Young Bosnia

Young Bosnia (Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian: Mlada Bosna or Млада Босна) was a revolutionary movement active before World War I. The members were predominantly school students who were ethnic Serbs, but included Bosniaks. The motivation and goals of the group is disputed among historians between either being a Serbian nationalist (Unification of Serbs under foreign rule) or a Pan-Yugoslav (Unification of South Slavs, Pan-Slavic) organization.

It was formed during 1900s in Bosnia and Herzegovina (an annexed condominium of Austria-Hungary), with significant influence from neighbouring Serbia.

Two notable organizations are often referred to under the banner Young Bosnia: Narodna Odbrana and Black Hand. During a Serbian kangaroo court in French-occupied Salonika in 1916-1917, Chief of Serbian Military Intelligence Dragutin Dimitrijević Apis testified that he had organized the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, in Sarajevo on June 28th, 1914, (the assassin was Gavrilo Princip). In the process, he used not only his power over elements of the Serbian military, but also the Black Hand. Leaders of the Black Hand in turn had penetrated Narodna Obrana and used the Narodna organization to infiltrate the arms and assassins into Sarajevo.

The Serbian National Organization of Petar Kočić had ties with the Young Bosnia. They participated in the assassination of Archduke francis Ferdinand which ultimately, led to world war one.

"The political union of the Yugoslavs was my basic idea I am a Yugoslav nationalist, aiming for the unification of all Yugoslavs, and I do not care what form of state, but it must be free from Austria"
-Gavrilo Princip during his trial

Claimed members of Young Bosnia who participated in the assassination were:

• Gavrilo Princip
• Nedeljko Čabrinović
• Vaso Čubrilović
• Trifko Grabež
• Danilo Ilić
• Muhamed Mehmedbašić
• Cvjetko Popović
• Miško Jovanović
• Veljko Čubrilović
• Vladimir Gaćinović, member of Young Bosnia, Narodna Odbrana and Black Hand