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Analyze the Articles: Franz Ferdinand’s Assassination

Directions: Congratulations, you have chosen well. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand is very interesting to read and think about. Before you can write your research paper, you must read the articles in order to answer each of the five essential questions and plan your paper. This will be stamped and turned in for a classwork/homework grade, so make sure to get this done and do a good job. The better you understand the articles, the easier it will be to answer the essential questions and write your research paper. Consider the following as you read the article:

Prompt for the Research Paper

Write a research paper in which you explain the political situation leading up to the (attempted) assassination, the motivation behind the assassination, the nature of the conspiracy involved with the (attempted) assassination, a description of the (attempted) assassination itself, and the political aftermath of the (attempted) assassination of the political figure.

As you read have highlighters and colored pencils at hand so that you may identify clearly evidence that addresses each of the following “Essential Questions.”

Highlight yellow:

1. What was the time period and situation (social, political, and/or economic) leading up to the (attempted)

assassination?

Highlight pink:

2. What motivated the assassin(s) to commit the murder? (This is most likely a disagreement with political opinions or

actions—find something specific.)

Highlight green:

3. Political assassinations are most often the result of a conspiracy, that is, a group of people who come together to plan

to commit an illegal act. What was the nature of the conspiracy involved with the (attempted) assassination? Who

was involved and how did they work out the details?

Highlight orange:

4. What was the timeline of events that enabled the (attempted) assassination to take place? Find a series of at least

five events that show how the assassination took place.

Highlight ______________ (indicate the color of your choosing) or Underline _______________ (indicate the color of your choosing):

5. What was the political result of the (attempted) assassination? Consider what changes took place in the country or

region after the assassination and how the assassination may have caused these changes.

Tools: Use the following to help you analyze the articles. You will only receive credit for the packet if you complete these steps.

Circle words you don’t know. Make time to look up the definitions.

Write down important ideas from the text in the left-hand margin (especially notes about how the highlighted text

answers the essential questions). You should have at least three important ideas from each article.

Complete the Thinking Maps on the last two pages (front and back) of the document to help you organize your notes.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand: Biography

Franz Ferdinand, eldest son of Carl Ludwig, the brother of Emperor Franz Josef, was born in 1863. Educated by private tutors, he joined the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1883. His military career included service with an infantry regiment (def: army unit) in Prague and with the Hussars in Hungary. While in the army Ferdinand received several promotions: captain (1885), major (1888), colonel (1890) and general (1896).

In 1889, Crown Prince Rudolf, the son of Franz Josef, shot himself at his hunting lodge. The succession now passed to Franz Ferdinand's father, Carl Ludwig. When he died in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the new heir to the throne.

Franz Ferdinand had first met Sophie von Chotkovato at a dance in Prague in 1888. The couple fell in love but although Sophie came from a noble Bohemian family, she was not considered a suitable woman to marry Franz Ferdinand. To be an eligible partner for a member of the Austro-Hungarian royal family, you had to be descended from the House of Hapsburg or from one of the ruling dynasties (def: succession of hereditary rulers) of Europe. Franz Ferdinand insisted he would not marry anyone else. Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Pope Leo XIII all made representations to Franz Josef on Franz Ferdinand's behalf arguing that the disagreement over Ferdinand's marriage was undermining (def: weakening) the stability of the monarchy.

In 1899 Emperor Franz Josef agreed a deal with Franz Ferdinand. He was allowed to marry Sophie von Chotkovato but it was stipulated (def: specified) that her descendants would not be allowed to succeed to the throne. It was also pointed out that Sophie would not be allowed to accompany her husband in the royal carriage nor could she sit by his side in the royal box.

Franz Josef did not attend the wedding. Nor did his brothers or their families. The only people of the royal family who went to the ceremony were Franz Ferdinand's stepmother, Maria Theresia, and her two daughters. Over the next few years the couple had three children: Sophie (1901), Maximilian (1902) and Ernst (1904).

In 1913 Franz Ferdinand was appointed Inspector General of the Austro-Hungarian Army. A promoter of naval expansion and military modernization, Ferdinand was popular with the armed forces and in the summer of 1914 General Oskar Potiorek, Governor of the Austrian provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina, invited the Inspector of the Armed Forces, to watch his troops on maneuvers. When Potieoek made it clear that his wife, Duchess Sophie would also be made welcome, Franz Ferdinand agreed to make the visit.

Franz Ferdinand knew that the journey would be dangerous. A large number of people living in Bosnia-Herzegovina were unhappy with Austro-Hungarian rule and favored union with Serbia. In 1910 a Serb, Bogdan Zerajic, had attempted to assassinate General Varesanin, the Austrian governor of Bosnia-Herzegovina, when he was opening parliament in Sarajevo.

