Princip explained to the court he had already read about Franz Ferdinand's upcoming visit in German papers. [183] This was followed by another statue in Belgrade, which was erected in June 2015. He remembers the naval arms race between Britain and Germany in the early 1900s. The Archduke's friend Kaiser Wilhelm II was invited so that the Imperial Cabinet could consult him on foreign policy, but he declined to attend; although he publicly claimed it was due to a case of lumbago, Imperial Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg revealed that the real reason was security concerns. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination of Franz, with the month that followed his killing becoming known as the July Crisis. [11], The adult defendants, facing the death penalty, portrayed themselves at trial as unwilling participants in the conspiracy. As the cars attempted to reverse back onto the Appel Quay, Princip whipped out his pistol and fired two shots at the archduke from point-blank range, piercing him in the neck and also striking Sophies abdomen. The event triggered the start of World War. The event triggered the start of World War I and ushered in decades of war and political upheaval throughout Europe and across the globe. [47], The rest of the weapons were finally delivered on 26 May. [189] Milorad Dodik acknowledged that Bosnia is "still divided", but maintained that Princip was a "freedom fighter" and that Austria-Hungary had been an "occupier".[190]. [89] When the Archduke's driver followed their route, Governor Potiorek, who was sharing the third vehicle with the Imperial couple, called out to the driver to stop as he was going the wrong way. The shortcomings of Serbia's response were published by Austria-Hungary. [78] Police dragged abrinovi out of the river, and he was severely beaten by the crowd before being taken into custody. Princip, a Serbian nationalist enraged by the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Austro-Hungarian empire, had assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, presumptive heir to that empire's. Please enter valid email address to continue. [129][130] Charles I of Austria laid out Austria-Hungary's key demand for returning Serbia to the control of the Serbian Government in exile: that Serbia should provide guarantees that there be no further political agitation emanating from Serbia against Austria-Hungary. Answer (1 of 21): To particularize the answer of William Smith: The Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary was a nation in the process of falling apart slowly. The political objective of the assassination was to free Bosnia and Herzegovina of Austria-Hungarian rule and establish a common South Slav ("Yugoslav") state. [22] Following the maneuvers, Ferdinand and his wife planned to visit Sarajevo to open the state museum in its new premises there. [100] These utterances were followed by a violent choking sound caused by hemorrhage. In July. He too failed to act. After this, there was a very strong desire for war in Austria. After a fierce battle in the dark, the attackers captured General Laza Petrovi, head of the Palace Guard, and forced him to reveal the hiding place of King Alexander I Obrenovi and his wife Queen Draga. Overall, more than 16 million peoplesoldiers and civiliansdied in fighting that lasted until 1918. I dont think then anyone had an impression that it would lead immediately to war. We had news of the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, and the next thing we knew war was declared on Serbia. [15] eraji was a 22-year-old Bosnian Serb from Nevesinje, Herzegovina, who was a student at the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb. In the 5 June 1914 report by the President of the Narodna Odbrana Boa Milanovi to Prime Minister Pai, one can sense the frustration of the President over the hijacking of his organization in the final sentence dealing with Sarajevo: "Boa has informed all the agents that they should not receive anyone unless he produces the password given by Boa."[63]. One cause of WWI is the assassination of Archduke, Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife on June 28, 1914 by a Serbian nationalist from the Black Hand organization. Under the 1878 Treaty of Berlin, Austria-Hungary received the mandate to occupy and administer the Ottoman Vilayet of Bosnia, while the Ottoman Empire retained official sovereignty. Post is fun and all, but people should be aware of the glaring historical inaccuracy here: Gavrilo Princip was not eating a sandwich when he shot Archduke Ferdinand. Here's a look at the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. [181] Russia's general mobilization set off full Austro-Hungarian and German mobilizations. Voices of the First World War is a podcast series that reveals the impact the war had on everyone who lived through it through the stories of the men and women who were there. [40] (Apis later boasted to the Serbian Court that he ordered the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in his position as head of the Intelligence Department,[41] however Apis made the unproven claims in 1917 attempting to save his own life since he was about to be executed for high treason. [186][183] The 100th anniversary of the assassination was commemorated with a concert by the Vienna Philharmonic in the Sarajevo City Hall, in an event that was organized by the European Union. [82], Franz Ferdinand and Sophie gave up their planned program in favor of visiting the wounded from the bombing, at the hospital. On the morning of Sunday 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkowa und Wognin, arrived by train in the city of Sarajevo and joined a motorcade for the ride to the city hall. Anti-Serb rioting broke out in Sarajevo and various other places within Austria-Hungary in the hours following the assassination until order was restored by the military. How did the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand lead to WW1? The Archduke and his wife, Sophie the Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated by members of the Black Hand on July 28, 1914. IWM (Q 114772). The assassins met with Ciganovi and he put them off. The June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by the Serbian Black Hand Group, caused Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. Once at his mother's