The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand

THE BLACK HAND GANG

Bosnia was apart of Austria-Hungary but wanted their own country because they felt oppressed by Austria-Hungary. Serbia also wanted to be free of Bosnians fleeing their country and they were allied with Russia. AH was allied with Germany.

When Ferdinand announced his trip to Sarajevo, Bosnian nationalists saw their oppurtunity to strike at Austria. With help from Serbia, a group of assassins called the Black Hand Gang planned to attack the Archduke.

June 28th, 1914

Franz and his pregnant wife were traveling through Sarajevo to the town hall. The Black Hand Gang had several assassins positioned along the route. On the way, the first assassination attempt occurred. Cabrinovic threw a bomb into the car, however it bounced off the car and the archduke lived. The assassin tried to take a cyanide pill but it just made him sick. He was arrested and he said he was a SERB.

Gavrilo Princip wanted a sandwich. Arch Duke took a wrong turn and went down a street the assassin happened to be on. Gavrilo took advantage of this and began to fire at the arch duke, firing two shots : one at the duke and one at his wife. They both died

War and Allies

The Austria-Hungry government saw the assassination as a direct attack on the country and believed the Serbians had helped the Bosnian terrorists carry out the task. They made harsh demands which the Serbs denied. Russia began to mobilise their army to help Serbia and when AH declared war on Serbia, Germany declared war on Russia which was allies with France so Germany declared war on them too.