What was the Black Hands role in ww1?

The Black Hand was the name of a Serbian terrorist group with nationalist aims, who sponsored the attack on Austrian Arch-Duke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 that both killed him and provided the spark for World War I.

What was the main purpose of the Black Hand?

Officially known as Unification or Death, the Black Hand was founded by Serbian officers in 1911, with the aim of unifying South Slavs — including Bosnians, Slovenes and Croats in Austria-Hungary — into a Greater Serb or south Slavic (Yugoslav) state.

What was the impact of the Black Hand?

Members of The Black Hand vowed to give their lives to support a unified Serbia, and pursued terrorist actions to accomplish their goal. Most notably among their impacts, by assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, Gavrilo Princip of The Black Hand helped to initiate World War I.

Was the Black Hand successful?

They were ultimately successful as in 1912 and 1913, both Old Serbia and Macedonia were returned to Serbia after the Bulgarians had been defeated.

What happened to the Black Hand after the assassination?

Black Hand members were arrested and tried before a Serbian court in Salonika in 1917 on fabricated charges of high treason; the Black Hand was disbanded and three of its leaders were executed. Much of what is known about the assassinations comes from these two trials and related records.

What Black Hand means?

Definition of black hand : a lawless secret society engaged in criminal activities (such as terrorism or extortion)

Why did assassination cause ww1?

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are shot to death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist during an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. The killings sparked a chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I by early August.

Why did the assassination lead to fighting?

The political objective of the assassination was to free Bosnia and Herzegovina of Austria-Hungarian rule and establish a common South Slav (“Yugoslav”) state. The assassination precipitated the July Crisis which led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia and the start of World War I.

Who was part of the Black Hand?

Three senior members of the Black Hand group, Dragutin Dimitrijevic, Milan Ciganovic, and Major Voja Tankosic, decided that Archduke Franz Ferdinand should be assassinated. Dimitrijevic was concerned about the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Ferdinand’s plans to grant concessions to the South Slavs.