The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in Sarajevo in 1914 is presented as the immediate cause of World War I. Ferdinand was heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist during a visit to Sarajevo. Austria-Hungary responded by preparing to invade Serbia, drawing protests from Serbia's ally Russia and engulfing Europe in a series of military alliances that led to global war.

1. Assassination at Sarajevo
Compiled
By
EE NYANGARESI
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2. AIM
• To equip you the knowledge about the
Assassination at Sarajevo
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3. SCOPE
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand short history
• Austro-Hungarian empire
• The murder of Franz Ferdinand
• Who were The Black Hand?
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4. • But how did this murder of an unpopular man lead to
war?
• What Decisions made by Austria?
• End of the war
• Conclusion
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5. INTRODUCTION
 ASSASSINATION
Is the murder of a prominent or important person such as a head
of state, head of government, politician or member of a royal
family
 SARAJEVO
It was the capital city of Bosnia where the assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife take place
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6. Archduke Franz Ferdinand
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7. • Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the nephew of the Austro-
Hungarian emperor, Franz Joseph
• When the emperor’s only son committed suicide in 1889,
Ferdinand became heir to the imperial throne
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• Educated in history and the classics, Franz Ferdinand was
intelligent, well-informed and more worldly than most
• In the 1890s, he had completed a ‘grand tour’ across three
continents that included a lengthy stay in Australia

9. • Franz Ferdinand held significant influence over the military, and
in 1913 he was appointed inspector general of the Austro-
Hungarian armed forces
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10. • Ferdinand could also be strong-willed to the point of
stubbornness.
• One example of this was his determination to marry a non-
royal, Sophie Chotek, against the advice of his family and
political leaders.
• The marriage was approved but was morganatic, meaning that
Ferdinand’s children could not succeed him as emperor.
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11. Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophie Chotek
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12. • The Archduke believed that if the empire was to endure,
concessions to the empire’s ethnic groups might need to be
considered.
• He also considered the growth of revolutionary movements in
the Balkans a byproduct of Austro-Hungarian heavy-
handedness.
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13. • From these points of views Archduke he was seen that, one of
the few men broad-minded enough to save the Austro-
Hungarian empire
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14. Austro-Hungarian empire
• A former dual monarchy of central Europe consisting of Austria,
Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia,
Herzegovina, and parts of Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia,
and Italy
• It was formed in 1867 after agitation by Hungarian nationalists
within the Austrian empire and lasted until 1918
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16. What happened at Sarajevo?
• The murder of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo is accepted by
historians as the immediate cause of World War One though
serious trouble – long term causes – had been brewing for
sometime.
• In June 28th 1914, the heir to the Austrian Empire, Franz
Ferdinand, was visiting Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia.
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• Bosnia was in the very south-east corner of the Austrian empire
and some people there wanted to be independent from Austria
and set up their own state which could run itself.
• Franz Ferdinand had been warned that his visit could provoke
trouble but he ignored this advice and visited Sarajevo
regardless.
• As was common at the time, he travelled in an open topped
car.

18. • There had been trouble at the start of his royal tour of
Sarajevo when another car in his entourage was hit by
a grenade and an Austrian officer had been injured.
• Clearly, Sarajevo was a dangerous place to be.
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19. • However, Franz Ferdinand wanted to demonstrate that his
family was in control of Sarajevo and to have stopped the tour
would have been seen as a sign of weakness by those who did
not want Bosnia and Sarajevo ruled by the Austrians.
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20. • Franz ordered that his route through Sarajevo be changed at
the last minute as he wanted to see the injured officer in
hospital.
• Unfortunately, his driver did not fully understand his instructions
and got lost.
• Stopping to check where he was, the driver attempted to
reverse out on to the main street.
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21. • By bad luck, he stopped right by a man called Gavrilo
Princip. He was a member of the Black Hand Gang
which wanted to rid Bosnia of Austrian rule.
• He had also been behind the grenade throwing and was
now trying to disguise himself among the many people
who lined the streets fearing the police might arrest
him.
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22. • Not believing his luck, Princip pulled out the revolver he
had on him and shot Franz and his wife, both died as a
result.
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26. Who were The Black Hand?
• The Black Hand, was an international terrorist group
run by Major Vojin Tankosic.
• It was this group which provided The Young Bosnians,
including Gavrilo Princip, with 4 Browning semi-
automatic pistols, 6 bombs and cyanide capsules.
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• This was in May 1914. Princip received some training in
pistol target practice in the park in Belgrade, the capital
of Serbia.