Zerajic was a member of the Black Hand (Unity or Death) who wanted Bosnia-Herzegovina to leave the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The leader of the group was Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic, the chief of the Intelligence Department of the Serbian General Staff. Dimitrijevic considered Franz Ferdinand a serious threat to a union between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. He was worried that Ferdinand's plans to grant concessions (def: compromises) to the South Slavs would make an independent Serbian state more difficult to achieve.

When it was announced that Franz Ferdinand was going to visit Bosnia in June 1914, Dimitrijevic began to make plans to assassinate the heir of the Austro-Hungarian throne. Dimitrijevic sent three members of the Black Hand group based in Belgrade, Gavrilo Princip, Nedjelko Cabrinovic and Trifko Grabez, to Sarajevo to carry out the deed.

Unknown to Dragutin Dimitrijevic, Major Voja Tankosic, a senior member of the Black Hand group, informed Nikola Pasic, the prime minister of Serbia, about the plot. Although Pasic supported the main objectives of the Black Hand group, he did not want the assassination to take place, as he feared it would lead to a war with Austro-Hungary. He therefore gave instructions for Gavrilo Princip, Nedjelko Cabrinovic and Trifko Grabez to be arrested when they attempted to leave the country. However, his orders were not implemented and the three man arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina where they joined forces with fellow conspirators, Muhamed Mehmedbasic, Danilo Ilic, Vaso Cubrilovic, Cvijetko Popovic, Misko Jovanovic and Veljko Cubrilovic.

Just before 10 o'clock on Sunday, 28th June, 1914, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkovato arrived in Sarajevo by train. General Oskar Potiorek, Governor of the Austrian provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was waiting to take the royal party to the City Hall for the official reception.

In the front car was Fehim Curcic, the Mayor of Sarajevo and Dr. Gerde, the city's Commissioner of Police. Franz Ferdinand and Duchess Sophie were in the second car with Oskar Potiorek and Count von Harrach. The car's top was rolled back in order to allow the crowds a good view of its occupants.

At 10:10, when the six car procession passed the central police station, Nedjelko Cabrinovic hurled a hand grenade station at the archduke's car. The driver accelerated when he saw the object flying towards him and the grenade exploded under the wheel of

the next car. Two of the occupants, Eric von Merizzi and Count Boos-Waldeck were seriously wounded. About a dozen spectators were also hit by bomb splinters.

Franz Ferdinand's driver, Franz Urban, drove on extremely fast and other members of the Black Hand group on the route, Cvijetko Popovic, Gavrilo Princip, Danilo Ilic and Trifko Grabez, were unable to fire their guns or hurl their bombs at the Archduke's car.

After attending the official reception at the City Hall, Franz Ferdinand asked about the members of his party that had been wounded by the bomb. When the archduke was told they were badly injured in hospital, he insisted on being taken to see them. A member of the archduke's staff, Baron Morsey, suggested this might be dangerous, but Oskar Potiorek, who was responsible for the safety of the royal party, replied, "Do you think Sarajevo is full of assassins?" However, Potiorek did accept it would be better if Duchess Sophie remained behind in the City Hall. When Baron Morsey told Sophie about the revised plans, she refused to stay arguing: "As long as the Archduke shows himself in public today I will not leave him."

In order to avoid the city center, General Oskar Potiorek decided that the royal car should travel straight along the Appel Quay to the Sarajevo Hospital. However, Potiorek forgot to tell the driver, Franz Urban, about this decision. On the way to the hospital, Urban took a right turn into Franz Joseph Street. One of the conspirators, Gavrilo Princip, was standing on the corner at the time. Oskar Potiorek immediately realized the driver had taken the wrong route and shouted "What is this? This is the wrong way! We're supposed to take the Appel Quay!"

The driver put his foot on the brake, and began to back up. In doing so he moved slowly past the waiting Gavrilo Princip. The assassin stepped forward, drew his gun, and at a distance of about five feet, fired several times into the car. Franz Ferdinand was hit in the neck and Sophie von Chotkovato in the abdomen. Princip's bullet had pierced the archduke's jugular (def: in the neck) vein, but before losing consciousness, he pleaded ,"Sophie dear! Sophie dear! Don't die! Stay alive for our children!" Franz Urban drove the royal couple to Konak, the governor's residence, but although both were still alive when they arrived, they died from their wounds soon afterwards.

