The Trigger (37 page)

– Die Spur führt nach Belgrad: Die Hintergründe des Dramas von Sarajevo 1914, 1978, Fritz Molden

Rudolf Zistler: How I Came To Defend Princip and the Others, 1937, Ljubljana

The journey at the spine of The Trigger was made in the high Balkan summer of 2012 yet important steps began long before and continued long after. For the help I received from many people over many years, I will remain eternally grateful.

No traveller in Bosnia could ask for a better companion than Arnie Hećimović. And old friends who helped me in the 1990s as an ingénu foreign correspondent again gave generous support: Amela Filipović, Tamara Levak Potrebica and Aleksandra Nikšić.

My journey through the place and history of Bosnia and Serbia was added to by many including: Mile Princip and his family, Zdravko Lučić, Josip Tomas, Avdo, Adis and Tess Hećimović, Eloise Grout, Nick Penny, Božo Čičak, Ljupko Kuna, Kemal and Elma Tokmić, Muzafer Latić, Ahmed ‘Sini’ Begičević, Nadja Ridžić, Drago and Marija Taraba, Damir Osmanović, Father Branko, Paul Lowe, Elma Kafedžić Haverić, Ed Serotta, Jakob Finci, Jan Munk, Ivar Petterson, Mirsad Kurgaš, Džile Omerović, Sefer Zahid, Martin Böhnlein, Paul Leslie, Svjetlana Trifković and her colleagues at the Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Centre, Nigel and Clare Casey, Rob Tomlinson, Fikret Kahrović, the band Franz Ferdinand, Mirza Ibrahimović, Graham Binns, Dan Bradbury, David Harland, Shahid Butt, Darius Guppy, Jo and Carolina Menell, Jamie Maclean, Richard Greene, Celia Hawkesworth, Peter Villiers, David Mantero, David McNeill and colleagues at the Royal Geographical Society, Amber Paranick, Margaret Hrabe, Marian Eksteen, Josh Irby, David DeVoss, Ian Mathie, Sylvie Nickels, Cherie Collins, Michael Smith, Mike Smith, Nick Alexander and Maggie Matheson.

And archival research was made easier by many. In Austria – Klaus Honisch, Helga Fichtner, Brigitte E. Leidwein, Gerhard Floszmann, Georg Rütgen, Christoph Hatschek and Sue Wodmans. In Turkey – Murat Siviloglu, Ayten Ardel and Sinan Kuneralp. In Germany – Angelika Betz and her colleagues from the Bavarian State Library and Count Rupert Strachwitz. For RAF/RFC history – Gareth Morgan, Oliver Woodroffe, Andy Kemp and his colleagues from The First World War Aviation Historical Society, Andrew Renwick and colleagues at the Royal Air Force Museum and Thomas Allen and his colleagues at the Special Collections department of the University of Texas.

In Sarajevo, I was helped immensely by Haris Zaimović, Saša Beltram, Jasmin Halilagić and their colleagues at the Sarajevo Historical Archives. Further assistance came from others including Sandra Biletić, Mihret Alibasić, Alma Leka, Adnan Busuladžić, Andrea Dautović, Hrvoje Potrebica, Salmedin Mesihović, Amir Duranović, Edin Radušić, Goran Milkulvić, Bruno Peskovan, Amra Madžarević, Mirsad Avdić, Guido van Hengel and Paul Miller.

In Belgrade, Miloš Paunović and Gavrilo Petrović assisted tirelessly and skilfully. Others included Slobodan Mandić, Vladimir Tomić, Danica Jovović Prodanović, Miladin Milošević, Ljubodrag Dimić, Andzelija Radović, Sladjana Bojković, Mirjana Slaković, Ivan Obradović and Biljana Grujović.

Special thanks to Poppy Hampson, my editor at Chatto & Windus, and Rebecca Carter, my agent from Janklow & Nesbit. Only we know how much they have added to The Trigger. It has been long in gestation so thanks to Elizabeth Sheinkman and former colleagues at Curtis Brown who helped at its conception.

No author could ask for finer pastoral care than that given by Stanley and Lisette Butcher, Patrick and Marilyn Flanagan and Susanne Bittorf, who provided the perfect writing space. And, as ever, my greatest debt is for the love of Jane, Kit and Tess.

