Qualla: The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand: The Wrong Turn That Started World War I

The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand: The Wrong Turn That Started World War I: Introduction

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria visited Sarajevo, capital of the recently annexed Bosnia. A group of six assassins waited along his motorcade route, armed with bombs and pistols. The first attempt failed - a bomb bounced off the archduke's car and injured bystanders. The motorcade sped away. The assassination had failed. Then Franz Ferdinand's driver made a wrong turn, stalling the car directly in front of Gavrilo Princip, one of the failed assassins who had wandered away to buy a sandwich. Princip drew his pistol and fired twice. Within six weeks, Europe was at war. Within four years, 20 million people were dead.

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The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand: The Wrong Turn That Started World War I: The Target

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne - one of the most powerful empires in Europe. He was visiting Sarajevo on June 28, a date of Serbian nationalist significance (the anniversary of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo). His presence was a provocation. The arch...

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The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand: The Wrong Turn That Started World War I: The Plot

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain. The assassination was planned by the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist organization, and carried out by six young Bosnians armed with bombs and pistols supplied by Serbian military intelligence. They positioned themselves along the archduke's motorcade route through Sarajevo. Th...

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The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand: The Wrong Turn That Started World War I: The Failures

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain. Everything went wrong. The first two assassins in line lost their nerve and let the motorcade pass. The third, Nedeljko Čabrinović, threw his bomb - but it bounced off the folded-back convertible top and exploded under the following car, injuring bystanders. Čabrinović swallowed ...

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The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand: The Wrong Turn That Started World War I: The Wrong Turn

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain. The driver of the archduke's car, unfamiliar with Sarajevo, was not informed of the changed route to the hospital. He turned onto Franz Josef Street - the original route - and drove directly past Moritz Schiller's delicatessen, where Gavrilo Princip had stopped, perhaps to buy a ...

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The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand: The Wrong Turn That Started World War I: The Cascade

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia and issued an ultimatum designed to be rejected. Serbia rejected it. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia mobilized to support Serbia. Germany mobilized to support Austria-Hungary. France mobilized to support Russia. Germany invaded Belgium...

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