On June the 28th 1914, Gavirilo Princip along with two other students living in Serbia were waiting in the crowd, watching Franz Ferdinand, who was to be the future ruler of Austria-Hungary. [178] The report of this incident was initially sketchy and reported to Emperor Franz-Joseph erroneously as "a considerable skirmish". We lost so much in 1918. The assassination occurred in Sarajevo when the motorcade was traveling to Sarajevo when a member of the Black Hand threw a bomb at the motorcade. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Norwich ProAugust 1st, 2017. Perhaps it was in that very room on June 28, 1914, that Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph received word of his heir apparent Franz Ferdinand's assassination in Sarajevo. This places the cabinet minister's discussions in late May and the information release to some time before that. Dan Carlin, host of the popular podcast, "Hardcore History," explains how the assassination of two people transformed the planet. Live for our children!" There is evidence that Russia was at least aware of the plot before 14 June. 667 Words3 Pages. [162] The defendants refused or were unable to provide details under examination. By the end of the war in November of 1918, almost ten million soldiers died and many more civilians lost their lives as well. [16] (General Vereanin went on to crush the last Bosnian peasant uprising in the second half of 1910). Serbia published no clarifications of their confessions with regards to the Sarajevo attack. [104] The officer corps was forbidden to salute the funeral train, and this led to a minor revolt led by Archduke Karl, the new heir presumptive. A recruitment campaign was immediately launched to swell the ranks. Here our car burns, and down there they will throw bombs at us. After arriving at a spa town a few miles outside of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovinas capital, Ferdinand attended two days of military exercises while Sophie visited schools and orphanages. "The last time Europe had been in a general war was 90 years before this time period. In late June 1914, a Serbian nationalist shoots dead the Austrian heirs to the throne. Nationalism A. How did Archduke Franz Ferdinand death cause ww1? [28] Franz Ferdinand and his party proceeded by train from Ilida Spa to Sarajevo. Princip and Grabe crossed into Austria-Hungary on the evening of 1 June. Ili had placed Vaso ubrilovi next to Mehmedbai, arming him with a pistol and a bomb. At one point, Ciganovi told Grabe: "Nothing doing, the old Emperor is ill and the Heir Apparent [sic] will not go to Bosnia. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. I was there at the time yet as far as I could judge from my conversation with members of his (Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov's) entourage, he (Sazonov) was convinced that if the Archduke (Franz Ferdinand) were out of the way, the peace of Europe would not be endangered. [29] Princip, abrinovi and other members of the Young Bosnia were inspired by the heroism of Milo Obili, reenacting the Kosovo Myth. [22] Following the maneuvers, Ferdinand and his wife planned to visit Sarajevo to open the state museum in its new premises there. At least two other Young Bosnians also had good looks at the archduke but apparently lost the nerve to attempt an assassination. "Four years before the war broke out, the German chancellor Otto Von Bismark said that Europe was a powdered keg," Carlin told CBS News. Governor-General Oskar Potiorek vetoed this suggestion[82] on the grounds that soldiers coming straight from maneuvers would not have the dress uniforms appropriate for such duties. When I was seventeen I passed whole nights at his grave, reflecting on our wretched condition and thinking of him. "[116] Two Serbs were killed on the first day of pogrom in Sarajevo, many were attacked, while around 1,000 houses, shops, schools and institutions (such as banks, hotels, printing houses) owned by Serbs were razed or pillaged. On the eve of the assassinations centennial, find out how a teenage Serbian nationalist provided the spark for World War I. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. A Serbian terrorist group, called The Black Hand, had decided that the Archduke should be assassinated and the planned visit provided the ideal opportunity. [4], The new dynasty was more nationalist, friendlier to Russia and less friendly to Austria-Hungary. Princip checked in with Ili, visited his family in Hadici and returned to Sarajevo on 6 June taking up residence at Ili's mother's house with Ili. The assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914 set off a chain of events that led to war in early August 1914. [28], On the morning of Sunday 28 June 1914, Ili positioned the six assassins along the motorcade route. Everybody, both sides, said Never can we fight the British, and we would say, never can we fight the Germans. The