Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated - Jun 28, 1914 - HISTORY.com Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated Publisher A+E Networks In an event that is widely acknowledged to have sparked the outbreak of World War I, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is shot to death along with his wife by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on this day in 1914. The great Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck, the man most responsible for the unification of Germany in 1871, was quoted as saying at the end of his life that “One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.” It went as he predicted. The archduke traveled to Sarajevo in June 1914 to inspect the imperial armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Ottoman territories in the turbulent Balkan region that were annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908 to the indignation of Serbian nationalists, who believed they should become part of the newly independent and ambitious Serbian nation.

The date scheduled for his visit, June 28, coincided with the anniversary of the First Battle of Kosovo in 1389, in which medieval Serbia was defeated by the Turks. Despite the fact that Serbia did not truly lose its independence until the Second Battle of Kosovo in 1448, June 28 was a day of great significance to Serbian nationalists, and one on which they could be expected to take exception to a demonstration of Austrian imperial strength in Bosnia. June 28 was also Franz Ferdinand’s wedding anniversary. His beloved wife, Sophie, a former lady-in-waiting, was denied royal status in Austria due to her birth as a poor Czech aristocrat, as were the couple’s children. In Bosnia, however, due to its limbo status as an annexed territory, Sophie could appear beside him at official proceedings. On June 28, 1914, then, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were touring Sarajevo in an open car, with surprisingly little security, when Serbian nationalist Nedjelko Cabrinovic threw a bomb at their car; it rolled off the back of the vehicle and wounded an officer and some bystanders.

Later that day, on the way to visit the injured officer, the archduke’s procession took a wrong turn at the junction of Appel quay and Franzjosefstrasse, where one of Cabrinovic’s cohorts, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, happened to be loitering. Seeing his opportunity, Princip fired into the car, shooting Franz Ferdinand and Sophie at point-blank range. Princip then turned the gun on himself, but was prevented from shooting it by a bystander who threw himself upon the young assassin. A mob of angry onlookers attacked Princip, who fought back and was subsequently wrestled away by the police. Meanwhile, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie lay fatally wounded in their limousine as it rushed to seek help; they both died within the hour. The assassination of Franz-Ferdinand and Sophie set off a rapid chain of events: Austria-Hungary, like many in countries around the world, blamed the Serbian government for the attack and hoped to use the incident as justification for settling the question of Slav nationalism once and for all.

As Russia supported Serbia, an Austro-Hungarian declaration of war was delayed until its leaders received assurances from German leader Kaiser Wilhelm that Germany would support their cause in the event of a Russian intervention–which would likely involve Russia’s ally, France, and possibly Britain as well. On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the tenuous peace between Europe’s great powers collapsed. Within a week, Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Serbia had lined up against Austria-Hungary and Germany, and World War I had begun. Related Videos Sarajevo, June 28, 1914 Sarajevo, June 28, 1914 The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Micheal Shackelford Note on Slavic spelling: Due to the current limitations of HTML, certain Slavic characters can not be reproduced. I have chosen to use the same letters, but without the diacritical marks, rather than translitterating. Cabrinovic, for instance, will be spelled as is, and not rendered as Chabrinovitj, or Chabrinovitch.

Accurate orthography accompanies the map shown below Background Events Leading Up to Murder Bosnia and Herzegovina were provinces just south of Austria which had, until 1878, been governed by the Turks. The Treaty of Berlin (1878) settled the disposition of lands lost by the Turks following their disastrous war with Russia. Austria was granted the power to administer the two provinces indefinitely. Bosnia was populated primarily by three groups -- Croats (Roman Catholic), ethnic Serbs (Serb-Orthodox) and Muslims (left from the days of Turkish rule). There is no ethnic group: Bosnians. Many Bosnian-Serbs felt a strong nationalistic desire to have their province joined with that of their Serb brothers across the river in Serbia. Many in Serbia openly shared that desire. The Annexation On October 6, 1908, Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina directly into the Austro-Hungarian empire. The reasons were complex. Annexation would remove any hopes Turkey might have for reclaiming the provinces. Full inclusion into the empire would give Bosnians full rights and privileges.

It may have been an act of will by the Austrians, just to show that they were still an active, sovereign power. For whatever reason, the annexation caused quite a stir in Europe. The move was not exactly legal. Russia, particularly, was upset, even though the Russians had earlier given their consent to the annexation. (Austria was supposed to help Russia in the Dardanelles first) After Austria payed Turkey a cash settlement, most of Europe calmed down. The Serbs, however, did not. They coveted the provinces for their own Serb empire. The Black Hand A secret society called Ujedinjenje ili Smrt, ('Union or Death') was founded in Belgrade, an outgrowth of an older Serb nationalist group: Narodna Odbrana . The Black Hand took over the older group's work of anti-Austrian propaganda within Serbia, sabotage, espionage and political murders abroad -- especially in provinces Serbia wished to annex. The group included many government officials, professionals and army officers. When it was learned that the Heir-Apparent to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand, was scheduled to visit Sarajevo in June of 1914, the Black Hand decided to assassinate him.

Three young Bosnians were recruited, trained and equipped: Gavrilo Princip, Nedjelko Cabrinovic and Trifko Grabez. The Serbian Government Because of its many government and army members, the Black Hand's activities were fairly well known to the Serbian government. When Prime Minister Pasic learned of the assassination plot, he had a difficult problem on his hands. If he did nothing, and the plot succeeded the Black Hand's involvement would surely come to light. The tangled connections between the Black Hand and the Serbian government would put Serbia in a very bad position. It could even bring on war with Austria. Should he warn the Austrians of the plot, he would be seen as a traitor by his countrymen. He would also be admitting to deeper knowledge of anti-Austrian actions in Serbia. A weak attempt was made to intercept the assassins at the border. When that failed, Pasic decided that he would try to warn the Austrians in carefully vague diplomatic ways that would not expose the Black Hand. The Warning The Serbian Minister to Vienna, Jovan Jovanovic, was given the task of warning the Austrians. Because of his extremist, pan-Serb views, Jovanovich was not well received in Austrian Foreign Ministry offices.

He did, however, get along better with the Minister of Finance, Dr. Leon von Bilinski. On June 5, Jovanovic told Bilinski, that it might be good and reasonable if Franz Ferdinand were to not go to Sarajevo. "Some young Serb might put a live rather than a blank cartridge in his gun and fire it." Bilinski, unaccustomed to subtle diplomatic innuendo, completely missed the warning. "Let us hope nothing does happen" he responded good humoredly. Jovanovic strongly suspected that Bilinski did not understand, but made no further effort to convey the warning. Preparations The three Black Hand trainees secretly made their way back to Sarajevo roughly a month before Franz Ferdinand. A fourth man, Danilo Ilic, had joined the group and on his own initiative, recruited three others. Vaso Cubrilovic and Cvijetko Popovic were 17 year old high school students. Muhamed Mehmedbasic, a Bosnian muslim, was added to give the group a less pan-Serb appearance. Four Serbian army pistols and six bombs were were supplied from Serbian army arsenals.

