Filenews 4 October 2020
*Dr. Andreas Karyos and Dr. Giannis Ioannou
A well-preserved pistol, located in the arsenal of the EOKA, FN-1910 of FN Herstal Belgium, adds a number of new elements to the organization's weapons and at the same time "unites" the national liberation struggle of 1955-1959 with two other historical events. The Irish struggle for independence and a series of historical events that led to the outbreak of The First World War (First World War). Common element a pistol, small in size, with design roots, as demonstrated by its type in the distant... 1910!
A pistol in Cyprus - The FN-1910 pistol or simply Browning 1910 was one of the most historically small semiautomatic pistols on the European continent. John Moses Browning's original, pre-war plan was widely used on the European market before the outbreak of the First World War, and remained in production post-war until 1983, being a weapon used by many national armies and police forces. With a caliber of .380 ACP (9mm Browning) or 7.65mm/.32 ACP (9mm Browning Short) the compact-sized pistol included many innovative features such as barrel change (and caliber) as well as design innovations such as triple-type safety. Due to its size, the pistol gained a formidable reputation in use for illegal acts and, a few times, linked its name to political assassinations, which, as we shall see below, shocked world history.
The FN-1910 located in the collection of the Agos Museum bears a serial number showing its construction on the premises of the city of Herstal, Belgium between 1920-1927. It is .380 ACP caliber (the magazine had a capacity of 6 cartridges, while 7.65mm had 7) with the characteristic black plastic (with the FN logo) handle. Pistols of this type were used, before the start of World War II (WWII), by the French and Dutch armies as well as units of the Serbian army. The investigation did not show how the pistol ended up in the EOKA arsenal.
With regard, however, to its origin, two hypotheses can be made: to be a spoil of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) in the hands of the Greek Army or to end up in Greek hands - and from there in Cyprus - through Crete. In both cases in the hands of the EOKA the pistol ended up having been sent from the geographical area of Greece. In the case of Crete it is worth mentioning that many FN-1910s were the secondary weapon of Luftwaffe officers and non-commissioned officers - to which the German paratroopers who acted in Crete in May 1941 were subject - as a basic grant throughout the Second World War.
With action in Dublin - FN-1910 in addition to the EOKA, however, saw action in Ireland as well. The Irish Question, in the 19th century, was related, among other things, to the refusal of the Irish to be a component of a common British identity (which would include the English, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish) at a time of aspirations for national unification and national uniformity. As regards the dominant tendencies in the Irish political scene, a significant proportion sought to grant autonomy with a separate parliament in Ireland, but without full independence from Great Britain. Another trend was the complete rupture with British sovereignty in the form of the establishment of an independent Irish nation-state. Consequently, uprisings and revolutions against the British were not rare during the 19th century.
The resolution of the Irish Question continued to be pending in the early decades of the 20th century. A product of the climate of emancy that prevailed in the ranks of the Irish, as well as the failure of the British governments to reach a satisfactory solution, was the "Easter Uprising" (1916). The uprising was organized by the Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a secret organization aimed at ending British rule and creating an Irish independent democratic state. The armed uprising broke out on 24 April 1916 and lasted six days, until its violent repression by British forces. Patrick Pearce played an important role in the evolution of events. The rebels, consisting of some 1,200 Irish (men and women) armed volunteers, moved unannounced, occupied strategic points in Dublin and proclaimed the Irish Republic.
Eventually, British supreme military forces (about 20,000) and artillery bombardment of rebel positions forced the latter into unconditional surrender. After the suppression of the uprising martial law was imposed, while more than 3,500 Irish were imprisoned and 1,800 sent to concentration camps in Britain. The leaders of the uprising, including Pierce, were tried by a court-martial and executed by the British. An essential derivative of the Easter Rising was its influence on Irish public opinion in promoting the Irish Question: feelings of reaction to the repressive policy of the British gave a huge boost to the predominance of independence and not to ireland's until then preference for autonomy as a form of resolving the Irish Question.
The FN-1910, then, was the main weapon (see photo) brought by Patrick Pierce, pioneer of the Irish Revolution of 1916 and an important figure in the ideological context of the provisional IRA struggle afterwards.
The interconnection with Sarajevo - FN-1910, however, bears a significant share of responsibility, literally, and for the 40,000,000 dead of the First World War, having taken part in an event that was a turning point in world history: it was the pistol with which Archdukas Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was murdered on 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina was under Austro-Hungarian occupation and administration following a decision of the Berlin Congress (1878), which legalized the secret agreement concluded between Russia and Austria-Hungary to take over the administration of the region in exchange for neutrality during the Russian-Turkish War (1877-1878) which ended with the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. The occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the control of Novi Pazar's Sandzaki, assisted Austria-Hungary's plans for regional hegemony by preventing Serbia's union with Montenegro. At the same time, it was given the opportunity to pursue an expansionary policy towards Thessaloniki and the Aegean, if it wished. Three decades later, during the Bosnian Crisis (1908-1909), Austria-Hungary formally annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. This action was accompanied by strong reactions from Serbia, which wanted to bring together all the South Slavic (Yugoslav) populations, including those residing in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The realisation that a conventional war conflict with the militarily prosperous (and main market for Serbian products) Austria-Hungary would not result in a positive result reinforced the establishment of organisations that were ready to use all means (including political assassinations) to stem Austro-Hungarian expansionism in the Balkans.
Among these organisations was the "Black Hand". This secret organisation, in addition to the desire to prevent Austro-Hungarian imperialism, also aimed to bring all South Slavs into line at serbia's initiative. The leader of the group undertook the training of some members, whose mission would be the assassination of the successor to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Francis Ferdinand. The conspirators, including the young Bosnian Serb Gabrielo Princip, went to Sarajevo carrying four 7.65mm FN M-1910 pistols, six grenades and suicide pills.
The attack finally took place on June 28, 1914, the day of Francis Ferdinand's visit to Sarajevo, and the anniversary of a holy day for Serbs, the Battle of Kosovo (1389). Around 10:10 a.m., a failed bombing attempt was carried out by one of Princip's comrades. A few hours later the car in which the Crown Prince and his wife Duchess Sophia were on board abruptly stopped at a very close distance from where Princip was standing. The latter was fatally struck with his FN M-1910, from a close distance, Francis Ferdinand and Sophia (whom he accidentally shot while trying to kill Bosnia and Herzegovina's governor General Oscar Potiorek), leading the developments to a spiral of events brought about by the outbreak of the First World War. Princip's pistol is rescued today (see photo) at a museum in Vienna.
Dr. Andreas Karios is a historian and scientific associate of the Agony Museum.
Giannis Ioannou is an internationalist and co-founder of Geopolitical Cyprus (www.geopoliticalcyprus.org)