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 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. 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. 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. Archduke Ferdinand assassinated - Jun 28, 1914 - HISTORY.com Archduke Ferdinand assassinated Publisher A+E Networks On this day in 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are shot to death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist during an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The killings sparked a chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I by early August.

On June 28, 1919, five years to the day after Franz Ferdinand’s death, Germany and the Allied Powers signed the Treaty of Versailles, officially marking the end of World War I. The archduke traveled to Sarajevo in June 1914 to inspect the imperial armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908. The annexation had angered Serbian nationalists, who believed the territories should be part of Serbia. A group of young nationalists hatched a plot to kill the archduke during his visit to Sarajevo, and after some missteps, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip was able to shoot the royal couple at point-blank range, while they traveled in their official procession, killing both almost instantly. The assassination set off a rapid chain of events, as Austria-Hungary immediately blamed the Serbian government for the attack. As large and powerful Russia supported Serbia, Austria asked for assurances that Germany would step in on its side against Russia and its allies, including France and possibly Great Britain.

On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the fragile peace between Europe’s great powers collapsed, beginning the devastating conflict now known as the First World War. After more than four years of bloodshed, the Great War ended on November 11, 1918, after Germany, the last of the Central Powers, surrendered to the Allies. At the peace conference in Paris in 1919, Allied leaders would state their desire to build a post-war world that was safe from future wars of such enormous scale. The Versailles Treaty, signed on June 28, 1919, tragically failed to achieve this objective. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s grand dreams of an international peace-keeping organization faltered when put into practice as the League of Nations. Even worse, the harsh terms imposed on Germany, the war’s biggest loser, led to widespread resentment of the treaty and its authors in that country–a resentment that would culminate in the outbreak of the Second World War two decades later.

Related Videos BBC - GCSE Bitesize: The assassination - the basics Next The assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife was critical in setting off the chain of events that led to the First World War. Not only was it a bad day for the Archduke and his family, but also a bad day for Europe. The assassination - the basics 1. Sarajevo was in Bosnia, the province that - to Serbia's anger - had been annexed [Annexed: To join with or take over, so the less powerful country becomes part of the more powerful. ] by Austria-Hungary in 1908. 2. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. He was inspecting the army in Sarajevo with his wife Sophie. The royal couple arrived by train at 9.28am. 3. Seven young Bosnian Serbs planned to assassinate Franz Ferdinand as he drove along the main road in Sarajevo, the Appel Quay. 4. The first conspirator who tried to kill Franz Ferdinand threw a bomb at his car. He missed and was arrested. 5. The Archduke escaped unhurt.

He decided to abandon the visit and return home via a different route to the one planned. . 6. No one had told the driver the route had changed. On the way back, therefore, the driver turned into Franz Josef Street, following the published route and, when told of his error, stopped the car to turn around. 7. Unfortunately, the car stopped in front of Gavrilo Princip, one of the conspirators, who was on his way home thinking he had failed. 8. Princip pulled out a gun and shot at Franz Ferdinand, hitting him in the jugular vein. There was a tussle, during which Princip shot and killed Sophie. By 11.30am, Franz Ferdinand had bled to death. Page: Villain or hero? Sarajevo is split on archduke's assassin Gavrilo Princip | World news | The Guardian First world war Villain or hero?

Sarajevo is split on archduke's assassin Gavrilo Princip 100 years after the Bosnian-Serb radical murdered Austria's Franz Ferdinand the city is still divided on his actions Gavrilo Princip, the Bosnian-Serb nationalist who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. Photograph: Charlie Riedel/AP Andrew MacDowall in Sarajevo Friday 27 June 2014 06.08 EDT First published on Friday 27 June 2014 06.08 EDT Close This article is 2 years old For one half of the city, he was the national hero who fought against imperial oppression and fully deserves a new park in his name. For the other half he is a villain who killed a pregnant woman and brought a flourishing epoque to an end. Gavrilo Princip, the Bosnian-Serb radical who set in train a chain of events that led to the outbreak of the first world war will be the central figure in Sarajevo this weekend as the city marks 100 years since he assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914.