The Visit Franz Ferdinand accepted the invitation of Bosnia's governor, General Oskar Potoirek, to inspect the army manoeuvres being held outside Sarajevo. The Archduke's role as Inspector General of the Army made the visit logical. It had also been four years since a prominent Hapsburg had made a goodwill visit to Bosnia. The visit would also roughly coincide with his 14th wedding anniversary. While his wife Sophie, not being of royal blood, was not permitted to ride in the same car as her royal husband back in Vienna, such taboos did not apply to provincial cities like Sarajevo. During the visit, Sophie would be able to ride beside her husband -- a thoughtful anniversary gift. Security during the visit was not tight. Franz Ferdinand was a brave man and disliked the presence of secret service men. Nor did he like the idea of a cordon soldiers between the crowd and himself. For the most part, Franz Ferdinand was welcomed warmly by the Bosnians. Sarajevo was not seen as hostile territory. Arrangements were not based on the assumption that the streets were lined with assassins. As it was, only Sarajevo's hundred and twenty policemen were at work.

June 28, 1914 At around 10:00 a.m., the archducal party left Philipovic army camp, where Franz Ferdinand had performed a brief review of the troops. The motorcade, consisting of six automobiles was headed for City Hall for a reception hosted by Sarajevo's mayor. The chosen route was the wide avenue called Appel Quay, which followed the north bank of the River Miljacka. In the first automobile rode the Mayor, Fehim Effendi Curcic, and the city's Commissioner of Police, Dr. Gerde. In the second automobile, its top folded down and flying the Hapsburg pennant, rode Franz Ferdinand, Sophie and General Potoirek. The driver and the car's owner, Count Harrach, rode in front. The third automobile in the procession carried the head Franz Ferdinand's military chancellery; Sophie's lady in waiting; Potoirek's chief adjutant, Lieutenant Colonel Merizzi; the car's owner and his driver. The fourth and fifth automobiles carried other members of Franz Ferdinand's staff and assorted Bosnian officials. The sixth automobile was empty -- a spare should one of the others fail.

The morning was sunny and warm. Many of the houses and buildings lining the route were decorated with flags and flowers. Crowds lined the Appel Quay to cheer the imperial couple. Amid the festive crowd mingled seven young assassins. They took up their assigned positions, all but one along the river side of the Appel Quay. First in line was Mehmedbasic, to the west of the Cumurja Bridge. Near him was Cabrinovic. The others were strung out as far back as the Kaiser Bridge. The Bomb The motorcade approached and the crowds began to cheer. As Franz Ferdinand's car passed Mehmedbasic, he did nothing. The next man in line, Cabrinovic, had more resolve. He took the bomb from his coat pocket, struck the bomb's percussion cap against a lamp post, took aim and threw the bomb directly at Franz Ferdinand. In the short time it took the bomb to sail through the air, many small events took place. The car's owner, Count Harrach, hearing the bomb being struck against the lamp post, thought they had suffered a flat tire. "Bravo.

Now we'll have to stop." The driver, who must have seen the black object flying, did just the opposite -- he stepped on the accelerator. As a result, the bomb would not land where intended. Franz Ferdinand, also catching a glimpse of the hurtling package, raised his arm to deflect it away from Sophie. She sat to his right, and so was between Franz Ferdinand and Cabrinovic. The bomb glanced off Franz Ferdinand's arm, bounced off the folded car top and into the street behind them. The explosion injured about a dozen spectators. The third car was hit with fragments and stalled. Merizzi received a bad cut to the back of the head. Others in the party received minor cuts. The first and second cars continued on for a few moments then stopped while everyone assessed who was injured and who was not. After the Bomb Cabrinovic swallowed his cyanide and jumped into the river. The trouble was, the poison was old -- it only made him vomit -- and the river was only a few inches deep. He was quickly seized by the crowd and arrested. The motorcade continued on to City Hall, passing the other assassins. Either because they thought Cabrinovic had succeeded or from lack of resolve, they failed to act.

At City Hall, a furious Franz Ferdinand confronted the Mayor. "Mr. Mayor, one comes here for a visit and is received by bombs! It is outrageous!" After a pause to calm himself, he regained his composure and let the Mayor speak. The Mayor, either completely unaware of what had happened, or personally ill equiped for crises, launched into his prepared speech. "Your Royal and Imperial Highness!...Our hearts are full of happiness..." By the end of the Mayor's speech, Franz Ferdinand had regained his composure and thanked his host for his cordial welcome. Activities at City Hall were observed as planned. Changed Plans Discussions were held as to whether to change the rest of Franz Ferdinand's schedule. The Archduke did not wish to cancel his visit to the museum and lunch at the Governor's residence, but wished to alter his plans to include a visit to Merizzi in the hospital. The same motorcade set out along the Appel Quay, but neither the Mayor's driver, nor Franz Ferdinand's driver had been informed of the change in schedule. This would have been Merizzi's job. The young assassins had counted on succeeding on the first attempt.

With no assurance that Franz Ferdinand would follow his original itinerary, the remaining assassins took up various other positions along the Appel Quay. Gavrilo Princip crossed the Appel Quay and strolled down Franz Joseph Street. He stepped into Moritz Schiller's food store to get a sandwich. As he emerged, he met a friend who inquired about a mutual friend. The Wrong Turn The Mayor's car, followed by Franz Ferdinand's car turned off the Appel Quay and onto Franz Joseph Street, as originally planned, to travel to the museum. General Potoirek leaned forward. "What is this? This is the wrong way! We're supposed to take the Appel Quay!" The driver put on the brakes and began to back up. Franz Ferdinand's car stopped directly in front of Schiller's store -- five feet away from Princip. The Shots Princip was quick to recognize what had happened. He pulled the pistol from his pocket, took a step towards the car and fired twice. General Potoirek happened to look directly at Princip as he fired. He thought the gun's report unusually soft. Both Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were still sitting upright.

Potoirek thought the shots had missed, but given the assult, ordered the driver to drive directly to the Governor's residence. Arrest Princip then turned the gun on himself, but was mobbed by the crowd. Police had to rescue Princip from the crowd before they could arrest him. Princip had swallowed his poison, but it was from the same batch as Cabrinovic's. He was violently ill, but did not die. Mortal Wounds As the car sped across the Lateiner Bridge, a stream of blood shot from Franz Ferdinand's mouth. He had been shot in the neck. Sophie, seeing this, exclaimed: "For Heaven's sake! What happened to you?" She sank from her seat. Potoirek and Harrach thought whe had fainted and were trying to help her up. Franz Ferdinand, knowing his wife better, suspected the truth. Sophie had been shot in the abdomen and was bleeding internally. "Sopherl! Sopherl! " he pleaded. "Sterbe nicht! Bleibe am Leben für unsere Kinder! " (Sophie dear! Sophie dear! Don't die! Stay alive for our children!) The cars rushed to the Governor's residence.

Sophie may have died before they arrived. Franz Ferdinand died shortly afterward. The July Crisis The murders of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie brought Austro-Serbian tensions to a head. Serbia had been fomenting trouble for Austria for many years. For many in Vienna, the double murders provided the 'last straw' for a get-tough showdown. The trail back to the Black Hand would not be unraveled for years to come. Vienna felt she could not wait for conclusive proof and acted based on the mass of circumstantial evidence. As Vienna took a hard line against Serbia, the other powers in Europe took sides. The wheels of war gained speed. The stakes far outgrew the squabble between Austria and Serbia. The Crisis of July turned into world war, just over thirty days after Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were shot. MS Biography of Colonel Dimitrijvic , the mastermind. Biography of Franz Ferdinand , the slain Archduke. Biography of Sophie , Franz Ferdinand's wife. Biography of General Potoirek, Governor of Sarajevo. Biography of Princip , the gunman. Biography of Cabrinovic , the bomber. Biography of Grabez , the third Belgrade man.