Austro-Hungarians decided to crack down on the Serbians in response. Neville Harvey didnt immediately realise it would mean war. Nobody thought it was going to come just then. The consequences of his action were very bad for Bosnia. Prime Minister Pai himself made these denials to Az Est on 7 July and to the Paris Edition of the New York Herald on 20 July. [95] The assassin stepped up to the footboard of the car, and shot Franz Ferdinand and Sophie at pointblank range[94] using a Belgian-made Fabrique Nationale model 1910 .380 caliber pistol. The local military commander, General Michael von Appel, proposed that troops line the intended route but was told that this would offend the loyal citizenry. [170] The murder produced widespread shock across European royal houses, and there was initially much sympathy for the Austrian position. [102], There is a myth which states that Princip had eaten a sandwich at Schiller's delicatessen just prior to the shooting, but there are no primary sources from the time which mention this. 6. The event triggered the start of World War. Within days, Germany declared war on RussiaSerbia's allyand invaded France via Belgium, which then caused . The letter reminded Serbia of its commitment to respect the Great Powers' decision regarding Bosnia-Herzegovina, and to maintain good neighborly relations with Austria-Hungary. At 10:45a.m, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie got back into the motorcade, once again in the third car. The Black Hand had several assassins positioned along the route. Popovi, in turn, provided them with a letter to Serbian Captain Prvanovi, and filled out a form with the names of three customs officials whose identities they could assume and thereby receive discounted train tickets for the ride to Loznica, a small border town. Hamburg had the German Derby. [17] The five bullets eraji fired at Vareanin and the fatal bullet he put in his own brain made eraji an inspiration to future assassins, including Princip and Princip's accomplice abrinovi. Soon thereafter occurred the Sarajevo assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. In Serbia, it is called Vidovdan and commemorates the 1389 Battle of Kosovo against the Ottomans, at which the Sultan was assassinated in his tent by a Serb. Voices of the First World War is a podcast series that reveals the impact the war had on everyone who lived through it through the stories of the men and women who were there. [154] By 1914 the "Black Hand" was no longer operating under its constitution but rather as a creature of the Chief of Serbian Military Intelligence, Apis, and its active ranks were composed mostly of Serbian officers loyal to Apis. Advertisement This assassination quickly set off a chain reaction of events culminating in the outbreak of World War I. It worked. [9][10] One notable example was a Serbian nationalist society Narodna Odbrana, which was formed in Belgrade on 8 October 1908 under the initiative of Milovan Milovanovi. Find out what happened in between these momentous events in this World War I timeline. Serbia's monarchs, at the time from the royal House of Obrenovi that maintained close relations with Austria-Hungary, were content to reign within the borders set by the treaty. [71] The motorcade's first stop on the preannounced program was for a brief inspection of a military barracks. In 1924, J. Jovanovi went public stating that his warning had been made on his own initiative, and what he said was that "Among the Serb youths (in the army) there may be one who will put a ball-cartridge in his rifle or revolver in place of a blank cartridge and he may fire it, the bullet might strike the man giving provocation (Franz Ferdinand). [69] Dedijer puts forward the thesis (citing Bogijevi) that Ili went to Brod to meet an emissary of Apis, Djuro arac, who had instructions to cancel the assassination and then later Rade Malobabi was dispatched from Serbia to Sarajevo to reauthorize the assassination. From late 1916 into early 1917, secret peace talks took place between Austria-Hungary and France. Royal Navy officer Neville Harvey was at the Kiel Regatta a German sailing event in June 1914. Cabrinovic jumped into the mostly dry riverbed and made a half-hearted attempt to kill himself before being apprehended. Out of the corner of his eye, Franz Ferdinand saw something black flying towards him and raised. "[137], Vojislav Tankosi died in battle in late 1915 and so was not put on trial.[138]. [66], On 14 June, Ili went to Tuzla to bring the weapons to Sarajevo. Princip's legacy was re-evaluated following the breakup of Yugoslavia, and public opinion of him in the successor states is largely divided along ethnic lines. [93] At this point, the first and second cars of the Archduke's motorcade suddenly turned right into a side street, leaving the Appel Quay. