"Now the history of the past few years, and particularly the painful events of the 28th of June, have proved the existence of a subversive movement in Serbia, whose object it is to separate certain portions of its territory from the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. This movement, which came into being under the very eyes of the Serbian Government, subsequently found expression outside of the territory of the Kingdom in acts of terrorism, in a number of attempts at assassination, and in murders.Far from fulfilling the formal obligations contained in its declaration of the 31st of March, 1909, the Royal Serbian Government has done nothing to suppress this movement. It has tolerated the criminal activities of the various unions and associations directed against the Monarchy." -The Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum to Serbia, 1914
Austria-Hungary declared war when Serbia assassinated its Archduke. And thus a tiny act of violence sparked one of the largest and most devastating wars in human history.
"On 28 June 1914 Archduke Franz-Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg, were murdered in Sarajevo by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. For about one century this dramatic event is known as the triggering event of World War One. Indeed, the exacerbation of nationalistic tensions in Central and Balkan Europe, an Austro-Hungarian declining monarchy and the play of strategic and diplomatic alliances precipitated within a month the European continent into war." -Libereurope on the Europana Newspapers website, 2014 Right: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary Source: Public Domain |
When WW1 ended, the Treaty of Versailles split the Austro-Hungarian Empire into pieces. Austria and Hungary were split into separate countries, a fraction of their former size.
"The Austro-Hungarian Empire, also known as Austria-Hungary, Dual Monarchy or k.u.k. Monarchy or Dual State, was a dual-monarchic union state in Central Europe from 1867 to 1918, dissolved at the end of World War I. The dual monarchy was the successor to the Austrian Empire (1804–1867) on the same territory, originating in the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 between the ruling Habsburg dynasty and the Hungarians. As a multi-national empire and great power in an era of national awakening, it found its political life dominated by disputes among the eleven principal national groups." -Wien-Vienna.com, 2014 Left: This map shows how Austria-Hungary was split up after WW1 Source: Public Domain |