Biography of Ilic , the assassin who talked. Biography of Cubrilovic , a young assassin. Biography of Popovic , the other young assassin. Biography of Mehmedbasic , the Muslim who got away. Bibliography Sarajevo: the story of a political murder, by Joachim Remak, 1959. Origins of World War I: 1871-1914, by Joachim Remak, 1967. American Heritage History of World War I, by S.L.A. Marshall, 1982. Black Hand Over Europe, by Henri Pozzi, 1935. Gavrilo Princip -- The spark that ignited World War I Gavrilo Princip The spark that ignited World War I "I am not a criminal, for I destroyed a bad man. I thought I was right." — Gavrilo Princip at his trial June 28, 1914, was a beautiful sunny day in Sarajevo. Gavrilo Princip sat alone and disconsolate at a sidewalk café having coffee.

He and his friends had just failed to execute their mission; to kill the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand. They had lost a chance to strike a blow for Serbian independence. Earlier in the day, Ferdinand and his wife Sophie had arrived by train on an official visit to Sarajevo. The archduke’s advisors knew that a visit to Sarajevo was dangerous because there was a lot of unrest among the populace, but they also knew that it was their duty to go there and "show the flag." Appearances were an important part of keeping the empire together, but they weren’t going to take any unnecessary risks. Ferdinand and Sophie’s motorcade was to travel to city hall for welcoming ceremonies, and 120 Sarajevo policemen had been assigned to the parade route. Princip and the other members of the assassination team had also spaced themselves out and blended into the crowds that lined the parade route. As the open car carrying the Archduke and his wife approached, Nedjelko Cabrinovic, one of Princip’s co-conspirators, threw a bomb, but it bounced off the car and landed in the street.

The bomb exploded under the car that followed, injuring two in the car and several in the crowd. While Cabrinovic was being arrested, the Archduke’s car sped off and eliminated any chance of another assassination attempt. Nedjelko Cabrinovic As Princip sipped his coffee, he must have reflected on how and why he had arrived at this moment. He believed that killing the Archduke was the key to setting events in motion that would result in Serbia asserting its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and then uniting with Bosnia. Ferdinand had already indicated that once he ascended to the throne, he intended to give Serbia a greater voice in running its own affairs. The Empire was practically on life-support as it was, so Serbian and Bosnian radicals couldn’t allow a compromise to spoil their plans. The Archduke had to be eliminated. Gavrilo Princip was born in 1894 in Bosnia, the son of a postman and the fourth of nine children. He attended high school in Sarajevo and Tuzla.

When Austria-Hungry seized his homeland in 1908, he became a member of Mlada Bosna ("Young Bosnia"), a radical student group dedicated to freeing Bosnia from the grip of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Gavrilo attempted to join the Serbian army, but was turned down for being too small and weak. He was recruited by a Serbian revolutionary organization called the Black Hand in 1912. The leader of the Black Hand was Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic, also known as Apis (Bee) the Chief of the Intelligence Department of the Serbian General Staff. He had hatched the plan to kill the Archduke and recruited Princip and two other men from a coffeehouse in Sarajevo. Though it was clearly a suicide mission, it was an easy sell for "the Bee" because his new recruits were all burning with revolutionary fire as well as tuberculosis. At that time (nearly 100 years ago) that was as good as a death sentence. They knew that they would die soon and so had nothing to lose.

Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic The trio was brought to Serbia for partisan training and then were each given a revolver, two bombs, and a small vial of cyanide. They were instructed to commit suicide after the assassination so that the plot could not be traced back to Serbia. Before the plan could be launched, Nikola Pasic, Serbia’s prime minister, heard about the plot and ordered Princip and his co-conspirators arrested when they attempted to enter Bosina. His orders were ignored though, and the trio easily slipped into Sarajevo. All went according to plan—till they blew their chance when the moment of truth arrived. While Princip was finishing his coffee and pondering what had gone wrong, the Archduke’s car arrived at city hall. He mounted the podium and the mayor of Sarajevo began his speech as if nothing had happened. Archduke Ferdinand was quite annoyed and interrupted "What is the good of your speeches? I come to Sarajevo on a visit, and I get bombs thrown at me. It is outrageous!" That was the end of the speeches and they all went inside. Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophie The Archduke inquired about the injured and was told that they were at the hospital.

Ferdinand said he wanted to visit them, but a member of his staff suggested that the trip might be dangerous. General Oskar Potiorek, the Governor of Bosnia scoffed, "Do you think Sarajevo is full of assassins?" Potiorek then suggested that it might be prudent for Sophie to remain at city hall, but she refused saying, "As long as the Archduke shows himself in public today, I will not leave him." Poor Sophie should have listened to Potiorek, but she insisted on staying with Ferdinand because this trip was one of the few times that she had been allowed to appear with her husband in an official ceremony. Back in Vienna, Sophie was an outcast in royal circles because Ferdinand had married below his station. She was not allowed to appear beside him in any official functions in Austria. Ironically, her participation in the ceremonies in Sarajevo was supposed to be a wedding anniversary treat. It was decided that they would all go to the hospital. In what can best be described as either an ill-advised display of bravado or monumental stupidity, the motorcade took the same route they had traveled before.

Along the way the Archduke’s driver took a wrong turn that put Europe on the road to war. Princip was astonished to see the royal car pass right in front of the café where he was standing. When the driver realized that he was going the wrong way, he stopped and began to back up slowly. Princip stepped forward to within five feet of the car, took out his revolver, and fired two shots. Ferdinand was hit in the neck and Sophie was hit in the abdomen. He pleaded "Sophie dear! Sophie dear! Don’t die! Stay alive for our children!" But Sophie was already dead and Ferdinand would be dead within a few moments. Princip fires the fatal shots After firing the fatal shots, Princip attempted to turn the gun on himself, but it was knocked out of his hand by an onlooker. He then swallowed the cyanide he had been issued, but it was so old it only made him vomit. He was arrested by police and according to one account, "They beat him over the head with the flat of their swords.

They knocked him down, they kicked him, scraped the skin from his neck with the edges of their swords, tortured him, all but killed him." No doubt at that point Princip was wishing they would kill him and get it over with. The arrest of Gavrilo Princip Austria-Hungary demanded that Princip and the other assassins be turned over, but Serbia refused, citing its sovereignty and right to try them under Serbian law. Eventually Serbia gave in, but by then it was too late. As a direct result of the assassination, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. Because of various treaties and defense agreements between European countries, one nation after another took sides and the end result was the first World War. Gavrilo Princip at trial Meanwhile, Princip was quickly convicted of murder, but because of his age he could only be sentenced to 20 years in prison. He died of tuberculosis in 1918 at the age of 24 at the hospital of Theresienstadt prison. For many years after, Gavrilo Princip was celebrated as a national hero of Yugoslavia.

