Summary

Muhamed Mehmedbašić (Stolac, 1887 - Sarajevo, May 29, 1943) was a Bosnian revolutionary, best known for being one of the conspirators in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Habsburg-Este on June 28, 1914, giving rise to the so-called July Crisis and then World War I.

The early years

Mehmedbašić was born in 1887 in Stolac, a small town in Herzegovina, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; his father, from a Bosnian Muslim family, was part of the nobility during Ottoman rule, but had fallen into poverty under the new administration.

In his youth he worked as a bricklayer, and during a trip to Belgrade organized by an Islamic association he met Mustafa Golubić, also a Muslim originally from Stolac, who transmitted to him his first revolutionary ideas. Both called themselves Serbian Muslims. He later came into contact with the secret society Crna ruka ("Black Hand") through Danilo Ilić, one of the main organizers of the attacks against Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Instead, it was Vladimir Gaćinović, also a member of the Black Hand, who introduced him to the ranks of the Serbian nationalist organization Mlada Bosna ("Young Bosnia"). Mehmedbašić swore allegiance to the organization in the presence of Bosnia's provincial director Gaćinović and Ilić.

During the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, the Black Hand participated in the fighting alongside Serbia, which was engaged against the Ottoman Empire, with a detachment of cetnics commanded by founder Voijslav Tankošić and strengthened by numerous volunteers, including Golubić himself.

The attempted murder of Oskar Potiorek

In late 1913 the leadership of the Black Hand Association began to think about more direct acts against Austro-Hungarian targets in Bosnia; Danilo Ilić in particular discussed this with the head of Serbian military intelligence Dragutin Dimitrijević "Apis," who was also the head of the secret organization, and who delegated the preparations to his right-hand man, Major Vojislav Tankosić. Thus, a meeting was organized and held in Toulouse, France, in January 1914 to discuss possible targets, among which the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne Franz Ferdinand was screened. The participants, however, opted for the elimination of Oskar Potiorek, then governor of Bosnia; the organization was taken care of by Gaćinović and Golubić and the execution entrusted to Mehmedbašić.

Mehmedbašić received 300 crowns as funding for the mission and a Morakniv knife containing poison. At the end of March 1914 he arrived in Dubrovnik by ship and then continued by train. On his way to Sarajevo, upon arriving at the station in Hum, the train was inspected by the police; Mehmedbašić, fearing that the police might dig up his weapon and he would be discovered, threw the knife out the window.

Later the plan to assassinate Potiorek was abandoned as news spread of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's impending visit to Sarajevo on the Serbian holiday of Vidovdan (June 28). The visit was considered an insult to the subjugated populations, and the Black Hand leadership decided to direct its efforts against the heir to the imperial throne. On March 26, Ilić informed Mehmedbašić of the new targets declared by Apis himself, and ordered him to wait and be ready while preparing the new attack.

The Sarajevo bombing

Apis and other conspirators Milan Ciganović and Tankosić recruited three young men to carry out the attack-Gavrilo Princip, Nedeljko Čabrinović, and Trifko Grabež. Princip was stationed in Sarajevo along with Danilo Ilić, who in turn recruited Vaso Čubrilović, Cvjetko Popović, and Mehmedbašić

On June 28, 1914, at about 9:00 a.m. the six conspirators took up positions on the Appel riverfront on the Miljacka River, between the Ćumurija, Latin and Emperor's bridges. Divided into pairs, they were to kill the archduke the moment his car passed in front of one of the positions.

At about 10:00 a.m. Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were supposed to drive down Sarajevo's main street in a motorcade headed for City Hall. The first opportunity presented itself to Mehmedbašić, positioned near the Austro-Hungarian bank, who, however, missed the right moment to throw his hand grenade perhaps because of the presence of a policeman nearby. A similar fate befell Čubrilović, positioned after Mehmedbašić.

Around 10:10 a.m. Vaso Čabrinović was more resolute and managed to throw a hand grenade at the archduke's car but, bouncing off the top, it went off near another car in the convoy, injuring between 16 and 20 people. Čabrinović attempted suicide by swallowing a cyanide pill, but this induced only vomiting and the bomber was able to be captured; all the bombers dispersed through the city streets except Gavrilo Princip and Trifko Grabež.