Source: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWarchduke.htm (Spartacus Educational)

Author: John Simkin

Publisher: unknown

Article Title: “Archduke Franz Ferdinand: Biography”

Last Updated: 2010

Accessed by: Mrs. DeVries 03-18-2010

Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Duchess Sophie at Sarajevo on 28th June, 1914.

Gavrilo Princip

Gavrilo Princip, the son of a postman, was born in Bosnia-Herzegovina in July, 1894. Gavrilo was one of nine children, six of whom died in infancy. His health was poor and from an early age suffered from tuberculosis (an infectious disease that affects the lungs).

Princip attended schools in Sarajevo and Tuzla, but in May 1912, left Bosnia for Belgrade to continue his education. While in Serbia, Princip joined the Black Hand secret society. For the next two years he spent most of his spare time with other nationalists (def: individual who wants his country to be independent) who also favored a union between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia.

When it was announced that Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian Empire, was going to visit Bosnia-Herzegovina in June 1914, Dragutin Dimitrijevic, the chief of the Intelligence Department in the Serbian Army and head of the Black Hand, sent three men, Princip, Nedjelko Cabrinovic, and Trifko Grabez to Sarajevo to assassinate him.

Each man was given a revolver, two bombs and small vial (def: small glass bottle) of cyanide (def: poison). They were instructed to commit suicide after Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been killed. It was important to Dragutin Dimitrijevic that the men did not have the opportunity to confess who had organized the assassination.

Princip, Nedjelko Cabrinovic and Trifko Grabez were suffering from tuberculosis and knew they would not live long. They were therefore willing to give their life for what they believed was a great cause, Bosnia-Herzegovina achieving independence from Austro-Hungary.

Nikola Pasic, the prime minister of Serbia, heard about the plot and gave instructions for Princip and the other two men, Nedjelko Cabrinovic and Trifko Grabez to be arrested when they attempted to leave the country. However, his orders were not implemented (def: carried out) and the three man arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina where they joined forces with fellow conspirators, Muhamed Mehmedbasic, Danilo Ilic, Vaso Cubrilovic, Cvijetko Popovic, Misko Jovanovic and Veljko Cubrilovic.

On Sunday, 28th June, 1914, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkovato arrived in Sarajevo by train. General Oskar Potiorek, Governor of the Austrian provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was waiting to take the royal party to the City Hall for the official reception.

In the front car was Fehim Curcic, the Mayor of Sarajevo and Dr. Gerde, the city's Commissioner of Police. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkovato were in the second car with Oskar Potiorek and Count von Harrach. The car's top was rolled back in order to allow the crowds a good view of its occupants. Seven members of the Black Hand group lined the route. They were spaced out along the Appel Quay, and each one had been instructed to try and kill Franz Ferdinand when the royal car reached his position. The first conspirator on the route to see the royal car was Muhamed Mehmedbasic. Standing by the Austro-Hungarian Bank, Mehmedbasic lost his nerve and allowed the car pass without taking action. Mehmedbasic later said that a policeman was standing behind him and feared he would be arrested before he had a chance to throw his bomb.

The next man on the route was Nedjelko Cabrinovic. At 10:15, Cabrinovic stepped forward and hurled his bomb at the archduke's car. The driver accelerated when he saw the object flying towards him and the bomb exploded under the wheel of the next car. Two of the occupants, Eric von Merizzi and Count Boos-Waldeck were seriously wounded. About a dozen spectators were also hit by bomb splinters.

After throwing his bomb, Nedjelko Cabrinovic swallowed the cyanide he was carrying and jumped into the River Miljacka. Four men, including two detectives, followed him in and managed to arrest him. The poison failed to kill him and he was taken to the local police station.

Franz Ferdinand's driver, Franz Urban, drove on extremely fast and other members of the Black Hand group on the route decided that it was useless to try and kill the archduke when the car was going at this speed.

After attending the official reception at the City Hall, Franz Ferdinand asked about the members of his party that had been wounded by the bomb. When the archduke was told they were badly injured in hospital, he insisted on being taken to see them. A member of the archduke's staff, Baron Morsey, suggested this might be dangerous, but Oskar Potiorek, who was responsible for the safety of the royal party, replied, "Do you think Sarajevo is full of assassins?" However, Potiorek did accept it would be better if Duchess Sophie remained behind in the City Hall. When Baron Morsey told Sophie about the revised plans, she refused to stay, arguing: "As long as the Archduke shows himself in public today I will not leave him."