28. But how did this murder of an unpopular man
lead to war?
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• A country called Serbia was blamed by Austria for this murder.
• Serbia was near to Bosnia and it had encouraged the Black
Hand Gang and given the gang weapons.
• What did Serbia want out of this? She hoped that both herself
and Bosnia would unite to form a new Balkan state.

29. What Decisions made by Austria?
• Austria decided that Serbia must be punished and
planned to invade her.
• Serbia called on her old friend Russia to help her.
• Now the alliance/entente came into play. One country
from each was involved on opposite sides.
• The situation could only get worse.
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• Serbia would have been easy for Austria to crush. Russia was a
different issue.
• She had a huge army and Austria would not have coped with a
Austro-Russian war.
• Austria called on Germany for help. The German government
agreed to this and their response provoked the French
government.

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• However, unknown to anybody other than the German
government, the German army had created a plan
called the Schlieffen Plan.
• Schlieffen was a senior German army officer and he
believed that the German army was superior to any
army in Europe but that it could not fight a war on two
fronts – France and Russia.

32. • However, he calculated that the vast Russian army would take 6
weeks to get itself organised – called mobilisation – and that in
that time, the Germans could attack the French, beat them and
then send their army across Europe to fight the Russians.
• The German High Command accepted this plan. But it had one
problem.
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33. • It relied on what the French or Russians did and the
actions of one would provoke a German response and
not the other way round.
• In other words, the Germans had to react to a situation
as opposed to controlling it.
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34. • When France called up her army, Germany had no
choice but to carry out the Schlieffen Plan. This plan
involved an attack on France via Belgium.
• Britain had given Belgium a guarantee in 1839 that if
anybody attacked her, Britain would attack the attacker.
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35. • Therefore, within weeks of the murder at Sarajevo, five out of
the six countries that had signed the two treaties were on the
verge of war.
• On August 4th, 1914, Germany invaded Belgium. Britain
declared war on Germany. France and Russia supported Britain.
Austria supported Germany. Only Italy did not get involved –
yet.
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36. • Every country concerned was convinced that the war
would last only from August to Christmas 1914. No-one
envisaged the horrors of trench warfare.
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37. End of the war
• On June 28, 1919, five years to the day after Franz Ferdinand’s
death, Germany and the Allied Powers signed the Treat of
Versalities, officially marking the end of World War I.
• The Treaty of Versailles, signed at the Palace of Versailles in
Paris at the end of World War I, codified peace terms between
the victorious Allies and Germany.
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• The Treaty of Versailles held Germany responsible for starting
the war and imposed harsh penalties in terms of loss of
territory, massive reparations payments and demilitarization.

39. Fourteen Points are summarized below
1. Diplomacy should be public, with no secret treaties.
2. All nations should enjoy free navigation of the seas.
3. Free trade should exist among all nations, putting an end to
economic barriers between countries.
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40. 4. All countries should reduce arms in the name of public safety.
5. Fair and impartial rulings in colonial claims.
6. Restore Russian territories and freedom.
7. Belgium should be restored to independence.
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41. 8. Alsace-Lorraine should be returned to France and France
should be fully liberated.
9. Italy’s frontiers should be drawn along clearly recognizable
lines of nationality.
10. People living in Austria-Hungary should be granted self-
determination.
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42. 11. The Balkan states should also be guaranteed self-determination and
independence.
12. Turks and those under Turkish rule should be granted self-
determination.
13. An independent Poland should be created.
14. A general association of nations must be formed to mediate
international disputes.
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• Economic distress and resentment of the treaty within
Germany helped fuel the ultra-nationalist sentiment that
led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party, as well
as the coming of a World War II just two decades later.

44. Conclusion
• The murder of Franz Ferdinand was because he refused the
advice and warned given that his visit at Sarajevo could provoke
trouble, because Sarajevo was a dangerous place to be.
• However, as was common at the time, he travelled in an open
topped car.
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45. • He wanted to demonstrate that his family was in control of
Sarajevo and to stop the tour would have been seen as a sign
of weakness by those who did not want Bosnia and Sarajevo
ruled by the Austrians.
• World War I occurred as Austria decided to invade Serbia while
Serbia called on her old friend Russia to help her.
• Now the alliance/entente came into play. The war ended after
Germany and the Allied Powers signed the Treaty of Versailles.
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46. Bibliography
• https//WWW.history.com.cdn.ampproject.org Austria’s
Archduke Ferdinand assassinated. (Accessed on
101600C Apr 22)
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