History of Serbia (1804-1918) - Serbia in World War I

Serbia in World War I

On June 28, 1914, a team of seven assassins awaited Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria at his announced visit in Sarajevo. After Nedeljko Čabrinović's first unsuccessful attack, the Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Archduke and his wife Sophie Chotek. Princip, Čabrinović and their accomplice Trifko Grabež had come from Belgrade; the three told almost all they knew to Austro-Hungarian authorities. Serbian Major Vojislav Tankosić directly and indirectly not only had provided six hand grenades, four Browning Automatic Pistols and ammunition, but also money, suicide pills, training, a special map with the location of gendarmes marked, knowledge of contacts on a special channel used to infiltrate agents and arms into Austria-Hungary, and a small card authorizing the use of that special channel. Major Tankosić confirmed to the historian Luciano Magrini that he provided the bombs and revolvers and was responsible for the self-avowed terrorists’ training, and that he initiated the idea of the suicide pills. From June 30 to July 6 Austria-Hungary and Germany made requests to Serbia directly and her through Serbia's ally Russia to open an inquiry into the plot on Serbian soil but were flatly rejected. In its July Ultimatum from July 23, Austria-Hungary asked Serbia to act in conformity with its March 1909 commitment to the Great Powers to respect the territorial integrity of Austria-Hungary and to maintain good neighborly relations, giving Serbia a 48-hour time limit. Failure to accept these demands would result in the withdrawal of Austria-Hungary's diplomatic legation from Serbia. Serbia drafted a conciliatory response, accepting all the points except point #6, demanding a criminal investigation against those participants in the conspiracy that were present in Serbia, and to allow an Austrian delegation to participate in the investigation. After Serbia had issued its response on July 25, within the 48-hour time limit, the Serbian army was partially mobilized. Austria-Hungary immediately withdrew its ambassador. On July 26, Serbian reservist soldiers on tramp steamers apparently accidentally crossed onto the Austro-Hungarian half of the river near Temes-Kubin. Austro-Hungarian soldier fired shots into the air to warn them off. Kaiser Franz-Joseph was persuaded by exaggerated reports of the incident to declare war and mobilize against Serbia on July 28 setting off a rapid succession of events leading to general European war.

Serbia repulsed three Austro-Hungarian invasions (August, September and November – December 1914), in the last of which Belgrade was held temporarily by the enemy. But during 1915 an epidemic of typhus decimated the Serbian army, and renewed invasion in early October, this time involving also German and Bulgarian forces, resulted in the occupation of the whole country. The remnants of Serbia's armed forces retreated into Albania and Macedonia, where British and French forces had landed at Thessaloniki. Persecutions and deaths followed.

The period of government exile in Macedonia was marked by a significant shift in the balance of political forces. Military leaders associated with what had been the "Black Hand" were arrested, tried, convicted and in three cases executed on false charges (overturned posthumously). The three who were executed directly or obliquely confessed their roles in the Sarajevo assassination. Military circles would henceforth be dominated by the royalist "White Hand" faction of Gen. Petar Živković, later prime minister (1929–1932) of an extra-constitutional monarchical regime.

A successful Allied offensive in September 1918 secured first Bulgaria's surrender and then the liberation of the occupied territories (November 1918). On November 25, the Assembly of Serbs, Bunjevci, and other nations of Vojvodina in Novi Sad voted to join the region to Serbia. Also, on November 29 the National Assembly of Montenegro voted for union with Serbia, and two days later an assembly of leaders of Austria–Hungary's southern Slav regions voted to join the new State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (For subsequent history, also see history of Yugoslavia). Comparing to the other European countries Serbia had by far the greatest casualties in the war, having over 30% (1,3 million) of its total population perished.