of Bosnian Serbs such as Princip and the other assassins Austria Hungary had annexed the province of Bosnia from the THE BALKANS The Balkan Peninsula is a region in southeastern Europe bordered by the Adriatic Sea to the west the Aegean Sea to the south and the Black Sea to the east The region is commonly known as the Balkans Today it includes the nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegro and Serbia But for the decades leading up to World War I these areas were controlled by various imperial powers including Austria Hungary and the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire in 1908 Though the archduke's path through Sarajevo had been published in newspapers months ago Princip did not know whether he would have a shot at Franz Ferdinand that day There had already been one unsuccessful attempt on the archduke s life earlier that morning But the other assassins had missed their chances one managed to throw a bomb but it damaged a car behind the archduke causing no casualties After that local security forces quickly whisked the statesman inside the town hall and planned an escape route Franz Ferdinand's security team changed the archduke's route out of the ci At first they drove out of town quickly making it difficult for any would be gunmen to take aim But one of the drivers did not know about the alternate route After crossing a bridge the confused driver came to a stop right in front of Gavrilo Princip who found himself within a few feet of the man he had come to
Princip raised his pistol The archduke's driver saw the gun and tried to back up the car The engine stalled and the car did not move A man tried to shield the archduke and his wife but he was on the other side of the car Princip had a clear line of sight and he fired twice The first bullet hit Franz Ferdinand in the second shot the neck The hit archduke's wife Sophie in the abdomen Both died DIPLOMATIC MISSTEPS LEAD US TO CONFLICT The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand set in motion a flurry of diplomatic actions across Europe Believing Serbia was responsible for Franz Ferdinand's uniform was covered in blood after the
he assassination Austria Hungary reached out to Germany for advice on how to respond Germany's leader Kaiser Wilhelm II encouraged Austria Hungary to deal harshly with Serbia in retaliation for the assassination But Wilhelm II believed a solution could be reached without bloodshed In reality however Austria Hungary planned to go to war with Serbia Wilhelm II pledged Germany s support to Austria Hungary but he did not realize doing so would lead his country into war as well WILLY NICKY TELEGRAMS Serbia fearing an attack from Austria Hungary immediately sought the help of its ally Russia Russian leader Czar Nicholas II advised Serbia to mobilize its Wilhelm II the leader of Germany and Nicholas II the leader of Russia were third cousins The two leaders maintained friendly communication during the diplomatic crisis in 1914 that eventually led to war They signed telegrams as Willy and Nicky while their countries prepared for conflict When war seemed imminent Wilhelm Il sent his cousin a telegram pleading with him to stop the full mobilization of Russian troops The note worked but only for a day military On July 28 Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia In support of Serbia Russia prepared to mobilize its own military In the days that followed Germany's leaders debated how to respond to Russia's mobilization This situation posed a double a threat to Germany Germany s alliance with Austria Hungary meant Germany would come to the aid of Austria Hungary if Russia declared war But Russia was also an ally of France which bordered Germany in the west Therefore German
leaders worried war with Russia would also bring war with France Russia refused to stop the mobilization of its troops So on August 1 Germany declared war on Russia Two days later Germany declared war on Russia's ally France Only a week later Belgium and the United Kingdom had also joined the war siding with Russia and France World War I had begun Wilhelm II ruled Germany from 1888 to