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Once the assassination occurred, Carlin explains that the consequent domino effect could not be stopped. [43] At the time the two young Bosnian Serbs were in Belgrade eager to return to Austrian-occupied Bosnia to commit an attack on an imperial official, what they saw as performing the ultimate act of heroism. [96] Pistol serial numbers 19074, 19075, 19120 and 19126 were supplied to the assassins; Princip used #19074. "[121] Another Narodna Odbrana agent, Mihajlo Jovanovi, also claimed to have been against the assassination. What events did the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand trigger that led to war? On 23 July, the empire offered Serbia an ultimatum that contained six articles, one of which would have allowed Austrian police into Serbia. Three weeks too young for the death penalty, Princip was given a 20-year sentence, but contracted tuberculosis and died in jail in April 1918, at the age of just 23. They wanted eight dreadnoughts, which I think we eventually had. After several failed attempts from members of the Black Hand that day, the members were running out of hope. It is outrageous. [163] Albertini concluded that the source of the information was most likely Milan Ciganovi. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. As their allies got involved this conflict grew into World War I (WWI). "[46] When Emperor Franz Joseph's health recovered, the operation was a "go" again. 1st Battalion, Irish Guards prepare to leave Wellington Barracks, Westminster, London, following the outbreak of the First World War, 6 August 1914. We must not oversimplify the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, argues historian Paul Miller-Melamed. [65] Grabe joined his family in Pale. But fewer people may know the story of how it happened, and why a seemingly isolated act could set off a four year war with a staggering cost. The circumstantial evidence against Ciganovi includes his sinecure government job, his protection by the Chief of Police and Serbia's failure to arrest him (Austria-Hungary demanded Serbia arrest Major Vojislav Tankosi and Ciganovi, but Serbia arrested only Tankosi and lied saying that Ciganovi could not be found), Serbia's protection of Ciganovi during the war, and the government's provision for Ciganovi after it. 418 Words 2 Pages Decent Essays The murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, is a major historical event that shocked the world. The bullet fired by Gavrilo Princip, sometimes referred to as "the bullet that started World War I",[191] is a museum exhibit in the Konopit Castle near the town of Beneov in the Czech Republic. [62] The Austrians later captured the report, Pai's handwritten notes, and additional corroborating documents. "There Was an Alternative! Thus, for love, did the Archduke go to his death. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand led to World War I. Serbia proposed arbitration to resolve the dispute, but Austria-Hungary instead declared war on July 28, 1914, exactly a month after Ferdinands death. By coincidence, Princip, Grabe and abrinovi boarded the same train for Sarajevo as Detective Vila. 'The assassination of the Austrian archduke took place on the day of the German Derby. Through a complex web of alliances, Russia, France and Great Britain entered into war against Germany and Austria-Hungary. [57] abrinovi handed over the weapons he was carrying to Princip and Grabe. In response to the assassination of Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. B. Later, referring to Franz Ferdinand's assassination, Vaso ubrilovi said: "We destroyed a beautiful world that was lost forever due to the war that followed. After a fierce battle in the dark, the attackers captured General Laza Petrovi, head of the Palace Guard, and forced him to reveal the hiding place of King Alexander I Obrenovi and his wife Queen Draga. [13] In Bosnia-Herzegovina existed an aggregation of local revolutionary groups that became known as Young Bosnia, their goal was the end of Austria-Hungarian colonial rule in Bosnia and the unification of all South Slavs. In June 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated him and his wife while they were in Sarajevo, Bosnia. hope this helps! [25], Franz Ferdinand was an advocate of increased federalism and widely believed to favor trialism, under which Austria-Hungary would be reorganized by combining the Slavic lands within the Austro-Hungarian empire into a third crown. [83][84] This is confirmed by photographs of the scene outside the Town Hall. [76] The bomb's timed detonator caused it to explode under the next car, putting that car out of action, leaving a 1-foot-diameter (0.30m), 6.5-inch-deep (170mm) crater,[75] and wounding 1620 people.