As the July Crisis drew on in 1914, when no resolution was reached between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, the Austrians took a drastic step to try and bully Serbs into war. On July 23, they sent a letter containing their demands to the Serbian government. This ultimatum contained a series of requirements to prevent war, many demanding and threatening Serbia’s sovereignty. By sending this letter, Austria hoped to back the smaller country into a corner, but all it accomplished was making WWI inevitable.
The July Crisis Ultimatum Letter
Although the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand happened almost a month ago, the July Crisis saw little progress between Serbia and Austria-Hungary in resolving the issue. The death of the heir to the Hapsburg throne led to many in the empire calling for retribution against Serbia due to them being suspected of supporting the assassins.
To help ensure their success, the Austro-Hungarian Empire requested the backing of their ally in Germany who promised unconditional support, the so-called “blank check”. This emboldened the empire to push for war as they believed they could now act with impunity.
Austria-Hungary took three weeks to prepare its response, looking to gather support from the other great powers to ensure would not intervene. This ended with a letter being sent to the Serbian embassy that contained their list of demands, saying that Serbia would have 48 hours to accept all demands or risk war.
By July 26, during the July Crisis, Serbia accepted most of the demands but declined those they felt would violate their sovereignty, including allowing Austro-Hungarian representatives to investigate Serbia. Despite offering to negotiate, the Austrians took this as the opportunity to justify military action and declared war three days later.
However, things did not go according to plan as Serbia’s ally, the Russian Empire got involved and threatened war with Germany and Austria-Hungary if they invaded Serbia. Along with the Russians, their ally France was eager to avenge their defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and offered to help the Russians and Serbs if it came to war. In the span of a few days, this local war turned into a European War that would spiral into World War I. A big part of this all came from one letter sent by Austria-Hungary.
In order to attain this end, the Imperial and Royal Government finds itself compelled to demand that the Serbian Government give official assurance that it will condemn the propaganda directed against Austria-Hungary during the July Crisis, that is to say, the whole body of the efforts whose ultimate object it is to separate from the Monarchy territories that belong to it; and that it will obligate itself to suppress with all the means at its command this criminal and terroristic propaganda. In order to give these assurances a character of solemnity, the Royal Serbian Government will publish on the first page of its official organ of July 26/13, the following declaration:
The Royal Serbian Government will furthermore pledge itself:
- to suppress every publication which shall incite to hatred and contempt of the Monarchy, and the general tendency of which shall be directed against the territorial integrity of the latter;
- to proceed at once to the dissolution of the Narodna Odbrana to confiscate all of its means of propaganda, and in the same manner to proceed against the other unions and associations in Serbia which occupy themselves with propaganda against Austria-Hungary; the Royal Government will take such measures as are necessary to make sure that the dissolved associations may not continue their activities under other names or in other forms;
- to eliminate without delay from public instruction in Serbia, everything, whether connected with the teaching corps or with the methods of teaching, that serves or may serve to nourish the propaganda against Austria-Hungary;
- to remove from the military and administrative service in general all officers and officials who have been guilty of carrying on the propaganda against Austria-Hungary, whose names the Imperial and Royal Government reserves the right to make known to the Royal Government when communicating the material evidence now in its possession;
- to agree to the cooperation in Serbia of the organs of the Imperial and Royal Government in the suppression of the subversive movement directed against the integrity of the Monarchy;
- to institute a judicial inquiry against every participant in the conspiracy of the twenty-eighth of June who may be found in Serbian territory; the organs of the Imperial and Royal Government delegated for this purpose will take part in the proceedings held for this purpose;
- to undertake with all haste the arrest of Major Voislav Tankosic and of one Milan Ciganovitch, a Serbian official, who have been compromised by the results of the inquiry;
- by efficient measures to prevent the participation of Serbian authorities in the smuggling of weapons and explosives across the frontier; to dismiss from the service and to punish severely those members of the Frontier Service at Schabats and Losnitza who assisted the authors of the crime of Sarajevo to cross the frontier;
- to make explanations to the Imperial and Royal Government concerning the unjustifiable utterances of high Serbian functionaries in Serbia and abroad, who, without regard for their official position, have not hesitated to express themselves in a manner hostile toward Austria-Hungary since the assassination of the twenty-eighth of June;
- to inform the Imperial and Royal Government without delay of the execution of the measures comprised in the foregoing points.
The Imperial and Royal Government awaits the reply of the Royal Government by Saturday, the twenty-fifth instant, at 6 p.m., at the latest.
-Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum.
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