The anniversary is being marked by concerts, conferences and exhibitions, as the city projects itself as a beacon of peace following a century in which it has been associated with war. But stark divisions remain, both from the most recent war between 1992-1995, in which 100,000 people died and Sarajevo suffered a 1,425-day siege by Serb forces, and events 100 years ago. Princip remains a polarising figure, revered by many of Bosnia's Serbs, but derided as a murderer by the country's Muslims and Croats. "For the past 100 years, the information that the world has received from here was about war and atrocities," says Ivo Komsic, Sarajevo's mayor. "Now we're sending a different message of peace, love and understanding." This is Sarajevo's biggest international moment since the end of the Bosnian war almost 20 years ago.

A range of international figures are attending ceremonies on Saturday, including a concert of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra at the newly restored city hall, where Franz Ferdinand attended a reception shortly before the assassination, and which housed the city's library, destroyed by Serb artillery during the war. The presidents of several European countries are expected. The UK is sending Baroness Warsi. Just before midnight, a choir will sing on the Latin Bridge, beside which Franz Ferdinand and his pregnant wife Sophie were killed by Princip. However, the ceremonies are being boycotted by the president and prime minister of Serbia , who claim that a plaque on the city hall commemorating the 1992 bombardment and the loss of almost 2m books denigrates the Serb people. Despite his message of goodwill, Komsic presides over only a part of an ethnically divided city. Nineteen years after the war ended, Bosnia operates as two "entities", the predominantly Muslim and Croat Federation, and the overwhelmingly Serb-dominated Serb Republic (RS). The highly autonomous RS was recognised by the peace settlement. Many Muslims regard it as the product of ethnic cleansing, while for Serbs its existence is a guarantor of peace.

Swaths of the capital lie in the RS, where the administration of Istocno (east) Sarajevo operates separately, the two not even joined by public transport. In emergency cases, citizens of Istocno Sarajevo cannot be treated in the city centre's general hospital, Komsic notes, instead having to be taken 120 miles to Banja Luka, the capital of the RS. In Istocno Sarajevo, Gavrilo Princip is still lauded by many as a national hero who fought against Austrian oppression. Milorad Dodik, the republic's strongman prime minister, is expected to open a new park and name it after the assassin. In the Communist Yugoslav era, Princip was regarded as a revolutionary hero who fought for the freedom of all southern Slavs, but now Bosnia is independent it is largely Serbs who cling to this view. In a chic Italian restaurant on a Sarajevo boulevard still named after Communist dictator Tito, Asim Sarajlic, a senior MP of the Muslim-nationalist SDA party, says that for Muslims and Croats, Princip brought to an end a golden era of history under Austrian rule.

"When the Austrians first occupied in 1878, Bosnians refused to accept the empire, but in nearly 40 years, they did more for Bosnia than all the other rulers did in centuries – building railways, cities and institutions. The Austrians gave us a lot – modern systems of government, education and healthcare. For normal citizens of Sarajevo, it was a crime for Princip to kill an innocent pregnant lady and her husband who came to celebrate the accomplishments of Austria. We are strongly against the mythology of Princip as a fighter for freedom." But sitting in the house he is building in Istocno Sarajevo amid meadows poignantly dotted with poppies, Nebojsa Grubac, who fought in the Serb army in the early 1990s, is incensed about the change in how Princip's actions are interpreted. "They're trying to change history," he says. "I learned in school that he was a hero, and now they're trying to paint him as an aggressor – fuck that!" He sees Princip, and Bosnia, as the innocent victim of Great Power politics that have led to repeated conflicts.

