May Overthrow

Illustration of the May Overthrow published in 1903 in the French newspaper Le Petit Parisien

The May Overthrow (Serbian: Мајски преврат) was a 1903 coup d'état in which the Serbian King Alexander Obrenović and his wife, Queen Draga, were assassinated inside the Royal Palace in Belgrade on the night between 28 and 29 May 1903 by the Julian calendar (between 10 and 11 June by the Gregorian calendar). This act resulted in the extinction of the House of Obrenović which had been ruling Serbia since the middle of the 19th century. The assassination of the royal couple was organised by a group of Army officers led by then-Captain Dragutin Dimitrijević Apis. After the May Overthrow, the Serbian throne passed to the rival House of Karađorđević. The coup had a significant influence on Serbia's relations with other European powers; the house of Obrenović was allied to Austria-Hungary, while the Karađorđević dynasty had close ties both with Russia^[1] and France. Both dynasties were receiving financial support from their powerful foreign sponsors.^[2]

Together with the royal couple, the conspirators killed the Prime Minister Dimitrije Cincar-Marković and the Minister of the Army Milovan Pavlović.

Historical background

From the time Serbia was freed from Ottoman Turkish control, following the Serbian Revolution in 1804–1835, it emerged as an independent principality, ruled by various factions surrounding the Obrenović and Karađordević dynasties; these in turn were sponsored by the rival Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires.^[3] The Obrenović family was mostly pro-Austrian, while their hereditary enemies, the Karađordević family were mostly pro-Russian. Each dynasty was financially aided by their powerful foreign sponsors.

King Milan Obrenović

After the assassination of the Prince Mihailo Obrenović on May 29th 1868 (Old Style), the new elected Serbian prince was his cousin, Milan Obrenović. He was married to Natalie Keshko, a Moldavian boyar's daughter. Milan was an autocratic ruler and very unpopular among the people. During his rule, Serbia became an independent country and gained territory at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. As Russia gave their support to Bulgaria at the Treaty of San Stefano, King Milan relied on Austria-Hungary as his ally. He proclaimed himself a king in 1882. His military defeat in the war against Bulgaria and the Timok Rebellion, led by the elements of People's Radical Party, were serious blows to his popularity.

The situation was not any better in his private life; after ten years of marriage, quarrels between the king and the queen were fiercer and more frequent. King Milan was not a faithful husband, while the Queen Natalija was greatly influenced by Russia. In 1886, the couple, mismatched both personally and politically, separated. The Queen Natalija withdrew from the kingdom, taking with her the ten-year old Prince Alexander (later King Alexander I). While she was residing in Wiesbaden in 1888, King Milan succeeded to recover the crown prince, whom he undertook to educate. As a reply to the queen's remonstrances, Milan exerted considerable pressure upon the metropolitan, and obtained a divorce, which was afterward annulled as illegal.

On January 3rd 1889, Milan adopted the new Constitution, which was much more liberal than the existing 1869 constitution. Two months later, on March 6th, Milan suddenly abdicated the throne in favor of his son. No satisfactory reason was given for this step. Upon abdication, former king Milan put up regency to rule in the name of young king Alexander and retired to Paris to live as a plain citizen. Members of the Regency were Jovan Ristić, the general Kosta Protić and the general Jovan Belimarković. The radicals were forgiven and allowed to return to political life. The radical Sava Grujić formed a new Government, which was succeeded by the Government of Nikola Pašić, the leader of Radical party. After the King Milan's pro-Austrian policy, the Radical-led Government got closer to the Russian Empire. In the summer of 1891 prince Alexander and Pašić visited Russian tzar, Alexander III Romanov. Romanov promised that Russia would not allow annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and that Russia would support Serbian interests in "Old Serbia" and Macedonia.

Alexander's mother, former queen Natalija, who was in a process of divorcing from Milan, was banished from Belgrade upon Alexander's request and went to French coastal resort Biarritz, together with her lady-in-waiting and the future queen Draga Mašin.

