On July 23, 1914, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia, demanding that it accept a series of conditions in response to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. The ultimatum was deliberately worded in such a way as to be unacceptable to Serbia, and was designed to provoke a war.
The terms of the ultimatum included:
* Serbia must publicly condemn the assassination and denounce any anti-Austrian propaganda.
* Serbia must punish all those involved in the assassination.
* Serbia must allow Austrian officials to participate in the investigation of the assassination.
* Serbia must take measures to prevent any future anti-Austrian activities in Serbia.
* Serbia must apologize to Austria-Hungary for the assassination and for the anti-Austrian propaganda that had been spread in Serbia.
Serbia rejected the ultimatum, and Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. This declaration of war marked the beginning of World War I.