INDEX

Aćamović, Sonja, 81–4

Ahmići massacre (1993), 144

al Hazmi, Nawaf, 140

al Mihdhar, Khalid, 140

al-Qaeda, 140

Albertini, Luigi, 13–14, 254–5, 278

Alexander II, Tsar, 188

All Quiet on the Western Front, 10–11

Andrassy, Gyula, 55

Andrić, Ivo, 51, 97, 109, 153, 180, 193

Apis see Dimitrijević, Dragutin

Artstetten Castle, 85, 289

Austria–Hungary see Habsburg Empire

Bakunin, Mikhail, 189–90

Balkan Wars (1912–13), 26, 239–40, 247

Balkans: ethnic mix, 18; etymology, 23; history, 18, 23, 47–8; languages spoken, 30; relationship to West, 189, 191–2; religion and identity, 47–8; see also individual countries by name

Banja Luka, 46, 134, 136, 138

bears, 32, 126–7

Behr, Ferdinand, 19, 277

Belgrade: Bosnian community, 241–2; Golden Sturgeon café, 241, 244–5; GP lives in, 26–7, 203, 237–47; Green Wreath Square, 241, 243–5, 252; Kalemegdan Park, 245–6, 249–50; Knez Mihailova, 245; National Military Museum, 245; present day, 243–7, 258; Topčider Forest and Park, 252–3; Turkish fortress, 237–8, 245; Vojvoda Vuk Park, 246–7

Berlin, Congress of (1878), 54–5

Binyon, Laurence, 4

Black Hand (Crna Ruka; Union or Death), 239, 253–5

Blackadder Goes Forth (TV series), 10, 15

Bogomilism, 48

Bond, James (fictional character), 118

Bosna River, 129, 265, 290

Bosnia: attitude to communist era, 124–5; attitude to outsiders, 97, 109; Bosnian community in Belgrade, 241–2; country life, 34, 42, 43–4; ethnic loyalties, 103–10; Habsburg annexation (1908), 194–8; Habsburg occupation, 54–8, 102–3, 166–7; history, xx, 18, 23, 48–58; national identity, 134, 175–6; Ottoman occupation, 49–53, 149, 164–6; radical politics in early 20th century, 188–92; religion, 48; in Second World War, 115–25, 138–9; self-sufficiency of local families, 83; under Tito, 114–16

Bosnian War (1990s): Ahmići massacre, 144; aid convoy attack, 96–7; Bosnian attitude to British soldiers, 96, 97; Bugojno area, 32, 108–10, 114; checkpoints, 95; Croat experience, 78–81, 92, 104–10, 125, 138–9, 144, 216, 233–4; Dayton Peace Accords, 80, 239; and Drina bridge, 51; ethnic tensions in, 104–10; impact and legacy, 103, 152–4; jihadis in, 139–43; and Mount Igman road, 154–9; Muslim experience, 78, 106–10, 144, 149–54, 155–6, 212–34; in Sarajevo, xvii–xx, 16, 155–6, 289–90, 291–2; Šator area, 77–81, 92; Serbian attitude to now, 249–50; Serb experience, 77–81, 106, 108, 110, 138–9, 164, 212–34; Srebrenica, 28–9, 212–34, 249–50, 256–7; Stupni Do, 106; UN peacekeepers, 108–9, 155, 214–15, 217, 218; in Vitez, 145–8

Bozić, Ačim and Staka, 178, 186

Britain: annual remembrance service, 19–20; and Bosnian War, 96, 97, 217; and First World War, 12–13, 14, 288; racism in 1970s, 140–1; radicalism in 19th and early 20th centuries, 188; stability, 126; and Tito, 28, 117, 118, 119–20

Brooke, Rupert, 6, 10

Buchanan, John, 5

Bugojno, 32, 33, 108–10, 114, 128–30

Bukovac, Djulaga, 248, 252

Bulgaria, 204, 240, 247

bullfighting, 154

Butt, Shahid, 140–3

Čabrinović, Nedeljko: background, 291; tells GP about Franz Ferdinand’s visit to Sarajevo, 251; joins assassination plot, 252; journey to Sarajevo for the assassination, 255–6, 257–8; weapons, 270; throws grenade at Franz Ferdinand, 271–2; arrest, 272; trial, 278–81