After the death of the regent Protić on June 4th, 1892, a conflict emerged between Pašić, who wanted the emptied place in regency for himself, and the regent Ristić, who disliked Pašić. In 1892. Ristić transferred the Government to the Liberal party, the party he had always been linked with, and appointed Jovan Avakumović as a new Prime Minister. This step and the subsequent conduct of the Liberal politicians caused serious discontent in the country. On 1st (13th) April 1893 prince Alexander, by a successful stratagem, imprisoned the regents and the ministers in the palace, and, declaring himself of age, called the radicals to office; in short period the new Prime Minister became radicals Lazar Dokić, Sava Grujić, Đorđe Simić and Svetozar Nikolajević. One of guardsmen that helped him to imprison the regents and the ministers was then-colonel Laza Petrović.

At the beginning of his reign, King Alexander was prescribing a program of Government in matters of military, economical and financial life of the state. He disapproved an unprincipled party competition, and in order to suppress the radicals, on January 9th, he invited his father back to Serbia. Radical government immediately resigned and moved into opposition. The influence of ex king Milan to state affairs could be noticed immediately after his return to Serbia.

King Alexander tried to keep the policy of neutral governments, but he didn't have much success. Therefore, on May 9th 1894 he conducted another coup, abolished the Constitution from 1888 and put in force the old one from 1869. Milan's return to Serbia didn't last long because very quickly he got into a conflict with his son. A week after his departure, queen Natalija was allowed to return to Serbia.^[4] Natalija invited Alexander to come to Biarritz. When he went to visit his mother, he met Draga, who was 12 years older than he was, and immediately fell in love with her. Natalija knew about this affair, but she didn't pay much attention to it, believing that it is only a short-lived adventure.

In the meantime, the progressivist Stojan Novaković formed a new Government. On his father's demand, king Alexander paid a visit to Vienna, where, as a sign of a Austro-Serbian friendship, he awarded the Austrian Minister of Finance Béni Kállay, who was also the Minister for Bosnia and Herzegovina. This wasn't well received in Serbia because of the Austro-Hungarian tendency to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[4]

Marriage to Draga Mašin Lunjevica

King Alexander I and Queen Draga

King Alexander invited his father to return once more to Serbia. Upon the arrival of the former King Milan to Serbia on October 7th 1897, a new Government was formed with Vladan Đorđević as a new Prime Minister. Milan was appointed the position of the Supreme Commander of the Active Army of Kingdom of Serbia. Together with the new Government, Milan tried to find a suitable princess from some Western court to be Alexander's bride. However, they didn't know that Alexander was regularly meeting with Draga.

Due to the growing engagement of King Milan in daily Serbian political life, and especially due to his anti-radical policy, an unemployed worker tried to assassinate Milan on June 24th 1899. Then Milan began to reckon with the radicals in all ways. However, Alexander now had to find a way to get rid of his father so he could marry Draga; therefore he decided to send King Milan and the Prime Minister Đorđević away from the country. Under the pretext of the need to negotiate his marriage to German Princess Alexandra zu Schaumburg-Lippe, Alexander sent his father to Karlsbad, and Prime Minister Đorđević to Marienbad to sign a contract with Austro-Hungary.^[4] As soon as he removed the opponents, Alexander was able to announce his engagement to Draga Mašin.

King Alexander's popularity further declined after his marriage with Draga Mašin, the former lady-in-waiting of his mother Queen Nataly, and widow of engineer Svetozar Mašin. Draga was 12 years older than Alexander. At that time it was very unusual for a king or heir to the throne to marry a woman who was not a member of the nobility. Alexander's father, the former king Milan Obrenović, did not approve of the marriage, and declined to return to Serbia. He died in Vienna in 1901. Another opponent of the marriage was the Dowager Queen Nataly, who wrote a letter to Alexander containing all the ugliest rumors circulating in Russia regarding Draga. Minister of foreign affairs Andra Đorđević visited Belgrade Metropolitan and asked him to refuse to give blessing. Alexander also visited the Metropolitan and threatened that he will abdicate if he can't get blessing. As sign of protest, entire Đorđević's government resigned. Among the fiercest opponents to marriage was Đorđe Genčić, minister of interior in Vladan Đorđević's government. Due to his public condemnation of the engagement, Alexander jailed him for seven years. Situation was solved by Russian tzar Nicolas Romanov who agreed to be Alexander's honorary best man.