The imperial motorcade quickly reached the town hall where it was decided to change the day's schedule and visit the wounded from the failed assassination attempt at the hospital. The motorcade set off again at about 10:45 a.m. but soon after, due to a misunderstanding in the information given to the driver of Franz Ferdinand's car, he had to brake near the Latin Bridge in order to turn onto the correct road, exactly where Gavrilo Princip was standing at the time. Princip jumped onto the step of the car and fired two gunshots that killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Duchess Sophie Chotek von Chotkowa.

Immediately after the assassination, Princip tried to commit suicide with a gunshot to the head, but the weapon was wrenched from his hand before he could detonate the shot. He was then arrested and interrogated along with Čabrinović. Ilić, on the other hand, was caught at a routine checkpoint a few hours later. When cornered, the latter confessed his role in organizing the bombing and gave the names of the other conspirators, who were all arrested and charged with treason except Mehmedbašić, who had fled and managed to take shelter in Montenegro, escaping police searches by being mixed in with the crowd thanks to civilian clothes and a fez.

Mehmedbašić arrived in Nikšić on July 4, and as soon as the news spread the Austro-Hungarian authorities pressed for the fugitive to be arrested and extradited. Montenegrin authorities in contrast let it be known that they would arrest Mehmedbašić but that he would be tried by a local court. Mehmedbašić was arrested on July 12 but managed to escape from the Montenegrin prison after two days. Mehmedbašić, who during his brief imprisonment had admitted involvement in the attack, was probably helped to escape by the Montenegrin authorities themselves, who showed him the way to Serbia via Mount Čakor.

World War I

In Serbia Mehmedbašić met again with Mustafa Golubić and together with him enlisted the Cethnic detachment commanded by Vojislav Tankosić engaged against the Central Empires during World War I. Mehmedbašić was in charge of training young volunteers, and on these occasions he met Apis several times.

In 1916 Mehmedbašić was accused of taking part in the planning of an assassination attempt on the regent of the Serbian kingdom Alexander, hatched by Apis himself. In reality, Alexander had been trying to get rid of Apis and his men for some time fearing his rivalry in the race for power in Serbia. On March 15, 1917, Apis and officers loyal to him were indicted on several false charges by a Serbian court-martial convened in Salonika, at that time of the war under French control. On May 23, Apis and eight other loyalists were sentenced to death, while two others, including Mehmedbašić were sentenced to 15 years in prison; the sentences were later reduced to only three death sentences. Among other things, during the Apis trial, Ljubomir Vulović, Rade Malobabić and Mehmedbašić confessed their roles in the Sarajevo bombing.

The interwar period and death

After World War I, in 1919, the sentence was commuted and Mehmedbašić was released; he then returned to Sarajevo.

Mehmedbašić was killed on May 19, 1943, during World War II, by a Ustasa. He was buried in the cemetery in the Butmir neighborhood on the outskirts of Sarajevo.

Later, a 1953 Serbian Supreme Court rehabilitated Mehmedbašić by declaring the Thessaloniki trial illegitimate.

Sources

1. Muhamed Mehmedbašić
2. Muhamed Mehmedbašić
3. ^ a b c d Konjhodžić 1974, p. 381.
4. ^ Dedijer 1966, p. 282.
5. ^ a b Slijepčević 1929, p. 209, Konjhodžić 1974, p. 381
6. ^ a b c A.S. Konjhodžić, 1974, p. 381.
7. ^ a b P. Slijepčević, 1929, p. 209.
8. ^ M. Glenny, 2012, p. 244.
9. ^ a b L. Albertini, 1942, p. 78.
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11. D. Ljubibratić, Mlada Bosna i Sarajevski atentat, Sarajevo 1964,.
12. Rakočević, 1997, p. 28.
13. Kantowicz, Edward R. (1999). The Rage of Nations. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. s. 97. ISBN 0-8028-4455-3.
14. Treadway, John D. (1983). The Falcon and the Eagle: Montenegro and Austria-Hungary, 1908–1914. Purdue University Press. ss. 185–186. ISBN 1-55753-146-3.