Chetniks, 116–17, 119

Christianity: in Bosnia, 52; influence in the Balkans, 47–8; in Sarajevo, 164; see also religion

Churchill, Winston, 6–7, 28, 117, 118, 119–20

Ciganović, Milan, 252–4, 255

cluster bombs, 220

coffee, 82–3

Conrad, Joseph, 126

Crna Ruka see Black Hand

Croatia: Bosnian Croats, 103–4, 145, 164; Croats and Bosnian War, 78–81, 92, 104–10, 125, 138–9, 144, 216, 233–4; Croats and religion, 48; Croats in Second World War, 116, 138–9; foundation, 105–6; history, 18, 23, 105

Croatian War (1990s), 105–6

Čubrilović, Vaso, 269–70, 274, 278–81

Davison, Emily, 188

Dayton Peace Accords (1995), 80, 239

Dedijer, Vladimir: on Franz Ferdinand’s assassination, 254, 273; on GP’s life, 17, 168, 174, 179, 180, 193–4; on Ilić, 192; life during Second World War, 123; on life of young Bosnians in Belgrade, 241

Dimić, Ljubodrag, 250

Dimitrijević, Dragutin (Apis), 254

Diocletian, Emperor, 23

Divjak, Jovan, 116

dogs, 81–2

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, 189–90

drenjak, 82, 83

Drina River, 51, 211, 213, 256, 261

Dumas, Alexandre, 193

Dumas, Alexandre (Serbian driver), 259

Durrell, Lawrence, 111

Evans, Sir Arthur, 31, 63, 73, 164, 166, 170

Exit music festival, 30

Farish, Linn (‘Slim’), 121

Filipović, Amela, 171–3

First Balkan War (1912–13), 26, 239–40, 247

First World War (1914–18): enduring sense of loss, 8–10, 294; Gallipoli, 13; impact, 10–13; Italian Front, 11–12; morality, 3–4, 294; origins, 13–15, 287–8, 294; remembrance, 3–10, 19–20; trench conditions, 7–8, 10–11

fishing, 58, 110–12

Fleming, Ian, 118

Franz Ferdinand, Archduke: appearance, background and character, 266–8; private estate, 85; and hunting, 127, 266; marriage, 267–8; assassination plot, 27–8, 251–5, 268–70; GP’s fellow conspirators, 18–19, 113–14, 252, 268–9; GP’s motives for assassination, 17, 19, 67–8, 247–50; Sarajevo visit, 265–8; assassination, 15, 19, 270–7; limousine being driven in when shot, 130, 287, 288–9; books about assassination, 16; assassins’ trial, 279–81; assassination’s role in starting First World War, 15, 287–8, 294; tomb, 289; memorials to, 292; plaques marking assassination site, 292–3, 294–5

Franz Ferdinand (band), 134, 136–8

Franz Joseph, Emperor, 268, 273

Freemasons, 253

Fronius, Hans, 199–200, 211, 271, 272

Gaddafi, Muammar, 127

Gallipoli campaign (1915), 13

Germany: Bosnian attitude to, 204; Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia, 116–25; and origins of First World War, 13, 14, 288

Glamoč, 88, 94–5, 97–8, 103–4

Glamoč plain, 88, 94–7, 115–16, 117, 121–5

Gorky, Maxim, 189–90

Grabež, Trifko: background, 246; in Belgrade, 246–7; GP persuades to join assassination plot, 252; journey to Sarajevo for the assassination, 255–8; weapons, 270; role in assassination, 274; arrest and trial, 278–81; tomb, 296

Grahovo, 64, 66–67

Greece, 18, 23, 117, 240

Gunther, John, 167, 189

Habsburg Empire: annexation of Bosnia (1908), 194–8; and Balkans, 18; history, 25, 49, 50; maps, 85; occupation of Bosnia, 54–8, 102–3, 166–7; and origins of First World War, 14, 288; political opposition, 25–6; reaction to Bosnian radicals, 190–1; Serbia, relationship with, 238–9