A museum was dedicated to Princip in Sarajevo at the corner where the event happened, along with a wall plaque and his footprints embedded in the pavement. When Yugoslavia disintegrated in the 1990s, ethnic differences resulted in war between Bosnia and Serbia. Attitudes changed and Bosnia then considered Princip a terrorist and an unwitting dupe of Serbia. The museum, plaque, and footprints were removed for a few years, but shortly after hostilities between Bosnia and Serbia ended they were replaced with a museum that commemorates the historical importance of the event rather than a tribute to Princip. Museum at the corner where the fatal shots were fired & a close-up of the plaque Princip’s actions that day will always be considered one of the defining moments of the 20th Century. The ultimate costs of World War One in lives and property were truly staggering. In four years of war, over half of the 42 million men who were mobilized became casualties. Over 8 million soldiers and 6 million civilians died. It has been estimated that the war cost the Allies $125 billion and the Central Powers $60 billion, but the costs of the war went far beyond lives and property.

The victors were not kind to the vanquished. The Allies sought revenge by forcing Germany to pay huge sums as war reparations. The German economy collapsed under the weight of those reparations, causing great disaffection and disillusionment among its youth. That set the stage for Hitler to come to power in Germany and drag the entire world into another war just twenty years later. A Century Ago In Sarajevo: A Plot, A Farce And A Fateful Shot : NPR The Latin Bridge in Sarajevo ends at the street corner where Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, on June 28, 1914. Elvis Barukcic/AFP/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Elvis Barukcic/AFP/Getty Images The Latin Bridge in Sarajevo ends at the street corner where Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, on June 28, 1914. Elvis Barukcic/AFP/Getty Images The shot that killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was fired a hundred years ago this weekend.

The assassination in Sarajevo, on June 28, 1914, triggered World War I and changed the course of the 20th century. The consequences of that act were devastating. But the beginning of the story sounds almost like a farce — complete with bad aim, botched poisoning and a wrong turn on the road. Today, a museum marks the spot where the fateful assassination that sparked World War I occurred. Ari Shapiro/NPR Today, in the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, you don't have to hunt around for the spot where it all took place. A big purple banner announces it in white capital letters: "The street corner that started the 20th century." People take photos as streetcars rumble by. And according to Dr. James Lyon, an expert in Balkan history, the street would have looked almost identical a hundred years ago — it just would have had a few more trees. A Route Lined With Flags, Fans ... And Assassins The events of the archduke's assassination make for an unlikely story at every turn. It starts with the almost total lack of security — at the time, Sarajevo had a police force of 200.

"Approximately half or slightly less than half of the police force had turned out that day to provide security for the visit of the crown prince of the entire empire," Lyon says. "And the army was not turned out at all." "The official reason was that the army had been out on maneuvers for the previous two days," he explains. "Their uniforms were muddy and dirty, and they were not presentable." Article continues after sponsorship Also, the people in charge of the archduke's visit decided that it was a good idea to publish the motorcade route in advance. So the path was crowded with people. Bunting, flags and brightly colored carpets hung out the windows — and the would-be assassins knew exactly where to stand. There were seven of them along the parade route, carrying bombs and guns. Most chickened out altogether. Enlarge this image This image, captured by amateur photographer Milos Oberajge on June 28, 1914, was once believed to show Sarajevo police arresting successful assassin Gavrilo Princip. It's now thought to show the arrest of failed co-conspirator Nedeljko Cabrinovic.

Topical Press Agency/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Topical Press Agency/Getty Images This image, captured by amateur photographer Milos Oberajge on June 28, 1914, was once believed to show Sarajevo police arresting successful assassin Gavrilo Princip. It's now thought to show the arrest of failed co-conspirator Nedeljko Cabrinovic. Topical Press Agency/Getty Images Nedeljko Cabrinovic was one exception. He threw a bomb and missed, wounding an official in the motorcade behind the archduke. Franz Ferdinand ordered the driver to stop. He got out and walked back to inspect the damage and the wounded people. Today, if something like that happened, the vehicles would race away from the scene as fast as they could, Lyon says. But not in 1914: "This was European nobility at the turn of the century." Meanwhile Cabrinovic, who threw the bomb, swallowed some poison and jumped into the river below. At that time the river would have been about 6 inches deep, 15 feet below the level of the road. Cabrinovic sprained his ankles and was unable to move.

The poison didn't work, either — it just made him sick. The consequences of this day are hard to overstate: The events triggered a global war in which tens of millions of people died. But when you look at the assassination on its own, it seems almost farcical. "It would be a comic tragedy of errors," Lyon says, "and it would have made for a good Peter Sellers film." After Cabrinovic's failed assassination attempt, Franz Ferdinand gave a speech at Sarajevo's City Hall. Ari Shapiro/NPR The Shot Heard Round The World The furious archduke arrived at City Hall, where the mayor of Sarajevo delivered some totally inappropriate remarks that were written before the assassination attempt. The archduke snapped, "What kind of welcome is this? I'm being met by bombs!" Then he wiped the blood off his prepared speech and addressed the crowd. Afterward, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne got back into his motorcade with his wife, Sophie. They had decided to visit the hospital to see the people who were wounded in the bomb attack. But no one told the driver. At that fateful intersection, the car was supposed to go straight — but it turned right.

A general in the motorcade shouted, "You're going the wrong way!" And the driver stopped the car ... right in front of assassin number seven. The Austro-Hungarian archduke and his wife, Sophie, board a car just prior to his assassination in Sarajevo. AP hide caption toggle caption AP The Austro-Hungarian archduke and his wife, Sophie, board a car just prior to his assassination in Sarajevo. AP Gavrilo Princip, who had missed his chance the first time, was standing on the sidewalk 4 feet away from the car — at the only place on the route where the car stopped. Princip stepped forward and fired two shots. One of them hit Sophie, and the other hit the archduke. Both shots were fatal. As they lay dying in the car, Franz Ferdinand pleaded with his wife, "Stay alive, Sophie, for the sake of the children." Seven Assassins — None A 007 The term "assassins" calls to mind 007 or Mission Impossible — dashing Hollywood archetypes. But in the photos at the museum on the corner, the would-be killers hardly look dashing. They're dirty, sickly, skinny.

"Two of the seven people lying in wait were students," Lyon says. "The other five were professional revolutionaries, people who were unemployed or people who were agitating for national causes." They all seem to have had slightly different motivations — Serbian nationalists, anti-monarchists. But Lyon says they never intended to start a global war. By the time the assassins' trial began, World War I had already broken out. "Each and every one of them said at the trial, and later said during their imprisonment, that had they known that such a horrendous war would ensue, they would never have taken part in the activities of June 28," Lyon says. Some of the conspirators were executed. Others died in prison. All but one are now buried just outside Sarajevo's old city, next to a highway overpass. Earlier this week, the gravesite had one dead rose. Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, 1914 Printer Friendly Version >>> Two bullets fired on a Sarajevo street on a sunny June morning in 1914 set in motion a series of events that shaped the world we live in today.

