Narodna Odbrana

   Narodna Odbrana, the People’s Defense, was a Serbian nationalist organization founded in 1908 in reaction to the Austro-Hungarian annexation of the former Ottoman provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Initially intended to defend ethnic Serbians newly subjected to Austro-Hungarian rule by training and equipping volunteers for armed struggle, it was ordered by the Serb government to reduce tensions with Vienna and to limit itself to cultural activities. It was thereupon immediately replaced by a more militant and secret organization, the Black Hand. Narodna Odbrana was indirectly implicated in the assassination of Austro-Hungariam heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, insofar as Black Hand agents operating in Sarajevo eluded detection by Austrian intelligence by using Narodna Odbrana as a cover for their activities. Narodna Odbrana therefore was cited explicitly in the Austrian ultimatum to Serbia of July 23, 1914 as an organization to be immediately Dissolved.

   See also <>; <>; <>.

   FURTHER READING:

    Albertini, Luigi. The Origins of the War of 1914. 3 vols. Translated by Isabella M. Massey. New York: Oxford University Press, 1952.

   CARL CAVANAGH HODGE