The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

A Short History of the Balkans The Balkans are a group of countries located on a peninsula in South East Europe This entire region was once controlled by the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) However, during the 19th century, many Balkan nations gained their independence after revolting against the Ottomans

The Role of Austria & Russia Austria/Hungary conquered Bosnia and other small Balkan states Serbia, was angered by this because Austria was a threat to them and ethnic Serbians who lived in Bosnia were now stuck in Austria (nationalism) Serbia had a very powerful friend in Russia because Russian felt it was their duty to protect all Slavic people (Pan-Slavism, a specific form of Nationalism) Bad relations soon developed between Russia and Austria as both believed the Balkans should be controlled by them.

June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the first son of the King of Austria) and his wife Sofie travelled to Sarajevo in Bosnia to inspect Austrian Troops. He was greeted by thousands of supporters who lined the streets to wave at him as he passed through. However, their was a small group of young men who would use this opportunity to make a political statement

The Black Hand Small terrorist organization from Bosnia Made up of young ethnic Serbians Ultimate goal was to force Austria/Hungary out of Bosnia and have Bosnia become part of Serbia

The Bomb As the Archduke’s motorcade travelled through the streets of Sarajevo, Nedjelko Cabrinovic, a member of the Black hand, threw a bomb at Ferdinand’s car The bomb missed and a car following the Archduke Cabrinovic took poison and jumped in the river, but was fished out and arrested

“The shot heard around the World” Angered by the bomb, the Archduke decided to cut shot his tour of the city. Instead of turning on the planned street, it was decided the cars should stay on the Appel Quay and travel straight out of the city No one told the driver. When the driver turned, he was told to back up and get back on the Apple Quay The driver slammed on the brakes and put the car in reverse. At this exact moment, Gavrillo Princip ran out of the crowd and fired two shots at the car He was less than 5 feet away Franz Ferdinand was shot in the neck and Princess Sophie took a bullet in the stomach, both were dead before they got to the hospital Princip tried to shoot himself but people grabbed his arms and he was soon arrested

The Link to Serbia During the investigation, it was discovered that the Black hand were not just a small group of young men. Rather, they had been funded and organized by Dragutin Dimitrijevic, a Serbian General Austria/Hungary turned to Serbia for answers

The Demands Austria/Hungary, fearful of Russia, turned to Germany for support. Germany offered a “Blank Cheque” Austria then demanded several things from Serbia Serbia accepted all the demands except one, they would not allow the Austrians to conduct their of investigation inside Serbia itself Austria declared war on Serbia

Russian Mobilization As soon as Austria/Hungary declared war, Russia mobilized its army along its entire western border Germany requested that the Russians back off, but were denied Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany sent several telegrams to his cousin, Tsar Nicholas of Russia, begging him to pull back However, the battle plans that were made years before were unfolding and both leaders felt powerless to stop them. A war was starting and no one knew how to stop it. The only question was who would fire the first shot.

Key Points Franz Ferdinand was murdered by Gavrillo Princip Princip was part of the Black Hand, a Serbian terrorist group Austria/Hungary declared war on Serbia after getting total support from Germany Russia moved its Army up towards Austria/Hungary and Germany and refused to pull back The war might have been avoided if all the countries of Europe had not carefully planned for it for decades.