World War One, World War Two, the Cold War and its conclusion all trace their origins to the gunshots that interrupted that summer day. Berliners cheer a regiment of Lancers headed for the Front. August 1914 The victims, Archduke Franz Ferdinand - heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife Sophie, were in the Bosnian city in conjunction with Austrian troop exercises nearby. The couple was returning from an official visit to City Hall. The assassin, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip burned with the fire of Slavic nationalism. He envisioned the death of the Archduke as the key that would unlock the shackles binding his people to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A third party, Serbia, figured prominently in the plot. Independent Serbia provided the guns, ammunition and training that made the assassination possible. The Balkan Region of Europe entered the twentieth century much as she left it: a caldron of seething political intrigue needing only the slightest increase of heat to boil over into open conflict. The shots that day in Sarajevo pushed the caldron to the boiling point and beyond.

ADVERTISMENT A Royal Murder Seven conspirators joined the crowd lining the Archduke's route to City Hall. Each took a different position, ready to attack the royal car if the opportunity presented itself. The six-car procession approached one conspirator, Gabrinovic (or Cabrinovic), who threw his bomb only to see it bounce off the Archduke's car and explode near the following car. Unhurt, the Archduke and his wife sped to the reception at City Hall. The ceremonies finished, the Royal procession amazingly retraced its steps bringing the Archduke into the range of the leader of the conspiracy, Gavrilo Princip. More amazingly, the royal car stopped right in front of Princip providing him the opportunity to fire two shots. Both bullets hit home. Borijove Jevtic, one of the conspirators gave this eyewitness account: "When Francis Ferdinand and his retinue drove from the station they were allowed to pass the first two conspirators. The motor cars were driving too fast to make an attempt feasible and in the crowd were many Serbians; throwing a grenade would have killed many innocent people. When the car passed Gabrinovic, the compositor, he threw his grenade.

It hit the side of the car, but Francis Ferdinand with presence of mind threw himself back and was uninjured. Several officers riding in his attendance were injured. The cars sped to the Town Hall and the rest of the conspirators did not interfere with them. After the reception in the Town Hall General Potiorek, the Austrian Commander, pleaded with Francis Ferdinand to leave the city, as it was seething with rebellion. The Archduke was persuaded to drive the shortest way out of the city and to go quickly. Members of the crowd try to attack Princip after his capture The road to the maneuvers was shaped like the letter V, making a sharp turn at the bridge over the River Nilgacka [Miljacka]. Francis Ferdinand's car could go fast enough until it reached this spot but here it was forced to slow down for the turn. Here Princip had taken his stand. As the car came abreast he stepped forward from the curb, drew his automatic pistol from his coat and fired two shots. The first struck the wife of the Archduke, the Archduchess Sofia, in the abdomen. She was an expectant mother. She died instantly. The second bullet struck the Archduke close to the heart.

He uttered only one word, 'Sofia' -- a call to his stricken wife. Then his head fell back and he collapsed. He died almost instantly. The officers seized Princip. They beat him over the head with the flat of their swords. They knocked him down, they kicked him, scraped the skin from his neck with the edges of their swords, tortured him, all but killed him." Another Perspective Count Franz von Harrach rode on the running board of the royal car serving as a bodyguard for the Archduke. His account begins immediately after Princip fires his two shots: The Archduke and his wife leave City Hall. Count Harrach rides the running board "As the car quickly reversed, a thin stream of blood spurted from His Highness's mouth onto my right check. As I was pulling out my handkerchief to wipe the blood away from his mouth, the Duchess cried out to him, 'In Heaven's name, what has happened to you?' At that she slid off the seat and lay on the floor of the car, with her face between his knees. I had no idea that she too was hit and thought she had simply fainted with fright.

Then I heard His Imperial Highness say, 'Sopherl, Sopherl, don't die. Stay alive for the children!' At that, I seized the Archduke by the collar of his uniform, to stop his head dropping forward and asked him if he was in great pain. He answered me quite distinctly, 'It's nothing!' His face began to twist somewhat but he went on repeating, six or seven times, ever more faintly as he gradually lost consciousness, 'It's nothing!' Then, after a short pause, there was a violent choking sound caused by the bleeding. It was stopped as we reached the Konak." References: Brook-Shepard, Gordon, Archduke of Sarajevo (1984); Dedijer, Vladimir, The Road To Sarajevo (1966); Morton, Frederick, Thunder At Twilight (1989). How To Cite This Article: "Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, 1914," EyeWitness to History, (1998). Gavrilo Princip (age 19) was sentenced to twenty years of hard labor. He escaped the death penalty because he was under the age of 21.

Three other conspirators were tried including Cabrinovic, the bomb-thrower. He and another under-aged conspirator received a sentence of 20 years hard labor. The 3rd conspirator, Danilo Ilic, was executed on Feb. 3, 1915. Princip died in prison of tuberculosis on April 28, 1918. His two fellow conspirators preceded him in death, also dying of tuberculosis. World War One - Assassination of Franz Ferdinand | HistoryOnTheNet World War One World War One - Assassination of Franz Ferdinand Last Updated: 08/05/2014 - 07:15 28th June 1914 Franz Ferdinand, aged 51, was heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire . He was married to Sophie Chotek von Chotvoka and had three children. Franz Ferdinand was, however, very unpopular because he had made it clear that once he became Emperor he would make changes. The map below, of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1914, shows that Bosnia/ Herzegovnia was controlled by Austria.

Austria had annexed Bosnia in 1908, a move that was not popular with the Bosnian people. Franz Ferdinand decided to visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovnia, to make an inspection of the Austro-Hungarian troops there. The inspection was scheduled for 28th June 1914. It was planned that Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie would be met at the station and taken by car to the City Hall where they would have lunch before going to inspect the troops. A Serbian terrorist group, called The Black Hand , had decided that the Archduke should be assassinated and the planned visit provided the ideal opportunity. Seven young men who had been trained in bomb throwing and marksmanship were stationed along the route that Franz Ferdinand's car would follow from the City Hall to the inspection. The first two terrorists were unable to throw their grenades because the streets were too crowded and the car was travelling quite fast. The third terrorist, a young man called Cabrinovic, threw a grenade which exploded under the car following that of the Archduke. Although the Archduke and his wife were unhurt, some of his attendants were injured and had to be taken to hospital.

After lunch at the City Hall, Franz Ferdinand insisted on visiting the injured attendants in hospital. However, on the way to the hospital the driver took a wrong turn. Realising his mistake he stopped the car and began to reverse. Another terrorist, named Gavrilo Princip, stepped forward and fired two shots. The first hit the pregnant Sophia in the stomach, she died almost instantly. The second shot hit the Archduke in the neck. He died a short while later. Drawing of the arrest of Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip was arrested but was not executed because he was under 20 years. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison where he died of TB in 1918. Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip ▼ Primary Sources ▼ Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip, the son of a postman, was born in Bosnia-Herzegovina in July, 1894. Gavrilo was one of nine children, six of whom died in infancy. His health was poor and from an early age suffered from tuberculosis. Princip attended schools in Sarajevo and Tuzla, but in May 1912, left Bosnia for Belgrade to continue his education.

