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Serbi Rumania and Montenegro came inde ndent cau Franz Josef had remained neutral during the conflict, Austria was rmitt to cupy snia and Herzegovin two small principalities rdering on r bia Austria governed the territories wisely and the ople in them were well off under Austrian administration, but the stage was t for two problem conflict with rbia, which felt she should rule the territories, and conflict with Ru ia, which wanted to the dominant wer in the Balkans. In Octo r 1879 Bismarck concluded an alliance with Austria With the addition of Italy in 1 2, the alliance w known as the Triple Alliance. Franz Josef intended the alliance to primarily defensive to counter the owing Ru ian wer in the Balkan Italy was added that if Ru ia should attack Germany or Austria, they wouldn't have to worry a ut Italy's coming in on Ru ia's side.
In March 1 Kai r Wilhelm died after a long rei He was suc
ceeded by his n Frederick who was already dying of cancer and ruled
only day On June 15 his 29-yearo- ld n came Kai r Wilhelm 11
Wilhelm was an egotistical man who wanted to the le wer in the
realm, in 18 he dismi d Bismarck. He maintained the alliance with
Austria, but felt that Germany should the dominant partner. Neverthe
o
The Em ror was not to know ace in his r nal life, however. Eli th was off on her in t travels and channeled all her emotional energy into an o ive love for her youngest daughter Valerie. But an even greater problem was the Crown Prince, Archduke Rudolf, Franz J fs only n Rudolf was enamored of li ral ideas and op d to his father's licie He drank compulsively, k to apathy and di lution, l ked much older than his thirty y He tot y lacked h father's lf i ipline and n of duty and hono he herited his mother's emotional instability. Finally, in January 1 9 he committed sui cide at Mayerling, the royal hunting l ge. Franz J f had no choice but to bury s ief and carry on
Yet another tragedy awaited the Em ror. A fter Rudo s death, Eli th dr d always in black and wandered in tly. In ptemer
b
1898 she was in Geneva, preparing to take a steamer acr the autiful lake. As she walked on deck, a 2 year ld anarchist named Lui rushed up and p hed a inst her. At first the Empr mply ntinued wal ng, then colla d on the d Lucheni had stab d her with a long,
le , in spite of sme rough moments, Franz J f kept Austria at ace for 48 years (from Konig atz to the outbreak of World War I), an amazing achievement
