Imperial and Royal Military Administration in Serbia Imperial and Royal Military Administration in Serbia The K.u.k. Military Administration in Serbia (German: K.u.k. Militärverwaltung in Serbien) was the Austro-Hungarian military administration in the Kingdom of Serbia from 1915 to 1918. It was formed by the Central Powers during World War I. On 28 June 1914 Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. This led to the diplomatic July Crisis between Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbia which ultimately led to a declaration of war by Austria-Hungary on July 28. The first Austro-Hungarian forays into Serbia began in August. After disappointing results at the Battle of
July Crisis reason for armed conflict, the dispute between Serbia and Austria-Hungary over the murdered heir, had already become a sidenote to a general European war. Austria-Hungary had annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908. Sarajevo was the provincial capital. Oskar Potiorek was the military commander and governor of the province. Emperor Franz Joseph ordered Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, to attend military exercises due to be held in Bosnia. After the exercises, on 28 June 1914, Ferdinand toured Sarajevo with his wife, Sophie. Six armed irredentists, five Serbs and one Bosnian Muslim, coordinated by Danilo Ilić, lay in