While in Serbia Princip joined the Black Hand secret society. For the next two years he spent most of his spare time with other nationalists who also favoured a union between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia . When it was announced that Archduke Franz Ferdinand , the heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian Empire , was going to visit Bosnia-Herzegovina in June 1914, Dragutin Dimitrijevic , the chief of the Intelligence Department in the Serbian Army and head of the Black Hand , sent three men, Princip, Nedjelko Cabrinovic , and Trifko Grabez to Sarajevo to assassinate him. Each man was given a revolver, two bombs and small vial of cyanide. They were instructed to commit suicide after Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been killed. It was important to Dragutin Dimitrijevic that the men did not have the opportunity to confess who had organised the assassination. Princip, Nedjelko Cabrinovic and Trifko Grabez were suffering from tuberculosis and knew they would not live long.

They were therefore willing to give their life for what they believed was a great cause, Bosnia-Herzegovina achieving independence from Austro-Hungary . Nikola Pasic , the prime minister of Serbia , heard about the plot and gave instructions for Princip and the other two men, Nedjelko Cabrinovic and Trifko Grabez to be arrested when they attempted to leave the country. However, his orders were not implemented and the three man arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina where they joined forces with fellow conspirators, Muhamed Mehmedbasic , Danilo Ilic , Vaso Cubrilovic , Cvijetko Popovic , Misko Jovanovic and Veljko Cubrilovic . On Sunday, 28th June, 1914, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkova to arrived in Sarajevo by train. General Oskar Potiorek , Governor of the Austrian provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina , was waiting to take the royal party to the City Hall for the official reception. In the front car was Fehim Curcic, the Mayor of Sarajevo and Dr. Gerde, the city's Commissioner of Police.

Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkova to were in the second car with Oskar Potiorek and Count von Harrach. The car's top was rolled back in order to allow the crowds a good view of its occupants. Seven members of the Black Hand group lined the route. They were spaced out along the Appel Quay, each one had been instructed to try and kill Franz Ferdinand when the royal car reached his position. The first conspirator on the route to see the royal car was Muhamed Mehmedbasic . Standing by the Austro-Hungarian Bank, Mehmedbasic lost his nerve and allowed the car pass without taking action. Mehmedbasic later said that a policeman was standing behind him and feared he would be arrested before he had a chance to throw his bomb. The next man on the route was Nedjelko Cabrinovic . At 10.15. Cabrinovic stepped forward and hurled his bomb at the archduke's car. The driver accelerated when he saw the object flying towards him and the bomb exploded under the wheel of the next car. Two of the occupants, Eric von Merizzi and Count Boos-Waldeck were seriously wounded.

About a dozen spectators were also hit by bomb splinters. After throwing his bomb, Nedjelko Cabrinovic swallowed the cyanide he was carrying and jumped into the River Miljacka. Four men, including two detectives, followed him in and managed to arrest him. The poison failed to kill him and he was taken to the local police station. Franz Ferdinand's driver, Franz Urban, drove on extremely fast and other members of the Black Hand group on the route decided that it was useless to try and kill the archduke when the car was going at this speed. After attending the official reception at the City Hall, Franz Ferdinand asked about the members of his party that had been wounded by the bomb. When the archduke was told they were badly injured in hospital, he insisted on being taken to see them. A member of the archduke's staff, Baron Morsey, suggested this might be dangerous, but Oskar Potiorek , who was responsible for the safety of the royal party, replied, "Do you think Sarajevo is full of assassins?" However, Potiorek did accept it would be better if Duchess Sophie remained behind in the City Hall.

When Baron Morsey told Sophie about the revised plans, she refused to stay arguing: "As long as the Archduke shows himself in public today I will not leave him." In order to avoid the city centre, General Oskar Potiorek decided that the royal car should travel straight along the Appel Quay to the Sarajevo Hospital. However, Potiorek forgot to tell the driver, Franz Urban, about this decision. On the way to the hospital, Urban took a right turn into Franz Joseph Street. Princip happened to be was standing on the corner at the time. Oskar Potiorek immediately realised the driver had taken the wrong route and shouted "What is this? This is the wrong way! We're supposed to take the Appel Quay!". The driver put his foot on the brake, and began to back up. In doing so he moved slowly past the waiting Princip. He stepped forward, drew his gun, and at a distance of about five feet, fired several times into the car. Franz Ferdinand was hit in the neck and Sophie von Chotkova to in the abdomen. Princip's bullet had pierced the archduke's jugular vein but before losing consciousness, he pleaded "Sophie dear!

Sophie dear! Don't die! Stay alive for our children!" Franz Urban drove the royal couple to Konak, the governor's residence, but although both were still alive when they arrived, they died from their wounds soon afterwards. After shooting Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkova to, Princip, following instructions, turned his gun on himself. A man behind him saw what he was doing, and seized Princip's right arm. A couple of policeman joined the struggle and Princip was arrested. Princip and Nedjelko Cabrinovic were both interrogated by the police. They eventually gave the names of their fellow conspirators. Muhamed Mehmedbasic managed to escape to Serbia but Trifko Grabez , Danilo Ilic , Vaso Cubrilovic , Cvijetko Popovic , Misko Jovanovic and Veljko Cubrilovic were arrested and charged with treason and murder. Eight of the men charged with treason and the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand were found guilty. Under Austro-Hungarian law, capital punishment could not be imposed on someone who was under the age of twenty when they had committed the crime. Princip therefore received the maximum penalty of twenty years.

Gavrilo Princip died of tuberculosis on 28th April 1918. Trenches on the Web - Timeline: 28-Jun-1914 - Assassination in Sarajevo 28-Jun-1914 - Assassination in Sarajevo The Archduke and Sophie arriving in Sarajevo 28-Jun-1914 Sarajevo "Some damn foolish thing in the Balkans," This was Bismarck's prophecy as to what would set off the seemingly unavoidable European war. He had hit the nail directly on the head. The Balkans of 1914 were a hotbed of nationalistic intrigue. The Bosnian Serbs inhabiting the southern Austro-Hungarian provinces of Bosnia-Herzogovina wanted to be united with their brothers living across the Drina (Dunav) in Serbia proper. Austria-Hungary , having officially annexed Turkish Bosnia-Herzogovina in 1908, was not about to let go of it. Maybe an act of supreme defiance would convince Vienna otherwise; maybe the dream of a greater Serbia could be realized by such an act.

An assassination of Emperor Franz Josef was out of the question. He was well respected throughout the empire and his heir's politics were even worse for Serbian cause than his own. The heir to the Hapsburg throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand , was in favor of giving an equal voice to the Slavs of the empire - a belief counter to the very core of the Serb cause.1 The Archduke was also Inspector General of the Austrian army. The summer maneuvers would bring him into the area and diplomacy would ordain a visit to Sarajevo on June 28th, St. Vitus Day, a Serbian holiday. It seems fate had decided the act. 1 While this may sound contradictory, it should be noted the common belief was that if the Slavs within the Austro-Hungarian empire were appeased, the chance of an insurrection would be greatly reduced, and consequently, the goal of a greater Serbia would never be realized. Prologue 28-Jun-1914 in Sarajevo was a typical summer day in the Balkans - blistering. For the Serbs it was St. Vitus day. It memorialized the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 where the Serbs were defeated by Turkey.

