The Assassination That Started World War I, June 28, 1914

On June 28th 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was next in line to the Hungarian throne, and his wife, Duchess Sophie of Hohenberg, were killed while visiting Sarajevo. The killer, Gavrilo Princip, was a 19-year-old member of a group called Young Bosnia that wanted independence.

The attack happened after a series of events. That morning, someone had tried to kill the Archduke by throwing a bomb at his convoy, but it missed. Even though it was not a situation, Franz Ferdinand decided to continue his visit. That day, his driver took a wrong turn, and the royal car ended up right in front of Gavrilo Princip. He took the chance. Shot two times, killing both of them.

The assassination itself only killed two people. It had huge political effects. Austria–Hungary blamed Serbia for helping groups that wanted to cause trouble and gave them an ultimatum. Within weeks, the alliances between countries turned a local problem into World War I.

By early August 1914, major European powers like Germany, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom were at war. Many people thought it would be a war, but it lasted more than four years.

Today, historians argue about whether the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand caused the war or just made tensions that had been building for a long time explode. There were already alliances, countries wanting to expand their empires, a buildup of military forces, and nationalism that had Europe on edge. The shots fired in Sarajevo were the spark that set off an unstable situation.

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand is seen as one of the significant events in modern history because it directly caused the crisis that led to World War I.