The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand: 110 Years Ago

June 28 this week marks the 110th anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The assassination was one of history's greatest turning points, putting into play the diplomatic crisis that led to the First World War. However, it happened by accident, as a result of a whole series of mistakes and missed opportunities.

Alan Bardos, author of a related novel (Amazon US | Amazon UK) explains.

A depiction of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo. From Domenica del Corriere, by Achille Beltrame.

Oskar Potiorek

Bosnia and Herzegovina was a hotly disputed territory in 1914. It had been annexed by the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1910 from the crumbling Ottoman Empire, but was also claimed by neighboring Serbia and had a growing nationalist movement amongst its youth who wanted it to be part of a South Slav state. The decision to send the crown prince of Austro-Hungary into such an unstable region, to attend army maneuvers, was largely made in an attempt to strengthen the monarchy’s rule; charming the local population and demonstrating its military might.

The security for Franz Ferdinand’s visit fell to the military governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, General Oskar Potiorek. Potiorek wanted to become the Chief of the General Staff and saw the visit as an opportunity to stake his claim. Franz Ferdinand was a fastidious man, prone to fits of rage and was known as ‘The Ogre’ in court circles. A single error could have finished the governor’s career. The Archduke had already blocked Potiorek’s promotion, twice.

Potiorek paid close attention to every aspect of the Archduke’s needs during the visit. He had an extraordinary eye for detail. He over saw all arrangements, from ensuring that the Archduke’s wine would be served at the correct temperature, to building him a private chapel.

Nothing was left to chance, that is except the security of Franz Ferdinand’s visit to Sarajevo. Austro-Hungarian intelligence was aware of plots against Archduke Ferdinand and the danger posed by Serbia who were attempting to resist Austro-Hungarian expansion in the region. There was however no definite evidence of a plot against Archduke Franz Ferdinand, threats of this kind were not unusual in the increasingly volatile Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

A schoolboy conspiracy

Unlike other areas of the Monarchy there had not been any violence attributed to nationalism in Bosnia. Potiorek did not recognize the growing nationalism among the youth that had inspired a Young Bosnia Movement and the assassins.

This reflects the Austro-Hungarian Government’s attitude to the threat placed by the nationalist movements in their Balkan provinces. No attempt was made to counter them because the security services did not believe they existed. The idea that half-starved schoolboys could be any kind of a threat was too ridiculous to contemplate.

There were officials in Sarajevo who did understand the growing danger from these “schoolboys” and that they were working with Serbia. The police commissioner for Sarajevo, Dr Edmund Gerde, advised Potirok that there was a conspiracy, two weeks before Franz Ferdinand’s visit. Dr Sunaric the vice president of the Bosnian Parliament urged Potiorek to cancel the archducal visit because of possible Young Bosnia activity. Potiorek dismissed these warnings.

Archduke Ferdinand himself was warned about the possibility of an assassination attempt, but travelled to Bosnia nonetheless, albeit reluctantly. Franz Ferdinand’s wife Sophie insisted on accompanying her husband when she heard of the threats, as she did not believe anyone would shoot at him if a woman was by his side.

The night before the Royal couple were due to visit Sarajevo, Sophie met Doctor Sunaric at a state dinner and told him that he was wrong. Wherever they had been, ‘everyone had greeted them with great friendliness’. Doctor Sunaric responded ‘Your Highness, I pray to God that when I have the honor of meeting you again tomorrow night, you can repeat those words to me.’

One of the most tragic aspects of the whole affair is that Archduke Franz Ferdinand decided to cancel the visit to Sarajevo following the state dinner, possibly having been warned by the local police, but he was persuaded to complete the planned itinerary by Colonel von Merizzi, Governor Potiorek’s aide-de-camp.

Sarajevo, Sunday morning, June 28, 1914

Potiorek left the protection of Franz Ferdinand largely to the officers of the Archduke’s entourage. There were only 120 gendarmes lining the streets, to provide security in a city of over 50,000 people. Bringing in additional policemen was deemed to be too expensive, as all of the budget had gone on building the chapel for Franz Ferdinand. Potiorek also refused to use the troops from the maneuvers as extra security. He felt a strong military presence would offend the local inhabitants and the soldiers did not have their dress uniforms.

Consequently one of the conspirators in the assassination plot, Nedeljko Cabrinovic, was able to throw a bomb at the Archduke’s car as it drove to the official reception. The bomb missed, but when the motorcade reached the reception Potiorek took full responsibility and assured Franz Ferdinand that the danger had passed.

Potiorek spurred the suggestion that troops be used to clear the streets stating, ‘do you think that Sarajevo is full of assassins?’ Potiorek did suggest cutting the Archduke’s itinerary short and proceeding to his residence for lunch. To avoid any further danger in the narrow backstreets that the Archduke was scheduled to drive through.

The Archduke however wanted to visit the wounded from the earlier bombing. In the ensuing confusion the change of route was not communicated to the driver of the first car in the Archduke’s motorcade. When the motorcade left the reception the lead driver stuck to the original route and turned into a backstreet.

As the Archduke’s car began to follow, Potiorek realized the mistake and ordered the driver to stop. In front of 19 year old Gavrilo Princip, who fired twice with a Browning model semi-automatic pistol, killing the Archduke and Sophie, and sparking the First World War.

The fact that Potiorek was in the car and that Princip claimed to be shooting at him when he shot Franz Ferdinand’s wife, has meant that Potiorek was never held to account for his actions. The blame was placed on Serbia. The assassins were aided by elements in Serbian intelligence, but if Potiorek had followed the advice of his police chief; or acted decisively following the first assassination attempt, Gavrilo Princip and the ensuing war could have been stopped.

