Question

Why was there conflict between Austria and Hungary? What happened to change their attitude?

Answer 1

There was no actual fighting between Austria-Hungary (A-H) and Serbia in the crises of 1908 and 1913, but their disputes in those years failed to resolve the simmering tensions between them, and produced the atmosphere that encouraged war to break out in 1914.

The backdrop to all of the problems was the gradual disintegration of the Ottoman empire in the Balkans. The Ottomans were no longer capable of resisting demands for independence from their Balkan subjects, nor of defending their empire against aggression from great powers such as Russia and A-H. The 1878 Treaty of Berlin had attempted to preserve the status quo in the Balkans, but it proved to be no more than a temporary patch on a structure that was collapsing from within.

The A-H empire was also becoming more fragile, thanks largely to the nationalist aspirations of its subjects. Power in the A-H empire was shared between Germans (Austrians) and Magyars (Hungarians), to the exclusion from power of a majority of the empire’s citizens. Combined, Germans and Magyars made up only 44% of the empire’s population. A mix of Slavs (Czechs, Poles, Ruthenians, Croats, Serbs, Slovaks, Slovenes) accounted for 47%. Other ethnic minorities, mainly Rumanians and Italians, made up the rest.

All of the subject peoples in the A-H empire wanted either the right to national self-determination; or at the very least, greater cultural recognition, civil liberties, and a larger share in running the empire. In the Austrian-administered half of the empire, some concessions were made to these aspirations. But in the Hungarian-administered territories, oppression of minorities kept increasing.

The existence of independent Serbia, backed by Russia, served as a magnet for disaffected minorities. Serbia, though smaller and weaker than Austria-Hungary, was fiercely – even hysterically – nationalistic, taking every opportunity to embarrass and undermine Austria-Hungary. It was feared in A-H that independent Serbia could become the basis for a great new pan-Slav federation, dismembering the empire in the process. If Serbia took advantage of Ottoman weakness to expand, annexing Bosnia or other territories, the menace to A-H would increase. To forestall Serbian expansion, the A-H empire would itself have to seize more Slav-populated territory from the Ottomans: but this could only aggravate the internal problem, adding more disloyal Slav subjects to an already volatile ethnic imbalance. The A-H military became more bellicose, repeatedly urging that the only solution was for the empire to attack and crush Serbia. But, unless Germany guaranteed support, A-H did not dare to invade Serbia, for fear of Russia’s likely response.

In October 1908, A-H annexed the Ottoman territories of Bosnia-Herzegovina, including the Sanjak of Novibazar. Serbia was outraged, because the Sanjak territory cut off Serbia from its friends in Montenegro, and because it had seen expansion into Bosnia as its own potential route to the Adriatic. Russia was deeply aggrieved because it felt double-crossed by A-H: it had been expected that A-H would support Russian naval access through the Bosporus and Dardanelles in exchange for a free hand in Bosnia. Britain and France were upset because the annexation was a clear breach of the 1878 Treaty of Berlin, which had been keeping the Balkan pot from boiling over. Italy was furious with A-H (an ally in the Triple Alliance), because it sought and failed to get ‘compensation’ from its ally: this disappointment was a major factor in Italy’s 1915 decision to join WW1 against A-H, rather than stick to its alliance. In the end, the 1908 Bosnian crisis did not lead immediately to war, because Russia did not back Serbia. But the ‘peace’ was to be merely a postponement of war.

The A-H empire was not directly involved in the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913. However, A-H was alarmed by the outcome, because Serbia grew stronger from the wars. An ultimatum from A-H persuaded Serbia to relinquish its territorial gains in Albania; but A-H would probably still have joined the wars, attacking Serbia, if Germany had not refused support. Germany’s denial of support to A-H was only temporary. Germany assured A-H that it would be ready to support A-H in a war against Serbia from mid-1914 onwards. The fuse for WW1 was now lit.

The 1918 assassination of Archduke Ferdinand gave A-H the excuse to destroy Serbia that it had long been seeking. Finally assured of backing from Germany, A-H was confident that it could win, even if Russia supported Serbia. A-H’s action, of course, led directly to WW1. Also to A-H’s surprise, Serbia proved to be a very tough opponent indeed. Although badly outnumbered and ill-equipped, the Serbian army at first succeeded in stopping the A-H invaders in their tracks. Serbia only finally succumbed after Germany reinforced the A-H army, and Bulgaria simultaneously attacked Serbia from the rear.

Answer 2

Great answer! Thanks!

Answer 3

=D

Answer 4

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