Despite differences over history – and having fought against Muslims less than two decades ago – Grubac feels no ill-will towards the other ethnic groups in Bosnia. He says that 80% of the work on his house was done by Muslims. He grew up in what is now the Muslim-dominated part of the city, and is still good friends with a Muslim he used to play with as a child, who fought for the Bosnian side during the war. Only one of his Muslim acquaintances refuses to greet him. But he adds there is still fear that prevents the united Bosnia he would like to see – and that another war is a real possibility, due to the machinations of nationalist politicians. One of the few bright spots in recent years has been the Bosnian national football team's first World Cup, even though the team was eliminated in the group stages. In a bar in Sarajevo's Grbavica district, yards from what was the front line during the siege, young Bosnians decked out in the country's colours cheer on the side during its last match, an emphatic victory over Iran.

"To be honest, I don't really care about the anniversary," says Tarik, a 29-year-old web designer who works for a British company. "I think Princip was a coward who killed a pregnant woman." For him, there are more pressing concerns. Frustrated with a lack of opportunities in Bosnia, he is looking for work in Germany, where he fled with his family as refugees during the war. Serbian leaders and Bosnian Serbs stay away from Sarajevo ceremony to mark 100th anniversary of first world war spark Published: 28 Jun 2014 First world war: How the Manchester Guardian reported the murder of the Austro-Hungarian archduke by Gavrilo Princip Published: 26 Jun 2014 Special feed to mark 100th anniversary since archduke's fateful assassination will chart diplomatic traffic until declaration of war Published: 27 Jun 2014 Big Society? More like Battered Society.

Melissa Benn on two books that expose the 'war on the weakest' in Cameron's Britain Published: 18 Jun 2014 The assassination in Sarajevo Search for: Assassination in Sarajevo Franz Ferdinand and his young daughter Sophie, who was orphaned by the events of June 1914 In another time and another set of circumstances, the assassination in Sarajevo of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand would have caused outrage, but not a world war. But coming as it did after two decades of tension within Europe generally and the Balkans specifically, the murder of the Austrian royal proved a flashpoint in history. It generated a wave of anti-Serbian sentiment within the Austro-Hungarian empire, providing Austrian military leaders – who had long fancied a war of suppression against the troublesome Serbs – with the perfect excuse for one. Backed by Germany and its strutting, cock-sure kaiser, Austria-Hungary’s aggression catapulted Europe into crisis, threats and war. Franz Ferdinand was the nephew of the Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Josef, and had been the heir to the imperial throne since 1889.

Educated in history and the classics, the archduke was intelligent, well-informed and more worldly than most (in the 1890s he had completed a ‘grand tour’ across three continents, which included a lengthy stay in Australia). Ferdinand could also be strong-willed to the point of stubbornness. An example of this was his determination to marry a non-royal, Sophie Chotek, against all advice from his family and political leaders; the marriage was approved but was morganatic, meaning that Ferdinand’s children could not succeed him as emperor. Ferdinand’s politics were surprisingly liberal: he believed that rights, freedoms and concessions to the empire’s ethnic groups might need to be considered; he also expressed the view that the growth of revolutionary movements in the Balkans was, in part, the product of Austro-Hungarian heavy-handedness. These views put him at odds with his uncle, the emperor, and Vienna’s conservative political and military elite. It also made Ferdinand’s eventual fate more of a tragedy, since he was one of the few men broad-minded enough to save the ailing empire.

“The assassination at Sarajevo was certainly the crucial precedent of the European war that its conspirators had sought, but was not the historical cause. Nearly sixty years later Vaso Cubrilovic, who as a historian had taught forty years at the University of Belgrade, insisted that the seven young men were not responsible. ‘The outbreak of the war had nothing to do with individuals. The war had deep roots, including the disruptive effects of rapid industrialisation in old feudal societies … The assassination acted as a lever, prying the various powers into predictable paths.” J. Bowyer Bell, historian On June 28th 1914, Ferdinand and his wife were touring Sarajevo, then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, now the capital of Bosnia. They were targeted by a small band of Serbian nationalists, who had been inflamed by Austria’s takeover of Bosnia-Herzegovina. No strangers to political violence, a faction of this group plotted to assassinate the archduke in the streets of the city. At 10.10am they launched their first attempt.