The events depicted in this article inspired Alan Bardos’ novel ‘The Assassins’, which can be purchased here: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Sources

'One Morning in Sarajevo', David James Smith

'The Archduke and the Assassin', Lavender Cassels

'The Road To Sarajevo', Vadmire Dedijer

'The Desperate Act', Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht.

'Archduke of Sarajevo: The Romance & Tragedy of Franz Ferdinand of Austria', Gordon Brook-Shepherd

'The Assassination of the Archduke', Greg King & Sue Woolmans

The Spark that Caused Devastation – The Outbreak of World War I

Rebecca Fachner continues her series of articles on World War I by looking at how an assassination in an age of assassinations led to the outbreak of one of the most destructive wars of all time. You can read Rebecca’s first article in the series on Royal Family squabbles here.

Just a couple of days ago, June 28, marked the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, a city that was then a (reluctant) part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and his assassin was Gavrilo Princip, a young Serbian nationalist who was part of a terrorist syndicate called the Black Hand, who were determined to assassinate the Archduke. It is important to note that some members of the Black Hand were quite closely associated with members of the Serbian government, and it is possible that Serbia knew about and even funded the assassination attempt. At least that is what Austria-Hungary chose to believe in the aftermath of June 28. Ironically, the assassination attempt was almost a complete failure. Several members of the Black Hand were stationed along the Archduke’s tour route, and the first attempt on him was a bomb thrown toward his touring car. The bomb killed several soldiers and onlookers, but did not harm the Archduke or his wife. After recovering from their ordeal, the Archduke and his wife insisted on visiting the victims in the hospital, and as they headed to the hospital their car stalled. Princip happened to be in a café across the street, heard the commotion and seized his moment. 

Gavrilo Princip assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand. By Achille Beltrame and published in the Domenica del Corriere newspaper.

ELEVATED STATUS

By all rights, neither Ferdinand nor Princip should have gone down in history. The assassination, while of course tragic and potentially politically destabilizing, should have remained an internal Austro-Hungarian matter, making the two men at best a minor footnote in European history. Moreover, it was an age of assassination. In the fifteen years prior to 1914, the kings of Italy, Greece and Spain had been assassinated in addition to the Grand Vizier (Prime Minister) of the Ottoman Empire as well as the Prime Minister of Japan, and the President of the United States. Who outside of their own countries can now identify any one of these men? With so many assassinations taking place in this period, why is it this one that is remembered?

The memory of Princip and Ferdinand looms large because of what followed from the assassination. This particular assassination has gone down in history as the short-term cause of the First World War, setting off a chain of events that led Europe into war. It really wasn’t a cause so much as an excuse; Europe was poised for war, many wanted war, even if they wouldn’t have admitted it, and there had been several incidents in the recent past that almost resulted in war. With Europe primed and ready, it was only a matter of time before something finally sparked a fight, and this was it.

Austria-Hungary was stunned and distraught by the assassination, not unreasonably, but the leadership dealt with their grief and indignation by looking for revenge. Austria-Hungary wanted to make the Serbians pay, and within a month issued a set of demands designed to bring Serbia to heel, and gave them forty-eight hours to comply or risk war. Serbia did not want war, but the Austro-Hungarian demands were simply too intrusive, as they were certainly designed to be, and Serbia rejected the most egregious of Austria-Hungary’s demands. Both Austria-Hungary and Serbia had sought assistance from their much larger allies/protectors, Germany and Russia, respectively, so both knew that if it came to war they would not be fighting alone. Russia, enjoying its role as Slavic protector, actually called for a partial mobilization first, but insisted that it was only a mobilization against Austria-Hungary. Germany begged Russia to halt its mobilization, and then declared war on Russia. Two days later, on August 3, Germany declared war on Russia’s ally, France.

THE ESCALATION CONTINUES

Germany was then faced with a serious dilemma, albeit one completely of its own making, as there was no good way for them to invade France without going through Belgium. Germany asked Belgium for permission to march their army through Belgium into France, which seemed from a German perspective to be a reasonable request. Amazingly, the Belgians did not agree, and politely declined to allow a massive foreign army to run roughshod through their sovereign territory. Germany invaded anyway. This alerted the British, who had signed a treaty guaranteeing Belgian neutrality, and Britain declared war on August 4. While this was all going on there were frantic letters and telegrams being written between the major powers, visits being arranged, peace conferences proposed, all in an effort to stop or slow down the march to war.

Three days after Britain declared war, on August 7, the British Expeditionary Force arrived on the continent, and the Battle of the Frontiers began. The Battle of the Frontiers was a complex affair that took place in several stages and ultimately lasted until mid-September. In the East, by contrast, events moved at a significantly slower pace. The Russians were a formidable enemy, but a very slow moving and technologically backwards one, and it took several weeks for their mobilization to be complete. By August 17, the Russians had fully mobilized and began invading eastern Germany. On August 23, the Battle of Tannenberg began, lasting for a week and becoming the first in a long line of humiliating Russian defeats. 

By August 23, therefore, less than two months after the assassination of the Archduke, Europe was completely at war. Germany was dug in on two fronts, and massive battles were taking place on a continent that had been completely at peace less than 60 days prior. And over what? A dead heir to the throne of a middle tier power, some national pride, and several very itchy trigger fingers. There are so many points along this timeline in which events could have conceivably, even plausibly, gone a different way. Austria-Hungary could have reacted differently, Germany and Russia could have stayed out of each other’s way, Germany could have ignored France or forced them to be the aggressor, or Germany could have avoided Belgium and therefore the British.

The likelihood is that it wouldn’t have mattered if things had gone slightly or even very differently; war was virtually inevitable and if this series of events had not brought about a conflict, something else would have done. Nonetheless, one wonders whether Princip, spending the war in his prison cell, felt responsible for the carnage, or if he even realized his role in starting the greatest war Europe had ever seen.

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