115 WORDS THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY

110 years ago, Serbia received a telegram composed of 115 words that would change the course of history and mark the beginning of one of the greatest wars in history.

Exactly one month after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. On that day (July 28 by the Gregorian calendar, or July 15 by the Julian calendar), Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Count Leopold Berchtold sent a telegram to the Government of the Kingdom of Serbia stating that "Austria-Hungary considers itself in a state of war with Serbia."

The telegram declaring war, under the number 3523, contained 115 words. These words marked the beginning of one of the greatest wars in history—the First World War, as reported by Sputnik Serbia.

Austria-Hungary's declaration of war, sent to the Serbian Government by mail (so that everyone could read it), was unprecedented. Never before had one country declared war on another in such a manner. Due to the unusual way the Austro-Hungarian dispatch arrived, many initially doubted its authenticity.

The telegram was sent from Vienna on July 28 at 11:10 AM and received in Niš at 12:30 PM. It first arrived at the main post office in Belgrade but was forwarded by a telegraph operator to Kragujevac, where telegraph operator Ružica Petrović deciphered it and sent it to Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pašić in Niš, which was the wartime capital of Serbia.

The telegram read:

"Since the Royal Serbian Government has not given a satisfactory reply to the note presented to it by the Austro-Hungarian Minister in Belgrade on July 23, 1914, the Imperial and Royal Government finds it necessary to safeguard its rights and interests by resorting to force of arms. Austria-Hungary, therefore, considers itself henceforth in a state of war with Serbia. (Signed: Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Count Berchtold)."

In 2015, the telegram was inscribed in UNESCO's "Memory of the World" register, on the proposal of the State Archives of Serbia, for its universal cultural significance.

To mark the 110th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I, the State Archives of Serbia presented three documents that preceded one of the greatest conflicts in human history. From the Ultimatum on July 23, to the Serbian Government's Response on July 25, to the Telegram received on July 28, 1914, which officially started the long-prepared war.

By showcasing the original Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum, the Royal Government's Response, and the Declaration of War telegram, Serbia and the Republic of Srpska began their joint commemoration of 110 years since the start of World War I.

After the Sarajevo assassination, Serbia tried to ease tensions and refute the accusations from Vienna, but to no avail. War drums were beating towards Serbia, while imperial diplomats crafted the coercive Ultimatum that would soon be presented to the Serbian Government.

The Ultimatum was delivered on July 23, 1914, in the afternoon by Austrian envoy Baron Vladimir von Giesl to Serbian Finance Minister Lazar Paču. Serbia was given 48 hours to respond.

In the document known today as the "July Ultimatum," Serbia was not directly accused of organizing the Sarajevo assassination, but it was stated that it had "tolerated the machinations of various societies and associations directed against the Monarchy, indecent press language, glorification of the perpetrators of deeds, and participation of officers and officials in subversive agitation."

The Royal Government made the greatest possible concessions, but the Ultimatum was crafted in such a way that it was expected to be rejected. After Baron Giesl's reaction to the response, the same day (July 25), the Serbian Government issued a Manifesto informing the people of the situation and the possibility of war.

The response of the Royal Serbian Government to the Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum was personally delivered by Prime Minister Nikola Pašić to Baron Giesl, who took less than an hour to conclude that Serbia's response was unsatisfactory and demonstratively left Belgrade with the entire delegation, first sending Pašić a note on the severance of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Despite Vienna's attempt to humiliate and bring Serbia to its knees, the first Austrian shell fired at Belgrade on the following day 110 years ago not only marked the beginning of World War I but also the beginning of the end of the Habsburg Monarchy—the Serbian soldier prevailed.

Source: Sputnik Serbia