What was the ultimatum given to serbia by austria

Far from carrying out the formal undertakings contained in the declaration of the 31st of March, , the Royal Serbian Government has done nothing to repress these movements. It has permitted the criminal machinations of various societies and associations directed against the Monarchy, and has tolerated unrestrained language on the part of the press, the glorification of the perpetrators of outrages, and the participation of officers and functionaries in subversive agitation.

It has permitted an unwholesome propaganda in public instruction; in short, it has permitted all manifestations of a nature to incite the Serbian population to hatred of the Monarchy and contempt of its institutions.

This culpable tolerance of the Royal Serbian Government had not ceased at the moment when the events of the 28th of June last proved its fatal consequences to the whole world. It results from the depositions and confessions of the criminal perpetrators of the outrage of the 28th of June that the Serajevo assassinations were planned in Belgrade; that the arms and explosives with which the murderers were provided had been given to them by Serbian officers and functionaries belonging to the Narodna Odbrana; and finally, that the passage into Bosnia of the criminals and their arms was organized and effected by the chiefs of the Serbian frontier service.

The above-mentioned results of the magisterial investigation do not permit the Austro-Hungarian Government to pursue any longer the attitude of expectant forbearance which they have maintained for years in face of the machinations hatched in Belgrade, and thence propagated in the territories of the Monarchy. The results, on the contrary, impose on them the duty of putting an end to the intrigues which form a perpetual menace to the tranquillity of the Monarchy.

To achieve this end the Imperial and Royal Government see themselves compelled to demand from the Royal Serbian Government a formal assurance that they condemn this dangerous propaganda against the Monarchy; in other words the whole series of tendencies, the ultimate aim of which is to detach from the Monarchy territories belonging to it and that they undertake to suppress by every means this criminal and terrorist propaganda. In order to give a formal character to this undertaking the Royal Serbian Government shall publish on the front page of their "Official Journal" of the of July the following declaration:.

The Royal Government regret that Serbian officers and functionaries participated in the above-mentioned propaganda and thus compromised the good neighbourly relations to which the Royal Government were solemnly pledged by their declaration of the 31st of March, The Royal Government, who disapprove and repudiate all idea of interfering or attempting to interfere with the destinies of the inhabitants of any part whatsoever of Austria-Hungary, consider it their duty formally to warn officers and functionaries, and the whole population of the Kingdom, that henceforward they will proceed with the utmost rigor against persons who may be guilty of such machinations, which they will use all their efforts to anticipate and suppress.

This declaration shall simultaneously be communicated to the Royal army as an order of the day by His Majesty the King and shall be published in the "Official Bulletin" of the army. In further points the ultimatum demanded the purging of the Serbian army and civil service of anti-Austrian agitators and the suppression of anti-Austrian propaganda in the Serbian press. In a point directly related to the assassination, the Serbian government was called upon to track down and take legal proceedings against extremist secret organizations operating against Austria.

The sixth point in particular was formulated in such a way as to make Serbian acceptance unlikely. Serbia was required to react within 48 hours. The initial consequence of Serbia not accepting the demands was to be the breaking off of diplomatic relations.

Although there was no explicit threat of war, it was clear that this would be the next step. At this point it was clear that any further steps would lead to an escalation with catastrophic results.

Bihl, Wolfdieter: Der Erste Weltkrieg — The decline of the Ottoman Empire created a vacuum waiting to be filled by new forces. The Balkans became an unstable theatre in which the interests of the major powers clashed with the national programmes of the emergent peoples of south-eastern Europe. On the occasion of handing over this note, would Your Excellency please also add orally that -- in the event that no unconditionally positive answer of the Royal government might be received in the meantime -- after the course of the hour deadline referred to in this note, as measured from the day and hour of your announcing it, you are commissioned to leave the I.

Embassy of Belgrade together with your personnel. Jump to: navigation , search. The Austro-Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Berchtold, to the Minister at Belgrade, von Giesl: Vienna, July 22, Your Excellency will present the following note to the Royal Government on the afternoon of Thursday, July On the 31st of March, , the Royal Serbian Minister at the Court of Vienna made, in the name of his Government, the following declaration to the Imperial and Royal Government: Serbia recognizes that her rights were not affected by the state of affairs created in Bosnia, and states that she will accordingly accommodate herself to the decisions to be reached by the Powers in connection with Article 25 of the Treaty of Berlin.

The Royal Serbian Government will furthermore pledge itself: 1. A reminder of the results of the investigation about Sarajevo, to the extent they relate to the functionaries named in points 7 and 8 [above], is appended to this note. Navigation menu Personal tools Log in. Namespaces Page Discussion. Views Read View source View history. Navigation Main page Recent changes Random page Help.