![]() Then a series of accidents, in particular, a wrong turn by the driver of the car of the imperial couple, allowed one young assassin who had given up just previously, the opportunity to strike. This is a transcript from the video series War, Peace, and Power: Diplomatic History of Europe, 1500–2000. Many of the terrorists abandoned the plot. ![]() At a crucial juncture, it seemed to have failed. The conspiracy of the terrorists who had converged on Sarajevo was a bumbling one, marked by tremendous miscalculation and failure of nerve. The enemy might now be the Austro-Hungarians and the Habsburgs in place of the Ottomans, but the drama still had its emotional significance. It seemed a repetition of historical patterns. Serbia had been defeated by the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 and that date had enormous emotional significance for Serbian nationalists.īattle of Kosovo (Image: Adam Stefanović/Public domain) A Haphazard Assassination The visit came on the precise day that marked the anniversary of a battle from the Middle Ages: the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. The visit of the imperial couple was spectacularly ill-timed, and you might almost think, calculated, to further inflame the nationalist passions of Serbs living in the region. Austria-Hungary was a state of 50 million with many nationalities, some 11 or 12 major ones and many other smaller ones. Nationalism was a threatening force as far as the leaders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were concerned. Learn More: England 1485–1714, the First Modern Country ![]() Smoothed over, the situation had cooled down nonetheless, Serbian nationalists as well as their great Russian patrons had been left infuriated by the humiliation. Denounced by Serbia and Russia-who felt that their own interests were being violated-the annexation in 1908 had been a moment when it seemed that general war might very well result. The annexation of Bosnia/Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary in 1908 had itself sparked an international crisis. On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Habsburg throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife were both assassinated in the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo. (Image: Achille Beltrame/Public domain) The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg. Six weeks later, Europe found itself on the brink of the 20th century’s first world war. If Austria-Hungary had moved quickly to deal with the Serbs, not even Russia would have intervened on Serbia's behalf.By Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, PhD, University of Tennessee In 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in the Balkans triggered a diplomatic crisis. Strong suspicions of Serbian complicity in the assassination existed throughout Europe, and the German government gave unconditional support to Austria-Hungary for any actions that it might take against the Serbs. Four of the five great powers were monarchies, and they saw the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne as an indefensible act of brutality. ![]() The initial reaction in Europe was one of universal shock and horror. On the afternoon of 28 June 1914, Gavrilo Princip shot and killed both Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie as their motorcade passed through the streets of Sarajevo. He dispatched three Serbian-trained Bosnian terrorists, Gavrilo Princip, Trifko Grabez, and Nedjeljko Cabrinovic, to assassinate the Archduke during a state visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Royal Serbian Army's chief of intelligence, Lieutenant-Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic, was also a member of a secret terrorist organization, the "Black Hand." With the prospect of the liberal-minded Franz Ferdinand assuming the throne at any time, Dimitrijevic determined that Serbian interests could only be advanced by the death of the Archduke. They also promised to seriously undermine the Serbian goal of incorporating these provinces into "Greater Serbia." The last thing the Serbs wanted to see was contented Slavs within the empire. These reforms, which included the granting of a substantial degree of autonomy to the Slavic minorities within the empire, had the potential to satisfy nationalist sentiments among the Bosnians, Croats, and Slovenians while offering them economic benefits and security within Austria-Hungary. The Archduke had publicly announced his intention to introduce many reforms once he came to the throne. His father, Emperor Franz Josef, was 84 years old and in failing health. ![]() In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. ![]()
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