The causes of WW1 - Outbreak of war

Question 1

Why was Serbia angered by A-H annexing Bosnia?

Answer 1

1. In Serbia, there was a strong nationalist movement that wanted to unite all serb areas in the balkans into one unified country called “Geater Serbia”
2. However, this took a blow when A-H took over Bosnia in 1908, a country containing many Serbs
3. Several secret groups formed at this time with the aim of driving A-H out of the Balkan region altogether
4. Perhaps the most extreme of these groups was called the Black Hand

Question 2

What was the Black Hand?

Answer 2

1. The Black Hand was formed in May 1911 in Belgrade
2. It was formed by 10 Serbian army officers
3. It was mainly made of army officers, lawyers, journalists and university professors and students
4. Any member had to agree that they would die for the Black Hand

Question 3

What were the aims of the Black Hand?

Answer 3

1. Its aims were simple and brutal
2. They wanted to “realise the national ideal, the unification of all Serbs”
3. Their leader was called Apis, adn Apis soon built a network of 2,500 loyal members
4. Several members worked as guards on the borders between Serbia and Bosnia, so BH members could easily cross from Serbia into Bosnia and carry out terrorist acts
5. In 1911, Apis sent a member of the BH to assassinate A-H’s emperor, Franz Josef. When this failed, the BH tried to kill an important member fo the Austrian government with a poisoned dagger. This assassination attempt also failed

Question 4

What was A-H’s reponse to the terrorist acts by the BH?

Answer 4

1. A-H was outraged by these acts of terror
2. They thought that the activities of the BH might inspire lots of people in Bosnia to rise up and rebel against the rule of A-H
3. They worried that this rebellion might spread throughout their empire
4. Leading politicians in A-H suspected that the Serbian government knew about the BH, and might even be helping them
5. A-H’s emperor was encouraged to take tough measures to crush Serbia

Question 5

What was the visit to Sarajevo?

Answer 5

1. A-H announced that its army would test out weapons and carry out army exercises in Bosnia next to the Serbian border
2. The BH saw this as a very threatening move