The War to End All Wars Part 0: Bodies At Rest
As Archduke Franz Ferdinand lies in state in Sarajevo, diplomatic relations cool very quickly between the Dual Monarchy and the Kingdom of Serbia. Police quickly capture Danilo Ilic, the suspected main terrorist, and assassin of Franz Ferdinand. He reveals the identities and whereabouts of other terrorists that he is in league with. He confesses to be a Serbian, as well as a member of the Black Hand, a pan-Slavic society that opposes Austro-Hungarian rule over much of the Balkans.
Tensions increase while the nervous Austro-Hungarian government contemplates its recourse, and a number of demands are issued to the Serbian government, which has been suspected of aiding terrorists committed to the destabilization of the Dual Monarchy. With growing unrest and the threat of further attacks by terrorists operating from Serbia, Count Leopold von Berchtold is told by Field Marshal Conrad von Hotzendorff that war with Serbia may be the most effective way to silence the terrorist movements working against Austria-Hungary. Field Marshal von Hotzendorff advocates a systematic �de-encirclement� of Austria-Hungary, beginning with an annexation of Serbia and a war against the crumbling Russian Army. Berchtold doesn�t agree with Hotzendorff�s jingoistic ideas, but begins to plan a war against Serbia.
A raid on a house in Rogatica captures two members of the Black Hand suspected of involvement on July 6th. A Black Hand sympathizer involved in the interrogation informs remaining assassins on the run that the government is aware of their positions and advises them to get out of the country immediately.
Foreign Minister Szogyeny visits Constantinople and Sofia through early to mid-July, and the government of Bulgaria offers non-military support in the case of war with Serbia,and the Ottoman Empire advises caution. President Poincare of France is currently on a tour of Austria-Hungary and the Balkans, and consultations with him are supportive of the Dual Monarchy in the event of a crisis. Serbia undergoes extensive measures to appease Austria-Hungary, but many Austrian leaders suspect that they are putting on a show to cover up their involvement. Intelligence reports from Russia expect at least 33 days for Russia to mobilize their armies in the case of war, but Austrian officials believe that war is a narrow possibility.
On July 17th, the last of the assassins, Gavrilo Princip is nearly captured in Foca, attempting to cross the Serbian border. Princip, a Serbian after his service in the Balkan Wars, along with a group of sympathizers suspected to be Serbians escape across the border, and an Austrian cavalry patrol crosses the border to apprehend the criminals. Princip blends into the population, and the Serbians are trying desperately to catch him. The cavalry incident is not taken well, and relations cool somewhat. More Austrian troops enter Serbia to catch Princip, and Berchtold privately claims that Serbia is not doing a well enough job of looking for the assassin, but publicly gives credit to the Serbian government, namely Prime Minister Pasic for his accommodating gestures.
As Austrian patrols enter Serbia, the Serbian public is outraged by the spinelessness of Pasic�s government. Pasic has yielded to Austria-Hungary in every way to avoid a conflict, but he has yielded too far in the eyes of his constituency. Pasic resigns on July 25th, a month after the assassination, after Austrian troops looking for Princip are accused of raping a girl in Priboj. Draban Sandzak, a right-wing militarist succeeds Pasic, with a mandate to maintain national sovereignty. Sandzak demands that Austrian troops leave the country immediately but promises to find the assassin immediately. Foreign Minister Szogyeny, with an affronted and increasingly suspicious Prime Minister von Berchtold give an ultimatum demanding the surrender of Princip by August 1st, and the troops withdraw to the border. Russian diplomats in Belgrade offer support of Serbia as its Assisting Power in the case of war, and Sandzak accepts.
The Austro-Hungarian government is warming to an invasion of Serbia as time passes, and the army is prepared to do so by the morning of August 2nd if Princip is not found. Hungarian Prime Minister Tisza is extremely reluctant, and does not want war, but the Serbians appear more guilty at worst and inept at best every day. Sandzak demands that the police find the criminal, but Princip is well hidden in a house in the countryside. Sandzak is nervous that war is imminent unless Princip can be found. He pleads in the Blic (the Serbian national newspaper) that Princip give himself up to the Austro-Hungarian government. The newspaper is not carried in the town he his holed up in, and Princip evades the authorities. On August 1st, after a failed search, Sandzak orders the mobilization of the Serbian army in preparation of war.