Hadžići, 154, 156

Hardy, Bob, 137

Harrach, Count Franz, 275, 276–7

Hećimović, Arnie: on Tito, 114–15; and Bosnian War, 144, 149–54; hired as translator for author’s trip through Bosnia, 35–6; start of journey, 41, 42; in Obljaj, 43–4, 46, 50, 58, 65, 67, 69; journey to and over Mount Šator, 73–7, 81–9, 91–6, 98; journey from Glamoč to Bugojno, 101, 110–11, 112, 125–6, 128–30; trip to airstrip near Glamoč, 123–4; bus journey to Sarajevo, 133–4, 139, 143–9, side trip to Banja Luka, 134–6; Franz Ferdinand gig, 136–8

Hedges, William and James, 5

Hellidon: St John the Baptist church, 4–5

Hemingway, Ernest, 12

Herzegovina, 24, 55, 73–4, 110

Hitler, Adolf, 11, 25, 116, 193, 295

Holbrooke, Richard, 158–9

horns, made from hazel bark by shepherds, 76

Igman, Mount, 154–60, 233, 290

Ilić, Danilo, 192, 269–70, 278–81, 296

Ilić, Stoja, 168, 291

Ilidža: Hotel Bosna, 265, 289–90

Irby, Adeline, 53–4

Isakovica, 256, 261

Islam: Bosnian Muslims, 110–15, 128, 170; Bosnian Muslims in Bosnian War, 78, 106–10, 144, 149–54, 155–6, 212–34; influence in Balkans, 48; influence in Bosnia, 51–3; jihadis in Bosnian War, 139–43; and Sarajevo, 164–5, 204–5

Italy, 11–12, 117

Jajce, 118, 134–6

James, Alyn Reginald, 8–10

Janissaries, 165

Jasenovac, 116

Jevdjević, Dobroslav, 65, 194

Jevrem (Serbian nobleman), 260

Jews, 165

Jolie, Angelina, 206

Joyce, James, 25

Kapranos, Alex, 137

Karadžić, Radovan, 250

kilims, 33–4, 149

Kipling, Rudyard, 7

Knight, Donald, 125

Kosovo, battle of (1389), 268

Koviljača, 255–6

Kropotkin, Peter, 189–90, 199

Kuna, Ljupko, 126–7, 129

Kupres, 126

Kupres, Gates of, 110

Kurtović, I., 175

landmines, 33, 36, 84, 92–3, 103, 111

Lašva valley, 139, 143–4

Latić, Muzafer, 110–12, 113–15

Lenin, V.I., 191

Levak, Tamara, 148

Levitt, Jan, 282

Livno, 102

Lučić, Zdravko, 104–5, 108–10, 123–5, 150, 152

Lutyens, Sir Edwin, 19

MacLean, Alistair, 117

Maclean, Fitzroy, 118–23, 125, 127, 130, 134

Major, John, 189

Mandela, Nelson, 159

Marić, Špiro, 67

Marš Mira see Peace March

Marx, Karl, 13, 189–90

Medjugorje, 93

Mehmed-paša Sokolović, 51

Memedbašić, Mehmed, 113–14, 269–70, 271, 278

Mihailović, Draža, 116

Milan (Princip family friend), 86–9, 91, 92

Milošević, Slobodan, 79–80, 213, 239

minarets, 128

minefields see landmines

Mitrinović, Dimitrije, 191

Mlada Bosna see Young Bosnia

Mladić, Ratko, 250

Mohammed, Khalid Sheikh, 140

Montenegro, 240

Morillon, General Philippe, 214

Morris, William, 13, 199

Mostar, 106–8, 190, 191

mujahideen, 139–43

mushrooms, 75

nationalism, 211–12, 238–40, 247–50, 296–7

NATO, 215–16, 233, 290

Netherlands, 217, 218

Nightingale, Florence, 54 9/11, 140

Obljaj: and Bosnian War, 233–4; GP visits, 197; in GP’s day, 58–60; GP’s family home, 42–3, 61–2, 68; under Habsburgs, 57, 197; location, 24, 41; present day, 41–4; under Ottomans, 52, 53

Oh! What a Lovely War (film), 10

Omerović, Džile, 224–9, 230–1, 234

Only Fools and Horses (TV series), 223, 261

Operation Storm (1995), 79, 80–1, 92, 110

Osmanović, Selman and Ferida, 233, 234

Ottoman Empire: administration, 50–1; conquest of Balkans, 47, 48; occupation of Bosnia, 49–53, 149, 164–6; expelled from Balkans in Balkans Wars, 239–40; Young Turks, 188