house, Ili hid the weapons in a suitcase under a sofa. [83] In order to ensure the safety of the couple, General Oskar Potiorek decided that the imperial motorcade should travel straight along the Appel Quay to the Sarajevo Hospital so that they could avoid the crowded city center. We were lucky all of us in our form to have a master who taught us modern history who, in all his lectures not with so many words but always implying that one day, under some pretext, the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy will go to war with Serbia, which of course led all of us immediately to realise that this shot most probably will mean war. "[184] On the 100th anniversary of the assassination, a statue of Gavrilo Princip was erected in East Sarajevo. A Serbian terrorist group, called The Black Hand, had decided that the Archduke should be assassinated and the planned visit provided the ideal opportunity. How did imperialism help lead to war? . Find out what happened in between these momentous events in this World War I timeline. [171][172], Within two days of the assassination, Austria-Hungary and Germany advised Serbia that it should open an investigation, but Secretary-General to the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Slavko Gruji, replied: "Nothing had been done so far and the matter did not concern the Serbian Government." 1. B. [122] Princip deposed under cross-examination: "I am a Yugoslav nationalist and I believe in unification of all South Slavs in whatever form of state and that it be free of Austria." Neville Harvey didnt immediately realise it would mean war. Rather than immediately flee Sarajevo, Ferdinand decided to continue on to the planned event at city hall. "[118], Austro-Hungarian authorities arrested and prosecuted the Sarajevo assassins (except for Mehmedbai who had escaped to Montenegro and was released from police custody there to Serbia)[119] together with the agents and peasants who had assisted them on their way. Ferdinand and Sophie departed their estate for Bosnia-Herzegovina on June 23. Hear how people reacted tothisnews in episode two. [131], For some time, Regent Alexander and officers loyal to him had planned to get rid of the military clique headed by Apis, as Apis represented a political threat to Alexander's power. "I think theres this attitude a little bit that a terrorist attack caused all this, really it was a response to the terrorist attack that lead to everything after this," Carlin said. Princip's weapon, along with the car in which the Archduke was riding, his bloodstained uniform and the chaise longue on which he died, are on permanent display in the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum in Vienna, Austria. Bettmann / Contributor / via Getty Images. The assassins and key members of the clandestine network were tried in Sarajevo in October 1914. Dan Carlin, host of the popular podcast, "Hardcore History," explains how the assassination of two people transformed the planet. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the Royal Prince of Hungary and the Archduke of Austria-Este from 1896-1914. Artamonov stated that he went on vacation to Italy leaving Assistant Military Attach Alexander Werchovsky in charge and though he was in daily contact with Apis he did not learn of Apis's role until after the war had ended. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. The assassination took place in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, a province in the Balkans that had been annexed by Austria-Hungary. From late 1916 into early 1917, secret peace talks took place between Austria-Hungary and France. Princip, a slender, 19-year-old Serbian army reject, later admitted to killing Ferdinand but said he had not meant to hit Sophie. Franz Ferdinand had to wait as his own speech, still wet with blood from being in the damaged car, was brought to him. One hundred years ago today, the course of history changed in a single, violent instant. Princip focused on taking full responsibility for the crime on himself, and stated: "Our enterprise was purely private and in no way official as the prosecution asserts. The Great War left more than 20 million soldiers dead and 21 million more wounded, which can be attributed to trench warfare and the number of countries involved in the war. This event was, however, simply the trigger that set off declarations of war. The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the match that lit the fire of World War One. [35], There are no reports as to what took place between Ili and Apis during the alleged meeting, but soon Apis's righthand man and fellow Black Hander, Serbian Major Vojislav Tankosi, who by this time was in charge of guerrilla training, called a Serbian irredentist planning meeting in Toulouse, France. Franz and Sophia, minutes before catastrophe. Continued instability and conflict in the Balkans was a significant cause of tension prior to World War I. On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian-backed terrorist. Within days, Germany declared war on RussiaSerbia's allyand invaded France via Belgium, which then caused . [173] After conducting a criminal investigation, verifying that Germany would honor its military alliance, and persuading the skeptical Hungarian Count Istvn Tisza, Austria-Hungary issued a formal letter to the government of Serbia on 23 July 1914. "[121] Another Narodna Odbrana agent, Mihajlo Jovanovi, also claimed to have been against the assassination. They wanted eight dreadnoughts, which I think we eventually had. We were packed in the corridors like sardines and when we went through the various stations, soldiers were all lined up there waiting to go to the front. Here he is, second from right, being dragged into police headquarters in Sarajevo. [38] Princip asked another friend Trifko Grabe to join the plot, and then wrote to Ili, his former roommate and confidante, telling him about the plan and asking him to recruit people in Sarajevo.