The wedding took place on 23 July 1900, and one of officers in procession was Dragutin Dimitrijević Apis. Due to strained relations with the outside world on account of his marriage, King Alexander's foreign policy then turned to Russia. The King also had previously released from prison, the radicals accused of backing the Ivandan attempt on former king Milan.

After the death of his father Milan, King Alexander, as a sign good will, due to the Queen's alleged pregnancy (a public secret was the fact she was sterile since an accident in her youth, which Alexander refused to believe), pardoned all political prisoners, including Đorđe Genčić and remaining radicals, and on 20 March 1901 put together a new government led by the radical Mihailo Vujić. The government consisted of representatives from People’s Radical party and Liberal Party. King Alexander then brought new octroyed constitution, whose main feature was the introduction of bicameral system which consisted of the Senate (upper house) and National Assembly (lower house). New constitution gave the monarch right to appoint majority of senators in Senate, that should defend his interests.

The false pregnancy of Queen Draga created a huge problem for King Alexander. The first reaction came from Russian Tsar Nicholas II who didn’t want to receive the king and queen in the latter's planned visit to Russia. Alexander blamed radicals for it, made a new coup and installed a government headed by General Dimitrije Cincar-Marković on 6 November 1902.^[4]

Due to the increasing repulsion by the Russian court, in autumn of 1902 King Alexander tried to again approach to Austria. Even earlier he took some steps. Already in January 1902 King Alexander sent to Vienna his personal secretary with the promise that it will solve the question of his successor in agreement with the neighboring monarchy, by adopting one of the descendants of female line of Obrenovićs, who lives in Austria-Hungary.^[4] On the other hand, Draga believed that Alexander can adopt her brother Nikodije Lunjevica.

Dimitrije Tucović organized a rally of dissatisfied workers and students on 23 March 1903. The rally turned into open conflict with police and army, resulted in the deaths of six people. Knowing that he would not be able to win new elections, the king staged two coups within one hour. With the first coup Alexander abolished his octroyed constitution and disbanded the Senate and National Assembly. After that the king appointed new people in the Senate, the State Council and the courts. Then the king with the second coup, restored the constitution he had abolished just few hours earlier.^[4] After this, the government conducted elections on 18 May 1903 (31 May by Gregorian calendar) of which the government won. This was the final political victory for King Alexander I.

Army officers conspiracy

Dragutin Dimitrijević Apis, one of chief conspirators

Junior officers had complained because the Queen’s false pregnancy diminished the international reputation of Serbia. They were also unhappy by the constant temper tantrums thrown by her brother Nikola Lunjevica, himself a junior military officer, who once killed a policeman while being drunk. Nikola, as the king's brother-in-law, also demanded that senior officers report and salute to him.

In August 1901, Cavalry Lt. Antonije Antić (Genčić's nephew), Captains Radomir Aranđelović and Milan Petrović, and lieutenants Dragutin Dimitrijević and Dragutin Dulić organised a plot to assassinate the King and Queen.

The first meeting was on 6 September 1901 in Lt. Antić’s apartment. Later, Lieutenant Milan Marinković and Lieutenant Nikodije Popović joined the conspiracy. According to the original plan, Alexander and Draga were to be killed by knives dipped into potassium cyanide at a party at Kolarac Endowment for the Queen's birthday on 11 September, but the plan failed because the royal couple never arrived. After the details of the plot were laid out among the military ranks, the conspirators decided to acquaint politicians and citizens with their intentions. The plot was first introduced to Đorđe Genčić. Genčić discussed the idea with foreign representatives in Belgrade, and travelled abroad, trying to find out how to receive changes on the Serbian throne if the king died without children. It turned out that Austria-Hungary did not intend to nominate any of the its princes, as it expected difficulties and obstacles put forward by Russia. Russia, for the very same reasons, fearing resistance from Vienna, was not willing to out bid one of its princes. Among conspirator was Aleksandar Mašin, retired staff colonel and brother of Draga's first husband.

