Franz Ferdinand

The Assassination of Archduke, Franz Ferdinand

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The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, was a key event in the lead-up to WWI, and often considered to have started it all.

Tension among European powers was intense at the time Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, visited Sarajevo on 28th June 1914.

The murder of them both may never have happened, had it not been for a wrong turn.

Franz Ferdinand was heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and visited the capital of Bosnia to oversee military drills.

Slavic nationalists called 'The Black Hand, wanted to establish an independent state, and rid Bosnia of Austro-Hungarian occupation.

They considered Franz Ferdinand, a threat to Serbian Independence.

The Black Hand was determined to remove this threat, and make it happen - with violence, if necessary.

The group stationed its members, all along the Archduke's motorcade route.

The first three attempts failed to eliminate Franz Ferdinand, during the morning hours of 28th June, 1914

One neglected to throw a bomb, another didn't pull out his pistol, and another bomb thrown at his car missed.

Later that day, a discussion to make a detour from the Archduke's planned route, went untranslated to the driver of his car.

As a result, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie's vehicle took a wrong turn.... onto a road it shouldn't have been on.

On that road, Gavrilo Princip was waiting.......

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 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.

Princip saw the Archduke, fired a pistol at the car, and hit both Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, at point blank range.

The first bullet wounded the Archduke in the jugular vein, the second inflicted an abdominal wound on the Duchess.

After being shot, Sophie immediately fell unconscious and collapsed onto Franz Ferdinand's legs.

The Archduke, too, lost consciousness while being driven to the Governor's residence, for medical treatment.

Franz Ferdinand's last words were~

"Sophie, Sophie! Don't die! Live for our children!"

He then kept muttering~

"It is nothing, it is nothing"

These utterances were followed by a violent choking sound, caused by a hemorrhage.

The imperial couple were dead by 11:30 a.m on 28th June 1914.

Sophie was dead on arrival at the Governor's residence, and Franz Ferdinand died 10 minutes later.

Princip tried to shoot himself, but was immediately seized and arrested.

At his sentencing, Princip stated that his intention had been to kill Governor Potiorek, rather than Sophie.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Austria/Hungary declared war on Serbia, exactly one month after the assassination.

Russia then mobilized its troops to support Serbia, which resulted in Germany declaring war on Russia on August 1st.

By the time Austria/Hungary declared war on Russia on August 6, Germany had already declared war on France, which prompted Britain to declare war on Germany.

Black Hand members were arrested, and tried before a Serbian court in Salonika in 1917, on fabricated charges of high treason.

The Black Hand was disbanded, and three of its leaders were executed.

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Wikipedia.

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https://ko-fi.com/thetudorintruders