Cabrinovic, a Serbian youth, threw a small bomb towards the open-topped car carrying Ferdinand and his wife – however the bomb bounced harmlessly off the rear of the car, then detonated beneath the vehicle following, destroying it and wounding more than a dozen people. Cabrinovic fled, swallowing a suicide pill then jumping into a nearby river; he could not even get that right, vomiting up the pill and landing in water that was barely ankle-deep. He was soon captured, while his collaborators watched as the royal car sped away. They slunk away into Sarajevo’s backstreets, thinking their opportunity had passed and the plan had failed. Gavrilo Princip, the Serbian assassin whose actions triggered a world war They would have been right if not for some fortuitous luck. Franz Ferdinand interrupted his schedule to call at the hospital, to check on those wounded in the earlier attack. After leaving the hospital his car drove down the wrong street and ended up outside a sandwich shop. One of the assassins, Gavrilo Princip, emerged from the shop, having just bought his lunch.

Princip drew two pistols and fired at the royal car: his first shot struck the archduke’s wife Sophie in the stomach, the second hit Ferdinand’s throat. Again the car sped away to seek medical help, arriving at the governor’s residence minutes later. Sophie died before she could be removed from the car; Franz Ferdinand was hauled inside but died on a chaise lounge minutes later. The murder of this comparatively popular royal incited a flood of anti-Serb protests and violence in many Austro-Hungarian cities, including Sarajevo itself. Serbian stores and buildings were vandalised and some suspected Serb nationalists were beaten up. Across Europe there was widespread shock at the murder, along with messages of support for Vienna and encouragements for her to take tough action against the terrorists. The bodies of Franz Ferdinand and his wife laying in state The immediate response of the Austro-Hungarian regime was to demand an inquiry into the assassination and those involved, to be conducted on Serbian soil by Austrian authorities. But the Serbian government rejected this, declaring that Serbian officials had no involvement whatsoever in the killings and that “the matter did not concern the Serbian government”.

This precipitated the ‘July crisis’, a month of ultimatums, threats and bickering, during which the leaders of Europe advanced the case for both war and peace. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were buried in a family castle in Austria, after a private funeral which no foreign royals or dignitaries were invited to (not even the German kaiser or Emperor Franz Josef himself attended). Gavrilo Princip and all but one of his associates were captured, interrogated by Austro-Hungarian authorities and placed on trial. Some were executed, however since contemporary laws prohibited the execution of anyone under 20, most of the conspirators were given 20-year prison sentences. Princip was spared because of his age but he suffered terribly in jail, contracting tuberculosis and later having an arm amputated. He died in April 1918, six months before the end of the war he had helped instigate. 1. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was an Austrian royal, a nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and the heir to his throne. 2. The archduke was intelligent, worldly and liberal-minded, which set him at odds with his conservative family. 3.

In June 1914 Ferdinand was touring Sarajevo, Bosnia, when he fell victim to a terrorist gang of Serbian nationalists. 4. The assassins were young, nervous and clumsy but one, Princip, stumbled across the duke’s car. 5. Both Ferdinand and his wife were shot in their open-topped car and died within an hour, while Princip and his collaborators were soon arrested. The murder caused outrage around the world. © Alpha History 2014. Content on this page may not be republished or distributed without permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use . This page was written by Jennifer Llewellyn, Jim Southey and Steve Thompson. To reference this page, use the following citation: J. Llewellyn et al, “Assassination in Sarajevo” at Alpha History, 2014, accessed [date of last access]. Search this site Translate World War I live To mark the centenary of World War I, Alpha History authors live-tweet press reports on the war - as they appeared 100 years ago.

Question: Who assassinated Arch duke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914?
Answer: GAVRILO PRINCIP