When Diplomacy Fails

The July Crisis Anniversary Project

A day-by-day account of the events that occurred 100 years ago.

Belgrade Alight.

Today is the 13th of July, 2014, and around this time in history 100 years ago, occurred the following events.

Once news broke on the evening of Friday the 10th of July, that Serbia's beloved Russian statesman, Nikolai Hartwig,

had died while on site at the Austrian embassy. It seemed only reasonable to cry foul.

Certainly, the Austrian ambassador to Serbia, Giesel von Gieseldingen,

who had been conversing with Hartwig as he slipped out of consciousness and died,

was recreated without much difficulty in Serbian popular imagination

as a secret of assassin who had finally succeeded in luring the noble Serbophile to his death.

The Serbian press had a field day with the story,

especially as it emerged that Giesel had refused the Serb

police access to the scene of Hardwig's death. Why would he do such a thing, if not to cover

his tracks? Justice would at least be served, one assumed, because Hardwig's daughter, Ludmilla,

was on the case, and had smelled her at the moment she arrived unseen. Giesel, of course, had informed her of the event immediately,

and it urged her arrival so as to take suspicion of himself.

It was only a matter of time before the smoking gun was found,

and that those responsible for offing the defender of Slavic and Serb Liberty

will be brought to justice.

As you can see, it's not that hard to imagine the atmosphere in Belgrade, of excited citizens,

aghast and grief-stricken that the Russian Allies ambassador, who approved such a boon to their fortunes,

...