Bosnian Crisis 1911

Bosnian Crisis 1911

1. Causes

   • Russia and Austria both wanted the Balkan region.
     • Gave them access to the Mediterranean
   • Bosnia wanted a Slav state in the Balkans
   • in 1908 it was annexed by Austria-Hungary and became a part of their empire
   • Serbia an independent country in the Balkans opposed this

2. Events

   • Serbia wanted Bosnia to be independent too as it contained Slavs
   • Serbia was too small to do anything on its own so looked to its ally Russia for help
   • Russia supported Serbia until 1908
   • Russia backed off helping Serbia gain Bosnia
     • Germany said if Russia declared war on Austria, they would declare war on Russia

3. Consequences

   • Austria Hungary felt it could now rely on Germany for support
   • Russia had backed down but was determined not to do so again
   • Serbia has to accept that Bosnia was apart of Austria
     • They did look to get their own back
   • Italy became less enthusiastic about the triple alliance
     • They were afraid of getting drawn into war
   • Led to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in 1911
     • The trigger to war