The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914

Imagine a night in early June 1903 in Belgrade, a city cloaked in darkness and tension. Twenty-eight officers of the Serbian army, moving with deadly intent, breach the royal palace. The scene is chaotic and chilling: dynamite tears through heavy oaken doors, plunging the building into darkness and death. King Alexandar and Queen Draga, symbols of a troubled monarchy, hide desperately, only to be found and brutally murdered in a hail of gunfire and savage mutilation. This regicide was not merely a political act; it was a violent rupture that shocked Europe and tore apart Serbia’s fragile political fabric.

But this event was more than a coup; it was the birth of a militant nationalist movement that would echo through history. The conspirators, led by a man known as Apis, were not mere rebels; they were architects of a vision – a Greater Serbia uniting all Serbs under one banner. This vision was fueled by secret oaths, a cult of sacrifice, and a readiness to use any means necessary, including assassination and terror. The Black Hand, the secret society that emerged from these conspiracies, embodied this ruthless nationalism.

Serbian society was deeply divided, caught between dynastic rivalries of the Obrenović and Karadjordjević families, and a population steeped in folk traditions of epic poetry glorifying sacrifice and martyrdom. The memory of the medieval empire and the Battle of Kosovo infused the national psyche, creating a potent mix of myth and politics. Nationalist ideology was not an abstract idea but a living, breathing force that shaped actions and justified violence.

The regicide and the rise of the Black Hand set the stage for the events that would soon engulf Europe in war. They reveal how deeply intertwined personal ambitions, secret societies, and nationalist fervor were in shaping history. This story is a reminder that beneath the grand narratives of empires and alliances lie human passions and brutal realities.

As we close this chapter, we move from the shadows of Serbian nationalism to the broader challenges faced by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a vast and complex realm struggling to hold itself together amid rising ethnic tensions and political turmoil.