[77]. ', "Narodna Odbrana (The Black Hand): Terrorist Faction that Divided the World", "Kosovo Myths: Karadi, Njego, and the Transformation of Serb Memory", "Why 1914 but Not Before? How Did Alliances Cause Ww1. At waterloo. [107] Those in Austro-Hungarian custody were tried together with members of the infiltration route who had helped deliver them and their weapons to Sarajevo. The Legacy of Franz Ferdinand", This page was last edited on 23 January 2023, at 10:39. [11], The three members of the original assassination team acknowledged full responsibility for their acts, proclaiming their ideal of a liberated and united South Slav people, exonerating Serbia and the Narodna Odbrana whose responsibility the prosecution tried to prove; however the court did not believe the defendants' statements as they differed from their depositions made at the preliminary investigation. When the motorcade passed by, its route having been published in advance, Cabrinovic asked which car carried the archduke. Following the assassinations, Serbian Ambassador to France Milenko Vesni and Serbian Ambassador to Russia Miroslav Spalajkovi put out statements claiming that Serbia had warned Austria-Hungary of the impending assassination. Though not exactly a commoner, Sophie came from a family of obscure Czech nobles and not from a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty of Europe. The Franz Ferdinand assassination took place in June 1914 and was carried out by a Bosnian-Serb and radicalist named Gavrilo Princip. [64], On arriving in Sarajevo on 4 June, Princip, Grabe, and abrinovi went their separate ways. [23] Governor Oskar Potiorek met the party at Sarajevo station. [33], Danilo Ili was a Bosnian Serb. Episode 3: When war broke out in August 1914, Britains regular army numbered only 250,000. World War I also redefined warfare, as weaponry and technology advanced at an eyeblink once the fighting began. [164] Bogievi made a more forceful case. This event wasn't the real cause of the war, it was just the spark that started it. "[125], Prison terms, death sentences and acquittals were as follows:[126]. As Serbian Education Minister Ljuba Jovanovi wrote in Krv Sloventsva, in late May or early June, Prime Minister Pai reviewed the plot of the impending assassination with members of his cabinet. Episode 2: After weeks of speculation and mounting tension, Great Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914. And of course that was all my eye and Betty Martin, because everyone knew that there was going to be a war, I mean even the government knew it, dammit. "[81], Officials and members of the Archduke's party discussed what to do next. 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. The June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by the Serbian Black Hand Group, caused Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. Pai's handwritten notes from the briefing (estimated by Dedijer to have taken place on 5 June) included the nickname of one of the assassins ("Trifko" Grabe) and also the name of Major Tankosi. When they learned of the visit some young bosnians began plotting the assassination In may Gavrilo Princip, Trifko Grabez and Nedeljko Cabrininovic traveled to Belgrade and got six handheld bombs, four semi automatic pistols and cysnide suicide capsules from the black hand gang Just hours after narrowly escaping an assassin's bomb, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to Austro-Hungarian throne and his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg, are killed by Gavrilo Princip. [142] On 21 June, Ambassador Jovanovi met with Austro-Hungarian Finance Minister Bilinski. [54], Princip, Grabe, and abrinovi left Belgrade by boat on 28 May and traveled along the Sava River to abac where they handed the small card to Captain Popovi of the Serbian Border Guard. Two shots in Sarajevo ignited the fires of war and drew Europe toward World War I. This myth likely originated from the 2001 novel "Twelve Fingers", which presents a fictionalized version of the events of the assassination that includes the sandwich. The immediate cause of the outbreak of the First World War was the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, on 28 June 1914. How could Serbia be brought into the affair?". All of the assassins were eventually caught. The immediate reason for Austria's ultimatum was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. The assassination set off a rapid chain of events, as Austria-Hungary immediately blamed the Serbian government for the attack. The public viewing of the coffins was curtailed severely and even more scandalously, Montenuovo tried unsuccessfully to make the children foot the bill. She remembers the problems that this meant for her. On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was shot and killed by a . On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated at Sarajevo. [11] Conspiracy to commit high treason carried a maximum sentence of death which conspiracy to commit simple murder did not. These conflicts included a customs dispute with Austria-Hungary beginning in 1906 (commonly referred to as the "Pig War");[6] the Bosnian crisis