular, certainly not abroad and I'm not aware of it having much support in the States either. I still don't think it has much support. I was raised in an atmosphere where I was told that his proposals were wrong headed and niave. I can't say that I still share that view point.

[niceguy2005]

...

[panda124c]

"And don't forget the oil."

Between the Wars:
'League of Nations'
by: Al Steward

[captskillet]

And we have come full circle in 100 years Serbia, et el. to Yugoslavia and back to Serbia.

[niceguy2005]

ORIGINAL: captskillet

And we have come full circle in 100 years Serbia, et el. to Yugoslavia and back to Serbia.

This occured to me as I was reading.

[panda124c]

ORIGINAL: niceguy2005

ORIGINAL: captskillet

And we have come full circle in 100 years Serbia, et el. to Yugoslavia and back to Serbia.

This occured to me as I was reading.

Don't forget Czechoslovakia.

[Mynok]

I don't get the parallel? [&:] Bohemia and Slovakia (the primary parts of Czechoslovakia) had not been independent countries since .... geez......medieval and renaissance times I believe.

IMO, the "peace" of WWI was far more destructive than the war itself.

[panda124c]

Czechoslovakia arose in October 1918 as one of the succession states of Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I. It consisted of the present-day territories of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and (until 1939/29 June 1945) Carpathian Ruthenia (briefly independent as Carpatho-Ukraine).

[Przemcio231]

After 126 Years Poland rised from the Ashes of WW I  During those years we fought 2 Stupid and disasterus uprising... and it would not happen if most of the Poles would listen to few Wise Poles who sayed that the time to fight for the Independece will come when Prussia , Austro-Hungary and Russia with devided ouer teritory will start to kill each other...

[Montrose]

Some of you guys need to pick up one of the more modern assesments of the so-called 'harsh' Treaty of Versailles. You are repeating the same rubbish that right wingers in 1920s and 1930s Germany did.

Versailles was flawed because it was far too lenient. The financial penalties were deferred, and the one third which Germany did pay were in turn covered by generous loans from the US which they never paid back. One historian has calculated that the Germans actually made a profit from Versailles using this method.

There were only very minor territorial adjustments. When Germany looked around in 1919 its big empire neighbours of Austria and Russia were crippled, Britain was financially weakened and France was weakened because her main industry in the NE was wrecked, while most German industry survived intact. In short, Germany's status was enhanced by WW1, and she dominated Europe to an even greater extent.

The British and US were never keen on penalising Germany too much as they wanted a strong trading partner. Therefore the only nation who tried to press the terms of Versailles was France, who was simply disregarded.

The rump armed forces that Germany was allowed to keep suited the situation perfectly. They didn't need to pay for a massive army while rebuilding but still kept a core of veterans for future expansion.

Also because Versailles called for no major occupation, or even a march into Berlin, the German military were able to purvey the 'stab-in-the-back' myth that persisted for years. They claimed they had never been defeated and as a result their presitge, and militarism in general, continued with dire consequences. At least in WW2 the Allies made damn sure the German civilians knew the truth afterward.

This is my longest post, but seeing that the half baked received view of the 'harsh' treaty of Versailles still has currency today alarms me.

[Ursa MAior]

Yeah you are right basically dismembering a country (mine lost some 2/3 of its territory along 40% of its HUNGARIAN population) and forcing a very humiliating one on another (Germany) is a good and just peace. I dont recall who said that it is not peace it is a cease fire for 25 yrs. He turmned out to be right. One of the main reasons to Hitler's ascension to power was the Versailles Treaty itself.

If these treaties were so right and just as you imply why on Earth the ones after WW2 has not repeated its """"""""achievements"""""""?[:-]

[Dino]

The way I read it, Montrose is not saying that Treaty of Versailles was 'right and just', but that it was placable rather than harsh.

[pauk]

ORIGINAL: Montrose

Was this historian Taylor?

[anarchyintheuk]

He also differentiated the treatment accorded Germany from AH.

As far as the treaty being 'humiliating', I don't know. You can argue who, how, even when it started but you can't argue who lost. If you fight and lose a humiliating war, expect a humiliating peace.

Edited due to lack of caffeine.

[BLUESBOB]

ORIGINAL: Montrose
The financial penalties were deferred, and the one third which Germany did pay were in turn covered by generous loans from the US which they never paid back.

I remember reading, several times in different sources, that the ONLY country ever to pay back it's WWI & II debts to the U.S. is Finland.