Vojislav Tankosić commanded the firing squad that shot Queen Draga's brothers Nikola and Nikodije Lunjevica

Prince Mirko of Montenegro was one of candidate for Serbian throne. However, it was revealed that the candidacy of Peter Karađorđević, who lived as an ordinary citizen in Geneva, would not be met with an obstacle. Therefore, Nikola Hadži Toma, a merchant from Belgrade, was introduced in the plot, and then sent to Switzerland to meet with Peter and acquaint him with the conspiracy. Peter did not want to commit himself to regicide and, relying on his mood, a group of older conspirators, which was headed by General Jovan Atanacković, had tried to impose his opinion that they only force King Alexander to abdicate the throne and exile him from the country. However, the opinion that this would be the worst solution and that may trigger a civil war, was put forward by Captain Dragutin Dimitrijević and accepted, therefore, it was firmly decided that the king and queen should be assassinated.

After another failed attempt to kill the royal couple on the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Belgrade Choral Society, the group decided to stage the killing in the palace, so they decided to recruit officers of Royal guard. Lieutenant Colonel Mihailo Naumović, a grandson of Karađorđe's bodyguard Naum, who was killed together with Karađorđe in Radovanjski Lug in 1817 by order of Miloš Obrenović, and thus having sympathy toward Karađorđevićs, agreed to take part in the plot.

Rumors about plot leaked out in public, but at first the King dismissed them as false and someone's propaganda. Eventually, few officers were brought before military court, but they were acquitted due to lack of evidences. Fearing that they could be discovered, conspirators decide to act on first occasion when Naumović was on charge, on the night between 28 and 29 May (Old Style).

The assassination

The Old Palace, Belgrade, where the coup was staged

The funeral of the royal couple on 29 May 1903.

Artistic view on assassination of the royal couple

The assassination of the royal couple was carried out by the conspirators who were all Army officers led by Captain Dragutin Dimitrijević Apis, who was in the pay of the Russians and the leader of the secret society Ujedinjenje ili Smrt (Union or Death), popularly referred to as the Black Hand, which supported the plot.^[5][6] The killings took place as planned on the night between 28 and 29 May, by the Old Style calendar, which was still in use in Serbia at the time.

The conspirators from the interior arrived in Belgrade the day before, under various pretexts. Together with their Belgrade comrades, they were divided into five groups, spent night in the pubs in town, and were all found in the house officer. King Alexander that night had dinner with his ministers and the Queen's family. Naumović gave sign to conspirators that royal couple asleep by sending one of his subordinates to bring his tippet from his home. After midnight Captain Dragutin Dimitrijević Apis commanded the departure toward the royal palace. At same time Colonel Aleksandar Mašin went to the barracks of 12th regiment to take command over the regiment. Lieutenant Colonel Petar Mišić was preparing with his 11th regiment to depart toward court.

Several units of conspirators surrounded the houses of Prime Minister Dimitrije Cincar-Marković and senior officers loyal to King Alexander. Guard Lieutenant Petar Živković, who was on duty that night, unlocked gate in 2:00 AM. Searching for the royal couple was unsuccessful for nearly two hours. During this time, captain Jovan Miljkovic, an aide who was familiar with conspiracy but refused to take any part, and Mihailo Naumović (by conspirators who didn't know who was he) were killed. Doors of the King’s bedroom were shattered with dynamite, but no one was in bed. Unknown to the others, Apis spotted someone was escaping down the stairs into the courtyard anĕd he thought it was the king, and ran after him. It turned out to be one of the king's loyal guardsman and in the gunfight that erupted, Apis was wounded with three bullets in his chest, but he survived thanks to his strong constitution.

Nervous because of the failure of the search, the approaching dawn, and the disappearance of Apis, who was lying wounded in the basement of the palace, the conspirators believed that the plot failed. So they ordered soldiers to bring the King's first aide-de-camp, General Laza Petrović, who was captured soon as the conspirators entered the courtyard. He was ordered to reveal whether there was a secret room or passageway, threatening to kill him within ten minutes if he failed to comply with their demands. Petrović peacefully waited for the expiration of the deadline. The subsequent course of events is not precisely known.

