June 28, 1914 – The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

June 28

Copy of Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

On June 28, 1914, an Archduke was publicly assassinated, an event widely regarded as the catalyst for World War I. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, were shot at close range while visiting Sarajevo, the then capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This assassination set off a chain of military responses among several European powers, and within a month, much of Europe had formally declared war.

The Archduke and his wife were officially assassinated by a young Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip, but the act was actually the result of a coordinated effort by a group called the Black Hand. The Black Hand conspired to unite Bosnian territories with Serbia, instead of being ruled by Austria-Hungary. 

The assassination was chaotic, characterized by a series of miscalculations and errors on the part of the assassins. On the morning of June 28, the Archduke traveled to Sarajevo to oversee military exercises. Several members of the Black Hand waited with bombs to target his car along the route, but they hesitated as he passed by. One individual launched a bomb but miscalculated the timing, hitting another vehicle instead. This resulted in injury to many innocent locals while leaving the Archduke unharmed. The bomber attempted to take his own life due to his mistake but failed, was beaten by the crowd, and subsequently arrested. The Archduke arrived safely at his destination, and the members of the Black Hand acknowledged that their initial attempts had failed. However, after lunch, the final member of the assassination group coincidentally encountered the Archduke on his way home. Gavrilo Princip dropped his lunch and seized the opportunity to shoot the Archduke and his wife. He also attempted to take his own life but failed and ultimately died of tuberculosis while in prison.

The assassination of the Archduke is widely considered the triggering event for World War I. After the Archduke’s death, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Due to a complex series of alliances with the two countries, a global conflict was initiated within a month.