Posted on 06/28/2013 3:16:25 PM PDT by Ravnagora
Field of Kosovo Peonies / Painting by Nadezda Petrovic
"...A century later, we still do not know with certainty who knew what, and when they knew it."
David Fromkin
June 28th is a sacred day in Serbian history. It is on this day, "Vidovdan", many years ago, that the Christian Serbs, under the command of their beloved leader St. Lazar, sacrificed their entire army of 70,000 men on the fields of Kosovo, fighting against the Ottoman Turks, the Islamic army that was pushing into the Balkans and into the heart of Europe. That was 1389, and the beginning of Turkish rule over the Serbs that would last five centuries.
Just over five centuries later, June 28th would become a significant date once again, this time not only in Serbian history, but in the history of the world.
The morning of June 28th, 1914 dawned sunny and beautiful in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The early fog covering the Sarajevo valley dissipated early under the warm summer sun.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was here in Sarajevo in what was then Austro-Hungarian Bosnia. He had come for a visit with his wife Sophie von Chotkovato, a woman he had married out of love, despite the scandal the marriage caused, for she was not descended from the House of Habsburg nor was she related to one of the ruling families in Europe.
Born in 1863, Ferdinand, the nephew of Emperor Franz Josef, was not intended to be the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, however, the intended heirs, the emperor’s son, Crown Prince Rudolf and the emperor’s brother, Carl Ludwig, Ferdinand’s father, both died while Franz Josef still ruled. With their deaths, Ferdinand would be the one to step into the role of Emperor once Franz Josef died. Destiny, however, would have it otherwise.
(Excerpt) Read more at heroesofserbia.com ...
Ping.
More history I was unaware of ... thanx.
Serbia lost 16% of the its population in the ensuing war. That’s a staggering price to pay, especially in view of the fact that Serbia today is smaller than it was at the time of WWI. These men (including their trainers) should have been shot and buried in unmarked graves before they embarked on their mission.
They did NOT however, anticipate the scope of their folly.
*****
This day in history.
WWI remains the most catechlismic event of the last 500 years. It was the first domino in a chain that is still falling.
It gets short shrift in history.
Oh, but their masters did indeed.
Suggest you read “The Guns of August” by Barbara Tuchman. Outstanding book on the assignation and how World War I started.
When I was a student, Barbara Tuchman came to my campus for a talk but only women students were allowed to attend—no men.
Serbia is larger now than it was in 1912. It is a little smaller than it was in 1914 (after the Balkan Wars, when it gained a lot of territory). Vojvodina now belongs to Serbia—before WWI it was part of Austria-Hungary.
Amazing image. Thank you archy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.