According to one version, the officers again entered the royal bedhamber and a cavalry lieutenant Velimir Vemić observed a recess in the wall which appeared like a keyhole of a secret door. The King and the Queen were hidden there. According to another version, which is partially accepted for the script of the series The End of Obrenović Dynasty the king and queen were hiding behind the mirror in the royal bedroom. The small room was used for the queen's wardrobe and cupboards closed a hole in the floor, which was the entrance to the secret passage (which was allegedly led to the Russian Embassy, that was located opposite to the palace).

On the conspirators call to came out, Alexander demanded from the conspirators to confirm the oath. According to one version, they did it, and according to the other, they threatened to bomb the palace if Alexander didn't open the passage. After Alexander and Draga came out, artillery captain Mihajlo Ristić fired at them, using all the bullets from his revolver, followed by Vemić and Captain Ilija Radivojević. The King fell dead from the first shot. The Queen tried to save his life by blocking his body with her own. General Petrović was killed immediately afterwards, and the bodies of the king and queen were thrown from a window.

What is certainly known of the events of that night is that the King and Queen were eventually discovered hiding inside a wardrobe, and then both savagely killed; their bodies mutilated, and afterwards tossed from a second floor window onto piles of manure.^[2] Diplomatic correspondent, historian, and author C. L. Sulzberger relates the account given to him by a friend of his, who had personally participated in the assassination under Captain Apis: The assassination squad "burst into the little palace, found the king and queen cowering in a closet (both in silken nightgowns), stabbed them and chucked them out the window onto garden manure heaps, hacking off Alexander's fingers when he clung desperately to the sill".^[2] This account would indicate that King Alexander was killed after he had been thrown out of the palace. The assassination of King Alexander coincided with the 35th anniversary of the assassination of his predecessor Prince Mihajlo. The remains of the royal couple were buried in St. Mark's Church.

St. Mark's Church where the royal couple is buried

In the same night the Queen’s brothers Nikodije and Nikola Ljunjevice were killed by a firing squad commanded by Lieutenant Vojislav Tankosić. Prime Minister General Dimitrije Cincar-Marković and Minister of Military General Milovan Pavlović were also killed in their homes. The third member of Cincar-Marković's government, Interior Minister Velimir Todorović, who was also supposed to be killed, was instead severely wounded, and he lived until 1922.

Aftermath

King Peter I after his coronation (on 21 September 1904)

Members of the new interim government soon gathered under the presidency of Jovan Avakumović. Aleksandar Mašin was appointed as Minister of Civil Engineering, Jovan Atanacković was appointed as Minister of the Army, while Đorđe Genčić became Minister of the Economy. Beside conspirators, members of the new government were: radical Stojan Protić, liberal Vojislav Veljković, leaders of Serbian Independent Radical Party Ljubomir Stojanović and Ljubomir Živković and progresivist Ljubomir Kaljević. Nikola Pašić, Stojan Ribarac and Jovan Žujović also were considered to be members of new government, but were absent from Belgrade in time of overthrow.

The National Assembly had a session on 4 June 1903, voted Peter Karađorđević as King of Serbia and elected the mission which went to Geneva and brought him back to Serbia. He ascended the Serbian throne as Peter I.

The news of the coup was received with mixed feelings by the Serbs. Many who had blamed the king for the situation in the country were satisfied, while those who supported him were disappointed. In parliamentary elections a few days before the coup, the king’s candidate had received a full majority. Angry elements within the army mutinied in Niš in 1904, taking control of the Niš district in support of the fallen king, and demanded that the assassins be tried for their crimes. Their aim was also to show that the army as a whole was not responsible for the coup of May 1903. As a supporter of the Obrenović dynasty, the future field-marshal Živojin Mišić retired in 1904.

