OTD in 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated

Riveting tale, old chap.

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Where do you think the world would be right now if WWI hadn’t happened?

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WWI had been inevitable since the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. Germany wanted to be the big swinging dick in Europe and Britain and France were having none of it. If this hadn't lit the fuse something else would.

The sad thing is, there had been an attempt on his life earlier in the day and he was going to the hospital to see the injuries from that attack when he was killed.

WEI was always going to happen. Whether it was in 1914 or 1924, everyone saw it coming.

Dan Carlin said that this specific event astronomically shaped history as we know it to this day and I agree with him.

Germany’s main reasoning behind them going to war was, “now is better than later.” They saw Russia ramping up its military and the Schlieffen Plan called for them knocking out France then turning to Russia due to the Entente alliance between the two countries. A ready Russia would’ve destroyed Germany at that point in time.

They also thought that if they knocked the French out within like 6 weeks that the British would stay across the Channel.

The assassination is a pretty crazy story.

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At 10:15, when the six-car procession passed the central police station, nineteen-year-old student Nedeljko Cabrinovic hurled a hand grenade at the Archduke's car. The driver accelerated when he saw the object flying towards him, but the bomb had a 10-second delay and exploded under the wheel of the fourth car.

Ferdinand later decided to go to the hospital and visit the victims of Cabrinovic's grenade attack. In order to avoid the city centre, General Oskar Potiorek decided that the royal car should travel straight along the Appel Quay to the Sarajevo Hospital. However, Potiorek forgot to inform the driver, Leopold Loyka, about this decision. On the way to the hospital, Loyka took a right turn into Franz Josef Street. Princip was standing near Moritz Schiller's café when he spotted the car as it drove past, having taken the wrong turn. After realizing the mistake, the driver put his foot on the brake, and began to reverse. In doing so the engine stalled and the gears locked, giving Princip his opportunity. Princip stepped forward, drew his pistol, an FN Model 1910,[26] and at a distance of about 1.5 metres (5 ft) fired twice into the car, first hitting Franz Ferdinand in the neck, and then hitting his wife Sophie in the abdomen, after she covered his body. They both died before 11:00 am.

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So many things went wrong for it to happen. Driver takes the wrong route, and the engine stalls right in front of one of the assassins long after the parade.

The magnitude cannot be understated: this assassination laid the groundwork for nearly everything that happened in the 20th century.

Cool pic

I’m reading GJ Meyer’s book A World Undone the entire history of the First World War. Long book but very easy to read.

Anyway, they wouldn’t even allow Sophie to sit next to Franz Ferdinand at the opera for instance. She couldn’t even be in the same balcony box as him. So their trip to Bosnia was a real treat for the two because they could be in public together unfettered.