The Serbs would mark the day with a feast. It was also a special day for Archduke Franz Ferdinand - it was his 14th wedding anniversary. He would make it a special day for his wife Sophie. In Vienna she, not being of royal enough blood, was not allowed to ride in the same car with her husband during high affairs of state. But this was Sarajevo. Here, on their anniversary, she would be afforded all the royal treatment of which she was deprived at home. The Duchess of Hohenburg would most certainly ride in the car with her husband today. To seven tubercular Bosnian Serb youths, 28-Jun-1914 would be the day they made their mark for the Serbian cause - a mark that would ultimately be left on the entire world. The Assassins ø Exerpt from "Narodna Odbrana" pamphlet The group of seven ranged in age from 19 to 27. Only one had a police record which was only for striking a teacher. They were all members of the secret Serbian nationalist movement Mlada Bosna ("Young Bosnia"). All had tuberculosis, a death sentence in 1914.

Nedjelko Cabrinovic This is the Serbian secret patriotic society of which "Mlada Bosna" was a splinter group.. Security Arrangements The diplomatic teletype had been busy clicking out warnings from consulates all over the world. The messages were clear: the Archduke would be wise to cancel his planned visit to Sarajevo. In Vienna, Serbian ambassador Jovan Jovanovic (acting on orders from Prime Minister Pasic) visited Austrian finance Minister Bilinski to warn that if the Archduke should visit then: "some young Serb might put a live round instead of a blank cartridge in his gun, and fire it." Belinski replied: "Let us hope nothing happens," Jovanovic's warning was never passed on. For some reason, despite all of these pleas and warnings, the Archduke not only insisted on going to Sarajevo, but he also put the city off-limits to the nearby Austrian army for the day. This same army could have been used to provide a much needed security presence on the crowded streets. Perhaps he didn't want any trace of Vienna to ruin his anniversary.

The Act The motorcade consisted of four cars; the Archduke and his wife rode in the second car. On their way to city hall they were to cross the Miljacka river at Cumuria Bridge. Mehmedbasic and Cabrinovic were waiting. Mehmedbasic did not throw his bomb, later stating that a policeman was blocking his way. Cabrinovic's path was not blocked and he threw his bomb at the second car. It was a good shot but the Archduke, protecting Sophie, deflected it onto the street. A fragment from the explosion hit Sophie in the face and others wounded passengers in the third car - Count Boos-Waldeck, Colonel von Merizzi and Sophie's attendant, Countess Lanjus. About a dozen onlookers were also injured. Cabrinovic swallowed his cyanide and jumped into the Miljacka but he vomited up the poison and found that the river was only a few inches deep. He was taken into custody. The first two cars continued on their way to city hall. Franz Ferdinand joked that the would-be assassin would probably be given the Medal of Merit in Vienna.

The mayor of Sarajevo, Fehim Effendi Curcic, rode in the first car and was unaware of what had transpired at the bridge. The noise of the motorcade had drowned out the bomb. The motorcade now passed Cubrilovic, Popovic, and Ilic who did nothing. There were only two chances left and they were Grabez and Princip. When they arrived at City Hall the furious Archduke interrupted Curcic's welcome speech, seizing him by the arm: "One comes here to visit and is received with bombs. Mr. Mayor, what do you say? It's outrageous! All right, now you may speak." The Archduke calmed down during the mayor's speech and gave the diplomatic closing words: "I assure you of my unchanged regard and favor." Franz Ferdinand announced he would like to go to the hospital to check on the other bomb victims. He begged Sophie to stay behind but she insisted on accompanying him. Oskar Potiorek, Military Governor of the province, assured the angry Archduke: "Your Imperial Highness, you can travel quite happily. I take the responsibility." And with that they were off. The Archduke's chauffeur was following the mayor's car.

They passed the sixth assassin, Grabez, at Imperial Bridge. He merely watched as the car sped by. The mayor's driver made a wrong turn. Where he should have taken the Appel Quay, he turned onto Francis Joseph street, a street named for the Archduke's uncle. Potiorek, riding with the Archduke and Sophie, cried out: "What's this? We've taken the wrong way!" The driver applied the brakes and the car came to a stop not five feet from Gavrilo Princip. Unlike his cohorts, Princip acted quickly and precisely, drawing his pistol and firing twice before the car could complete its turn. The shots made little noise and the car sped off. Potiorek looked at the couple and, at first, thought that they were unhurt. In actuality, the Archduke had been hit in the neck and Sophie in the stomach. The Archduke opened his mouth and a stream of blood poured out. Sophie cried: "For heaven's sake, what's happened to you?" She was in shock and unaware that she too had been shot. She then lost consciousness. Franz Ferdinand turned to his wife with the words: "Sophie dear, Sophie dear, don't die.

Stay alive for our children." He then keeled over whispering: "Es ist nichts, Es ist nichts..." (It is nothing, It is nothing...) They were both dead by 11:30 that morning. Meanwhile back at Francis Joseph Street, Princip had tried to kill himself first with his gun and then with cyanide. The gun was knocked from his hand, and the cyanide, as was the case with Cabrinovic, only made him retch. The throng closed in on him and roughed him up. He was, astonishingly, taken into custody alive. Epilogue Princip and Cabrinovic both held their tongues under police interrogation. It was Ilic, caught by chance in a suspect roundup, who broke and exposed the identities of his co-conspirators. By July 5th all were apprehended with the exception of Mehmedbasic, the only member to escape. The inquest lasted through July but was left to Sarajevo by Vienna and, to say the least, was grossly mishandled. The only fact that was established was that the weapons had come from Serbia. The complicity of the Serbian government was never proven.

Friedrich von Wiesner, an Austrian official sent to investigate the proceedings in Sarajevo, wired his findings back to Vienna: "There is nothing to indicate that the Serbian government knew about the plot." This wire would not spare Serbia. See Also Assassination of Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo. Assassination of Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo. ▼ Primary Sources ▼ Assassination of Franz Ferdinand General Oskar Potiorek , Governor of the Austrian provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina , invited Archduke Franz Ferdinand , Inspector of the Austro-Hungarian Army , and his wife, Sophie von Chotkova to, to watch his troops on maneuvers in June, 1914. Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, knew that the visit would be dangerous. A large number of people living in Bosnia-Herzegovina were unhappy with Austrian rule and favoured union with Serbia . Ferdinand was aware that in 1910 a Serb, Bogdan Zerajic, had attempted to assassinate General Varesanin, the Austrian governor of Bosnia-Herzegovina, when he was opening parliament in Sarajevo.

Zerajic was a member of the Black Hand (Unity or Death) group who wanted Bosnia-Herzegovina to leave the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The leader of the group was Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic , the chief of the Intelligence Department of the Serbian General Staff. Dimitrijevic considered Franz Ferdinand a serious threat to a union between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia . He was worried that Ferdinand's plans to grant concessions to the South Slavs would make an independent Serbian state more difficult to achieve. When it was announced that Franz Ferdinand was going to visit Bosnia in June 1914, Dimitrijevic began to make plans to assassinate him. Dragutin Dimitrijevic , and his fellow conspirators, Milan Ciganovic and Major Voja Tankosic , sent three members of the Black Hand group based in Belgrade, Gavrilo Princip , Nedjelko Cabrinovic and Trifko Grabez , to carry out the deed. Each man was given a revolver, two bombs and small vial of cyanide.