of 19081909, in which Serbia assumed an attitude of protest over Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (ending in Serbian acquiescence without compensation in March 1909);[7] and finally the two Balkan Wars of 19121913, in which Serbia acquired Macedonia and Kosovo from the Ottoman Empire and drove out Bulgaria. They commandeered all cars in Bayreuth and we had to get home the best way we could. It was a huge, multi-ethnic empire located in the middle of Europe. His assassination was a coup d'tat. 2014 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was a trigger for WW1, but imperialism, nationalism, militarism and alliances were the major causes of WW1. [38], According to Mehmedbai while he was traveling to Bosnia-Herzegovina from France, police searched his train for a thief. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Austria was not the only reason for the outbreak of WWI. C. How did nationalism contribute to the beginning of the war? Hear how people reacted tothisnews in episode two. Having received multiple warnings to cancel the trip, the archduke knew that danger potentially awaited them. "It may be doubted whether the Archduke [is] worth all this carnage", the magazine wrote. Formerly controlled by the Ottoman Empire, Bosnia-Herzegovinas population was roughly 40 percent Serb, 30 percent Muslim and 20 percent Croat, with various other ethnicities making up the remainder. [23] Duchess Sophie, according to their eldest son, Duke Maximilian, accompanied her husband out of fear for his safety.[24]. 6. An angry exchange followed between the Austrian Charg d'Affaires at Belgrade and Gruji. [183] Austrian president Heinz Fischer was the guest of honour. The following day, anti-Serb demonstrations in Sarajevo became more violent and could be characterized as a pogrom. abrinovi inquired of the detective the date of Franz Ferdinand's visit to Sarajevo. But you have to imagine that John F Kennedy was shot at earlier in the day," Carlin told CBS News. The First World War began in the summer of 1914, shortly after the assassination of Austria's Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, and lasted more than four years, ending in 1918. Germany's emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, was at the Kiel Regatta when the assassination took place. Amongst those tried, four of the defendants had confessed their roles in Sarajevo and their final sentences were as follows:[135], In justifying the executions, Prime Minister Pai wrote to his envoy in London: "Dimitrijevi (Apis) besides everything else admitted he had ordered Franz Ferdinand to be killed. At trial, abrinovi had expressed his regrets for the murders. Updated on August 21, 2019. "Black Hand" or Serbian military intelligence? The King was subsequently shot thirty times and the Queen eighteen. [78] Police dragged abrinovi out of the river, and he was severely beaten by the crowd before being taken into custody. If one was attacked, the others would defend them. That morning, June 28, the archduke sent a telegram to his eldest son congratulating him on his latest exam results. [90] The Sarajevo Chief of Police Edmund Gerde, who had earlier repeatedly warned Potiorek of insufficient security precautions for the imperial visit, was asked by one of the Archduke's aides to tell the drivers of the new route, but in the confusion and tensions of the moment, he neglected to do so. [38] Princip asked another friend Trifko Grabe to join the plot, and then wrote to Ili, his former roommate and confidante, telling him about the plan and asking him to recruit people in Sarajevo.[44]. It was directly triggered by the assassination of the Austrian archduke, Franz Ferdinand and his wife, on 28th June 1914 by Bosnian revolutionary, Gavrilo Princip. With tensions already running high among Europes powers, the assassination precipitated a rapid descent into World War I. B. Instead of being a "flashbulb event . [188] Serbian history textbooks deny that Serbia or Princip were responsible for starting World War I,[186] laying blame on the Central Powers instead. 01. of 06. 1914. In Tuzla, abrinovi bumped into one of his father's friends, Sarajevo Police Detective Ivan Vila, and struck up a conversation. [79], Arriving at the Town Hall for a scheduled reception, Franz Ferdinand showed understandable signs of stress, interrupting a prepared speech of welcome by Mayor Fehim Curi to protest: "Mr. Mayor, I came here on a visit and I am greeted with bombs. Popovi alleged that he sent Danilo Ili to Belgrade to discuss this matter with Chief of Serbian Military Intelligence Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevi, known more commonly as Apis. This was in protest to Austria-Hungary having control of this region. The first is specific, neatly pointing to a single eventthe assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Much of what is known about the assassinations comes from these