International outrage against the coup came swiftly. Russia and Austria-Hungary both vehemently condemned the brutal assassination. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands withdrew their ambassadors from Serbia, thus freezing diplomatic relations, and imposed sanctions, which were abolished in 1905. British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour condemned the assassinations four days later in his speech in House of Commons saying that British ambassador Sir George Bonham was only accredited in front of King Alexander, thus with his death, relations between United Kingdom and Serbia are terminated. Bonham left Serbia on 21 June. British government demanded from Belgrade punishment of regicides as sign of regret. However, the conspirators were so powerful that it was unrealistic for the Serbian government to act on British demands.

Austrian ambassador Konstantin Dumba persuaded Austrian Foreign Minister Agenor Gołuchowski to coordinate with Russian Foreign Minister Vladimir Lamsdorf diplomatically boycott of Serbia until officers evolved in the coup were removed from influential position in government and army. Boycott had almost complete success, as of January 1904 only ambassadors of Greece and Ottoman Empire stayed in Serbia.

Therefore, new King Peter decided to remove from court aide-de-camps that take part in the coup, in the same time promoting them to higher positions. Aleksandar Mašin became acting chief of staff, while colonel Čedomilj Popović became commander of Danube division. This satisfied Russia, that returned its ambassador. This was followed by other states, leaving only United Kingdom and the Netherlands lonely in boycotting new Serbian government.

During the time, Serbian statesmen became more and more nervous because of British (then leading world empire) refusal to reestablish diplomatic relations, especially after Ilinden uprising and due to deteriorating situation in Macedonia. Government of Ljubomir Stojanović was ready to fulfill British demands, but it was Nikola Pašić's government which finally did that. The conspirators were brought to trial, which forced some of them into premature retirement, while some junior conspirators were never been punished for their complicity in the assassination. Dimitrijević was later promoted into rank of colonel and served as officer in the intelligence sector of the Serbian army. British-Serbian diplomatic relation were renewed by decree signed by King Edward VII three years after the May Overthrow.^[7]

After the coup, life in Serbia continued as before, however now with King Peter exerting minimal interference in politics, not wishing to oppose the Black Hand, which had become increasingly powerful. The turnaround in the external policy between Serbia and Austria-Hungary led to the Customs or Pig War, from which Serbia emerged as the victor. With senior conspirators forced into retirement, Dimitrijević was de-facto leader of conspirators. Later in 1914, the Black Hand would order the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo, carried out by members of Mlada Bosna, thus launching World War I.

Dimitrijević and Black Hand were involved in another scandal. Nikola Pašić decided to get rid of the most prominent members of the Black Hand movement, by then officially disbanded. Dimitrijević and several of his military colleagues were arrested and tried on false charges blaming them with attempted assassination of regent Alexander I Karađorđević. On May 23, 1917, following the so-called Salonika Trial, Colonel Dimitrijević, Major Ljubomir Vulović and Rade Malobabić were found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. A month later, on June 11, 24 or 27, they were executed by firing squad. After World War II, Apis and his associates were rehabilitated.

See also

• Serbian Revolution
• Alexander I of Serbia
• Black Hand
• White Hand
• Mlada Bosna
• Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
• Salonika Trial

References

1. ^ C. L. Sulzberger, The Fall of Eagles, p.202
2. ^ ^{a b c} Sulzberger, p.202
3. ^ Sulzberger, p.201
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Ćorović, Vladimir (1997). Istorija srpskog naroda. http://www.rastko.rs/rastko-bl/istorija/corovic/istorija/7_18.html. 
5. ^ Sulzberger, pp.202, 221
6. ^ Note:Although Foreign Affairs correspondent and historian C. L. Sulzberger states in his book The Fall of Eagles that The Black Hand was already formed by May 1903, author Micheal Shackelford claims the society came into existence under the name The Black Hand on 9 May 1911
7. ^ Slobodan G. Marković. "Kriza u odnosima Kraljevine Srbije i Velike Britanije". NIN. http://www.nin.co.rs/2003-05/29/29150.html. Retrieved 20 July 2010. 

Further reading

• C. L. Sulzberger The Fall of Eagles, Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, 1977