The three men were instructed to commit suicide after Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been killed as it was important to Dimitrijevic that the men did not have the opportunity to confess that members of the Serbian Army were involved in the assassination. Princip, Cabrinovic and Grabez were all suffering from tuberculosis and knew they would not live long. They all agreed they were willing to give their life for what they believed was a great cause: Bosnia-Herzegovina achieving independence from Austro-Hungary . Unknown to Dragutin Dimitrijevic , Major Voja Tankosic , was informing Nikola Pasic , the prime minister of Serbia about the plot. Although Pasic supported the main objectives of the Black Hand group, he did not want the assassination to take place as he feared it would lead to a war with Austro-Hungaria . He therefore gave instructions for Gavrilo Princip , Nedjelko Cabrinovic and Trifko Grabez to be arrested when they attempted to leave the country.

However, his orders were not implemented and the three man arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina where they joined forces with fellow conspirators, Muhamed Mehmedbasic , Danilo Ilic , Vaso Cubrilovic , Cvijetko Popovic , Misko Jovanovic and Veljko Cubrilovic . Just before 10 o'clock on Sunday, 28th June, 1914, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkova to arrived in Sarajevo by train. General Oskar Potiorek , Governor of the Austrian provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina , was waiting to take the royal party to the City Hall for the official reception. In the front car was Fehim Curcic, the Mayor of Sarajevo and Dr. Gerde, the city's Commissioner of Police. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkova to were in the second car with Oskar Potiorek and Count von Harrach. The car's top was rolled back in order to allow the crowds a good view of its occupants. The local police force were in charge of the security arrangements for the royal visit.

Before the arrival of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, thirty-five potential troublemakers were arrested and taken into custody. A hundred and twenty policemen were placed along the route that the royal party was to take on its way to the City Hall but it was decided that the 70,000 Austro-Hungarian soldiers in Sarajevo were to be kept in their barracks. Unknown to the Sarajevo police force, seven members of the Black Hand group also lined the route. They were spaced out along the Appel Quay, each one had been instructed to try and kill Franz Ferdinand when the royal car reached his position. The first conspirator on the route to see the royal car was Muhamed Mehmedbasic . Standing by the Austro-Hungarian Bank, Mehmedbasic lost his nerve and allowed the car pass without taking action. Mehmedbasic later said that a policeman was standing behind him and feared he would be arrested before he had a chance to throw his bomb. The next man on the route was Nedjelko Cabrinovic . At 10.15. Cabrinovic stepped forward and hurled his bomb at the archduke's car.

The driver accelerated when he saw the object flying towards him and the bomb exploded under the wheel of the next car. Two of the occupants, Eric von Merizzi and Count Boos-Waldeck were seriously wounded. About a dozen spectators were also hit by bomb splinters. After throwing his bomb, Nedjelko Cabrinovic swallowed the cyanide he was carrying and jumped into the River Miljacka. Four men, including two detectives, followed him in and managed to arrest him. The poison failed to kill him and he was taken to the local police station. Franz Ferdinand's driver, Franz Urban, drove on extremely fast and other members of the Black Hand group on the route, Cvijetko Popovic , Gavrilo Princip , Danilo Ilic and Trifko Grabez , decided that it was useless to try and kill the archduke when the car was going at this speed. After attending the official reception at the City Hall, Franz Ferdinand asked about the members of his party that had been wounded by the bomb. When the archduke was told they were badly injured in hospital, he insisted on being taken to see them.

A member of the archduke's staff, Baron Morsey, suggested this might be dangerous, but Oskar Potiorek , who was responsible for the safety of the royal party, replied, "Do you think Sarajevo is full of assassins?" However, Potiorek did accept it would be better if Duchess Sophie remained behind in the City Hall. When Baron Morsey told Sophie about the revised plans, she refused to stay arguing: "As long as the Archduke shows himself in public today I will not leave him." In order to avoid the city centre, General Oskar Potiorek decided that the royal car should travel straight along the Appel Quay to the Sarajevo Hospital. However, Potiorek forgot to tell the driver, Franz Urban, about this decision. On the way to the hospital, Urban took a right turn into Franz Joseph Street. One of the conspirators, Gavrilo Princip , happened to be was standing on the corner at the time. Oskar Potiorek immediately realised the driver had taken the wrong route and shouted "What is this? This is the wrong way! We're supposed to take the Appel Quay!".

The driver put his foot on the brake, and began to back up. In doing so he moved slowly past the waiting Gavrilo Princip . The assassin stepped forward, drew his gun, and at a distance of about five feet, fired several times into the car. Franz Ferdinand was hit in the neck and Sophie von Chotkova to in the abdomen. Princip's bullet had pierced the archduke's jugular vein but before losing consciousness, he pleaded "Sophie dear! Sophie dear! Don't die! Stay alive for our children!" Franz Urban drove the royal couple to Konak, the governor's residence, but although both were still alive when they arrived, they died from their wounds soon afterwards. As instructed, after shooting Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkova to, Gavrilo Princip turned his gun on himself. Ante Velic, who was standing behind him, saw what he was doing and seized Princip's right arm. Another man, Danilo Pusic, also grabbed Princip and within seconds the police arrived and he was arrested. Nedjelko Cabrinovi and Gavrilo Princip were both interrogated by the police. They eventually gave the names of their fellow conspirators.

Trifko Grabez , Danilo Ilic , Vaso Cubrilovic , Cvijetko Popovic , Misko Jovanovic and Veljko Cubrilovic were arrested but Muhamed Mehmedbasic managed to escape to Serbia . Several members of the Black Hand group interrogated by the Austrian authorities claimed that three men from Serbia, Milan Ciganovic , Dragutin Dimitrijevic and Major Voja Tankosic , had organised the plot. 0n 23rd July, 1914, the Austro-Hungarian government demanded that the Serbian government arrested these three men and send them to face trial in Vienna. On 25th July, 1914, Nikola Pasic , the prime minister of Serbia , told the Austro-Hungarian government that he was unable to hand over these three men as it "would be a violation of Serbia's Constitution and criminal in law". Three days later Austro-Hungarian declared war on Serbia . Eight of the men charged with treason and the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand were found guilty. Under Austro-Hungarian law, capital punishment could not be imposed on someone who was under the age of twenty when they had committed the crime.

Nedjelko Cabrinovic , Gavrilo Princip and Trifko Grabez therefore received the maximum penalty of twenty years. Vaso Cubrilovic got 16 years and Cvijetko Popovic 13 years. Misko Jovanovic , Danilo Ilic and Veljko Cubrilovic , who helped the assassins kill the royal couple, were executed on 3rd February, 1915. All three men sent by to Sarajevo from Serbia by Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic , died in prison from tuberculosis: Nedjelko Cabrinovic (January, 1916), Trifko Grabez (February 1916) and Gavrilo Princip (April, 1918). During the first two years of the First World War the Serbian Army suffered a series of military defeats. Nikola Pasic , the prime minister of Serbia , angry about the way the war was destroying his country, disbanded the Black Hand organisation and Dragutin Dimitrijevic was arrested. Dimitrijevic was found guilty of treason and executed on 11th June, 1917.

Question: In which city did Gavrilo Princip assassinate a husband and wife in June 1914?
Answer: SARAJEVO