Study Sources A and B.
How useful are sources A and B to a historian to understand why the Austro-Hungarian Empire issued an ultimatum to Serbia?
Explain your answer using Sources A and B and your contextual knowledge.
[12 marks]
Source A: On July 7th 1914 the Council of Ministers of Austria-Hungary met in Vienna
to formulate a response to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. An extract from the
minutes follows.
It was absolutely necessary that we should formulate demands against Serbia and only send
an ultimatum in case Serbia failed to satisfy them. These demands must undoubtedly be hard
but should not be impossible of fulfilment. Should Serbia accept them we should be able to
quote a dazzling diplomatic victory, and our prestige in the Balkans would be raised. Should
our demands not be accepted, he himself would then be for warlike action. Even at this point
he thought it essential to lay stress on the fact that the object of such action ought to be the
reduction of Serbia but not her complete annihilation.
Source B: An extract from the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia (July 1914).
Now the history of the past few years, and particularly the painful events of the 28th of
June, have proved the existence of a subversive movement in Serbia, whose object it is to
separate certain portions of its territory from the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. This
movement, which came into being under the very eyes of the Serbian
Government, subsequently found expression outside of the territory of the Kingdom in acts
of terrorism, in a number of attempts at assassination and in murders.
Paragraph on source B - why it us useful/not useful
• Paragraph on source C - why it is useful /not useful
Conclusion - overall usefulness
one more useful than the other? - compare them.
The thinking process!
(before you start writing your answer - annotate!)
1. Identify what each source tells you about why A-H issued an ultimatum.
2. Compare this to your own knowledge
3. Study the provenance - how does this effect usefulness? DAMIT