two trials and related records. The assassins and key members of the clandestine network were tried in Sarajevo in October 1914. Serbia was blamed and attacked by Joseph's armies. Apis's confession to ordering the assassination of Franz Ferdinand states that Russian Military Attach Viktor Artamonov promised Russia's protection from Austria-Hungary if Serbia would ever come under attack. [15] The fundamental difference between those movements was that the Young Bosnians regarded social revolution as a necessary corollary of national liberation, and that, even though its membership was predominantly Serb, Young Bosnia also attracted an important minority of Croats and some Muslims. After swallowing a cyanide pill which only made him sick, assassin Gavrilo Princip was dragged from an angry crowd and arrested for shooting Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. 81-year-olds try to see the world in 80 days. The result would be the Great War that changed the course of the twentieth century. "I think theres this attitude a little bit that a terrorist attack caused all this, really it was a response to the terrorist attack that lead to everything after this," Carlin said. immersed in the myth, personally identifying himself with the Kosovo heroes, while it is known that Princip knew the entire Petar II Petrovi-Njego's The Mountain Wreath, one of the most celebrated works in the South Slavic literature that glorifies the heroic ideals and spirit of the Kosovo Myth. The spark that set off World War I came on June 28, 1914, when a young Serbian patriot shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Austria), in the city of Sarajevo. Don't die! Post is fun and all, but people should be aware of the glaring historical inaccuracy here: Gavrilo Princip was not eating a sandwich when he shot Archduke Ferdinand. The next morning, abrinovi passed on the news to his fellow assassins that the assassination would be on 28 June. [40] (Apis later boasted to the Serbian Court that he ordered the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in his position as head of the Intelligence Department,[41] however Apis made the unproven claims in 1917 attempting to save his own life since he was about to be executed for high treason. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. [94] As reported by Count Harrach, Franz Ferdinand's last words were "Sophie, Sophie! "[145] J. Jovanovi's account changed back and forth over the years and never adequately addressed Colonel Lejanin's statement. How did imperialism help lead to war? Seven young men who had been trained in bomb throwing and marksmanship were stationed along the route that Franz Ferdinand's car would follow from the City Hall to the inspection. The shot that rang out at Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 plunged Europe into one of the most devastating wars in its history. The Russians, coming to the aid of their fellow Slavs, declared war on Austria-Hungary. While in Sarajevo, the royal couple was targeted by a small band of Serbian nationalists, outraged by Austria's takeover of Bosnia-Herzegovina. [38] Once he arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina he wrote to Gacinovi and did nothing more until Ili wrote to him to summon him to Mostar. [85][86] However, Potiorek failed to communicate his decision to the drivers. "[38] During this January 1914 meeting, various possible Austro-Hungarian targets for assassination were discussed, including Franz Ferdinand. IWM collections. On 26 March Ili and Mehmedbai had already agreed to kill Franz Ferdinand based on instructions from Belgrade predating the newspaper clipping and the discussions amongst the three assassins in Belgrade. At 10:10 am,[75] Franz Ferdinand's car approached and abrinovi threw his bomb. It had, in effect, three competing governments: the Royal government of the Kingdom of Hungary and its possessions, the Imperial Government of. Prime Minister Pai received early information of the assassination plan. An alternative theory to the Sarajevo attack being a Serbian Military Intelligence Operation was that it was a "Black Hand" operation. Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of the archduke Charles Louis, who was the brother of the emperor Franz Joseph.The death of the heir apparent, Archduke Rudolf, in 1889 made Franz Ferdinand next in succession to the Austro-Hungarian throne after his father, who died in 1896. Under the guise of cultural activities, it operated to undermine the loyalty of Bosnian Serbs to the Habsburg regime. The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 contributed to the beginning of the war. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. "[136], As the three condemned men were driven to their execution, Apis remarked to the driver: "Now it is clear to me and clear to you too, that I am to be killed today by Serbian rifles solely because I organized the Sarajevo outrage.