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THE ROAD TO WAR

The most fateful assassination in history took place in the

small Balkan city of Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Archduke Franz

Ferdinand—the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne—and his wife

were shot and killed by a Serb nationalist, setting in motion a chain

of events that would lead to the outbreak of World War I.

In 1914, Europe was divided into two armed camps: France and Russia

ranged against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Britain, the other major

European power, remained outside the formal alliance system but

maintained friendly relations with France.

Each state was keen to discover the military strengths and strategies

and diplomatic intentions of its opponents (and allies), but at this time good

intelligence was patchy and what existed was not always acted upon in the

best manner. France and, especially, Russia had the superior intelligence

services, gaining results from their black chamber decrypting departments.

The diplomatic crisis that engulfed Europe in July 1914 was a direct

consequence of the events in Sarajevo. The new state of Serbia had been

created from the collapse of the Turkish empire in the Balkans, although

substantial numbers of Serbs lived in territories that remained under

Austrian control, including Bosnia-Herzegovina. Serb nationalists were determined to incorporate these areas into

Serbia, even though they contained many other ethnic groups as well as the Slavic Serbs.

CHAPTER 3  NINETEENTHCENTURY INTELLIGENCE

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Above: Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie

TREACHERY IN HIGH PLACES

From a humble background, Alfred Redl used his ability

and ambition to rise through the Austro-Hungarian army. In

1900, he was assigned to the Russian section of the army’s

intelligence bureau, and seven years later he became chief of

its counterintelligence branch with the rank of colonel. Redl

was a homosexual with a taste for the good life

well beyond his modest salary, and in 1901,

he was blackmailed by Russian intelligence

to work for them as a spy. From then on,

Redl provided the Russians with a massive

array of intelligence, which included

Austria’s plans for invading Serbia and

details of Austrian mobilization plans

against Russia. In 1913, Redl’s treachery

was discovered. Admitting his guilt,

he was left alone with a loaded revolver.

He duly shot himself.

Right: Alfred Redl