[44]. Deeply in love, Ferdinand had chose to marry Sophie Chotek in 1900 despite the opposition of his uncle, the sitting Emperor Franz Josef, who refused to attend their wedding. Five of the older prisoners were sentenced to be hanged. [140] Other voices eventually spoke out on the "warning". "[121] ubrilovi explained that he was afraid a revolutionary organization capable of committing great atrocities stood behind Princip and that he therefore feared his house would be destroyed and his family killed if he did not comply and explained that he knew such an organization existed in Serbia, at least at one time. [37] According to Luigi Albertini writing in 1942, Mehmedbai was a member of the Black Hand, having been sworn into the organization by Black Hand Provincial Director for Bosnia-Herzegovina Vladimir Gacinovi and Danilo Ili. 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. When pressed for why he risked the punishment of the law, and did not take the protection of the law against these threats he responded: "I was more afraid of terror than the law. [94] The Archduke, too, lost consciousness while being driven to the Governor's residence for medical treatment. Count Harrach took up a position on the left-hand running board of Franz Ferdinand's car to protect the Archduke from any assault from the river side of the street. On the 28 June, 1914, a 19 year old Serbian student Gavrillo Princip shot and killed Franz Ferdinand, the nephew of Franz Joseph, King of Austria Hungary. Alternatively, search more than 1 million objects from Meanwhile, seven Young Bosnians had fanned out along the Appel Quay, a main avenue in Sarajevo running parallel to the Miljacka River. Ili walked the street, exhorting the assassins to bravery. We must not oversimplify the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, argues historian Paul Miller-Melamed. [93] At this point, the first and second cars of the Archduke's motorcade suddenly turned right into a side street, leaving the Appel Quay. Even though most foreign royalty had planned to attend, they were pointedly disinvited and the funeral was just the immediate imperial family, with the dead couple's three children excluded from the few public ceremonies. "Do you think that Sarajevo is full of assassins?" 2014 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. [28], The day of the assassination, 28 June (15 June in the Julian calendar), is the feast of St. Vitus. There is evidence that parallel discussions were held between Austria-Hungary and Serbia with Prime Minister Pai dispatching his righthand man Stojan Proti and Regent Alexander dispatching his confidant Colonel Petar ivkovi to Geneva on secret business. I was there at the time yet as far as I could judge from my conversation with members of his (Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov's) entourage, he (Sazonov) was convinced that if the Archduke (Franz Ferdinand) were out of the way, the peace of Europe would not be endangered. At trial, it was noted that the three assassins from Belgrade tried to take all blame on themselves. The following day, anti-Serb demonstrations in Sarajevo became more violent and could be characterized as a pogrom. [90] The Sarajevo Chief of Police Edmund Gerde, who had earlier repeatedly warned Potiorek of insufficient security precautions for the imperial visit, was asked by one of the Archduke's aides to tell the drivers of the new route, but in the confusion and tensions of the moment, he neglected to do so. [67] Later that day, Ili returned to Sarajevo by train, being careful to transfer to a local train outside Sarajevo and then quickly transfer to a tram to avoid police detection. On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and his wife were were assassinated by a serbian nationalist in Sarajevo. [94] The driver applied the brakes, and when he attempted to put the car into reverse gear he accidentally stalled the engine close to where Princip was standing. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. On the way to the Town Hall, the first assassination attempt occurred. Prime Minister Pai received early information of the assassination plan. The examination of defendant Veljko ubrilovi (who helped coordinate the transport of the weapons and was a Narodna Odbrana agent) is illustrative of this effort. This is the spark. But many of them, all the Slavs, the Czechs, the Slovaks, the Serbs, those in Herzegovina, and later the Poles, were absolutely dissatisfied with the role which they played as nationalities in the state. Better than now. Ferdinand Was Heir Presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian Throne When Assassinated. It was 28 June 1914, in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The letter reminded Serbia of its commitment to respect the Great Powers' decision regarding Bosnia-Herzegovina, and to maintain good neighborly relations with Austria-Hungary. [114] The first anti-Serb demonstrations, led by the followers of Josip Frank, were organized in the early evening of 28 June in Zagreb. While admitting funding of the intelligence network in Austro-Hungary, Artamonov denied the involvement of his office in the assassination in an interview with Albertini. World War I was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 and ended with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Updated on August 21, 2019. The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 contributed to the beginning of the war. [162] The defendants refused or were unable to provide details under examination. The Kaiser left on the Monday morning and whistled back to Berlin. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was a trigger for WW1, but imperialism, nationalism, militarism and alliances were the major causes of WW1. [163] Albertini concluded that the source of the information was most likely Milan Ciganovi. It then sent Serbia an ultimatum, worded in a way that made acceptance unlikely. And after we came home I do recall that my father had a conversation with the director of the Hamburg-Amerika line, who lived next door to us, and say what would that all mean, and they were both as far as I remember both very pessimistic. [103], The bodies were transported to Trieste by the battleship SMSViribus Unitis and then to Vienna by special train. When they learned of the visit some young bosnians began plotting the assassination In may Gavrilo Princip, Trifko Grabez and Nedeljko Cabrininovic traveled to Belgrade and got six handheld bombs, four semi automatic pistols and cysnide suicide capsules from the black hand gang The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the sparking event that caused Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia and officially started the Great War.