Political Effectiveness

When Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was assassinated at Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, Italy's political leaders detected a chance to attain territorial goals within Europe which would complete the Risorgimento and also ease the naval situation in the Adriatic, where Austrian bases on the Dalmatian coast posed a standing threat to Italy. Although it was formally a partner of Vienna and Berlin as a member of the Triple Alliance, Italy had already made it clear that it did not regard itself as bound to come to the aid of either party in an aggressive war – and the letter of the treaty backed it in taking this stance. Accordingly, in mid-July and before he realized how far Vienna intended to go, the Italian foreign minister Di San Giuliano took his stand on Article VII of the Triple Alliance treaty and insisted that Italy must have adequate territorial compensation for any Austrian advance. Concrete goals were not difficult to identify. The outbursts of irredentism which had intermittently imperilled relations with Austria-Hungary for forty years pointed inexorably at the Trentino and Trieste; a well–established Italian interest in Albania could be further strengthened; and the government was fully aware of the views of the navy on the strategic significance of the eastern coast of the Adriatic.