THE GREAT WAR AND ANZAC DAY.

Hokitika Guardian, 23 April 1927, Page 2

THE GREAT WAR AND ANZAC DAY.

T\YELFTH ANNIVERSARY. Afonday will be the twelfth anniversary of Anzac Day, an epoch marking day ill the military history and nationhood of Australia and New Zealand. It is a day of memories, sad yet stimulating. for the occasion calls to mind the sacrifice that was necessary to save the world front a dominating tyrant, and in that sacrifice the oversea dominions look their share and played a great part. Anzac Day marked the real entry of Australia and New Zealand into the maelstrom of war—a war unparalleled for the destruction that it wrought, the toil that it took of brave lives, aiul the extent of countries that were ultimately brought into it.

History will always date hack the war to an event that will perhaps be regarded as a somewhat obscure circumstance in the long years to come—the assassination at Sarajevo of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the Duchess oi Hohenberg. Great events sometimes have small beginnings. It was so in this case. It involved, practically, as the commencement of the crisis in ]!)]4. an un’foreseen development in the old-standing quarrel of Austria-Hungary and Russia over the Servian question. Tt was while on a ceremonial visit to the town of Sarajevo, in Bosnia, that the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, as heir-apparent of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, and his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot by assassins on June 28th. 191 t. after having narrowly escaped earlier in the day, being killed by a bomb which was thrown at their carriage. Political conspirators, resenting the Austrian annexation c.f Bosnia and the Herzegovina, and desiring that those provinces .should be united to Servia, apparently planned {be crime. AYhatoven the motives, the crime and the crisis that followed it finally engulfed practically the whole world in war. The Austrian Government, having concluded that the assassination had been planned in the Servian capital, confronted Servia with an ultimatum, involving demands which had to be satisfactorily met within -18 hours. . The Note to Servia was communicated by Austria-Hungary io the Powers of Europe, and was published Jit a German newspaper, obviously as a public warning to Servia. On July 24 the German Government informed the Powers that it

aprroved of the Austrian Note, which, it held, was necessitated 1 the “great Servian” propaganda aiming at the incorporation in the Servian monarchy of the southern Slav provinces belonging to Austria-Hungary. Russia did not agree that the Austrian Note was directed against Servia alone; it contended that Austria would never have taken such action unless Germany had been first consulted, and issued a warning that if Austria, began military measures against Servia. •Russia would probably mobilise. It held also that the time limit allowed Servia for her reply to Austria was quite insufficient if the Powers were to help in smoothing iho situation. The Servian Government later conceded part of the Austrian demands, and annottne, ed its readiness to accent on the other points, the arbitration of Die Hague Tribunal or of the Great. Powers. A few days later Austria-Hungary declared war on Servia. The match that was to involve Die world in the shambles of war had now been lighted. Russia still felt that the key of the situation was to be found in Berlin, and followed matters up at the end of July with a general mobilisation order, following a warning by Britain that she would not necessarily stand aside if all efforts to maintain peace failed. This was in reply to Germany's oiler, in return for British neutrality, to promise the territorial integrity of France, but not of the French colonies. Then followed rapidly Germany's ultimatum to Russia, demanding that her mobilisation should cease within twelve hours; Germany's ultimatum to France, asking her to define her attitude in case of a RussoGerman war; Britain’s protest, on August 1. against the detention of British ships at Hamburg; French and German mobilisation orders; the German entry of French territory; Germany’s ultimatum, on August 3. to Belgium, and her entry to Belgian territory on the following day. August 4, when England sent an ultimatum to Germany asking for assurances before midnight that Germany would respect Belgian neutrality. This demand was taken at Berlin as equivalent to a declaration of war by England against Germany.