In order to avoid the city center, General Oskar Potiorek decided that the royal car should travel straight along the Appel Quay to the Sarajevo Hospital. However, Potiorek forgot to tell the driver, Franz Urban, about this decision. On the way to the hospital, Urban took a right turn into Franz Joseph Street. Princip happened to be was standing on the corner at the time. Oskar Potiorek immediately realized the driver had taken the wrong route and shouted "What is this? This is the wrong way! We're supposed to take the Appel Quay!"

The driver put his foot on the brake, and began to back up. In doing so he moved slowly past the waiting Princip. He stepped forward, drew his gun, and at a distance of about five feet, fired several times into the car. Franz Ferdinand was hit in the neck and Sophie von Chotkovato in the abdomen. Princip's bullet had pierced the archduke's jugular (def: in the neck) vein, but before losing consciousness, he pleaded, "Sophie dear! Sophie dear! Don't die! Stay alive for our children!" Franz Urban drove the royal couple to Konak, the governor's residence, but although both were still alive when they arrived, they died from their wounds soon afterwards.

After shooting Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkovato, Princip, following instructions, turned his gun on himself. A man behind him saw what he was doing, and seized Princip's right arm. A couple of policeman joined the struggle and Princip was arrested.

Princip and Nedjelko Cabrinovic were both interrogated by the police. They eventually gave the names of their fellow conspirators. Muhamed Mehmedbasic managed to escape to Serbia but Trifko Grabez, Danilo Ilic, Vaso Cubrilovic, Cvijetko Popovic, Misko Jovanovic and Veljko Cubrilovic were arrested and charged with treason (def: betrayal of one’s country) and murder.

Eight of the men charged with treason and the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand were found guilty. Under Austro-Hungarian law, capital punishment (def: the death penalty) could not be imposed (def: forced) on someone who was under the age of twenty when they had committed the crime. Princip therefore received the maximum penalty of twenty years. Gavrilo Princip died of tuberculosis on 28th April 1918.

Source: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWprincip.htm (Spartacus Educational)

Author: John Simkin

Publisher: unknown

Article Title: “Gavrilo Princip”

Last Updated: 2010

Accessed by: Mrs. DeVries 03-18-2010

The Death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the Outbreak of World War I

6/28/1914, Sarajevo, Bosnia: On June 28, 1914, a young Serbian nationalist (def: person who desires political independence for his country) named Gavrilo Princip killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Taking place against a backdrop of escalating tensions in the Balkans, the assassination set off a chain of events that would lead to the start of World War I barely one month later. To many people, the Great War—as it was known at the time—seemed to come out of the blue, as the European continent was enjoying a long stretch of unparalleled peace and prosperity. In fact, the seeds of the devastating conflict had been planted long before Princip fired those fatal (def: deadly) bullets.

Background – Europe by 1914

Almost exactly a century before, a meeting of the European states at the Congress of Vienna had established an international order and balance of power that lasted for almost a century. By 1914, however, a multitude of forces were threatening to tear it apart. The Balkan Peninsula, in southeastern Europe, was a particularly

tumultuous (def: confused) region: formerly under the control of the Ottoman Empire, its status was uncertain by the late 1800s, as the weakened Turks continued their slow withdrawal from Europe. Order in the region depended on the cooperation of two competing powers, Russia and Austria-Hungary. The slumping Austria-Hungary – in which small minorities (Germans in Austria, Magyars in Hungary) attempted to control large populations of restless Slavs – worried for its future as a great power, and in 1908 it annexed (def: took over) the twin Balkan provinces of Bosnia-Herzogovina. This grab for territory and control angered the independent Balkan nation of Serbia – who considered Bosnia a Serb homeland – as well as Slavic Russia.

Upstart Serbia then doubled its territory in back-to-back Balkan wars (1912 and 1913), further threatening Austro-Hungarian supremacy (def: position of superiority) in the region. Meanwhile, Russia had entered into an alliance with France – angry over German annexation of their lands in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-71 – and Great Britain, whose legendary naval dominance was threatened by Germany's growing navy. This Triple Entente, squared off against the German-Austro-Hungarian alliance, meant that any regional conflict had the potential to turn into a general European war.

Assassination of Franz Ferdinand

Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, a great friend of Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, met with him in mid-June 1914 to discuss the tense situation in the Balkans. Two weeks later, on June 28, Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, were in Sarajevo to inspect the imperial armed forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina. When 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip and his fellow members of the nationalist Young Bosnia movement learned of the archduke's planned visit, they took action: supplied with weapons by a Serbian terrorist organization called the Black Hand, Princip and his cohorts (def: associates; accomplices) traveled to Sarajevo in time for the archduke's visit.

The royal couple was touring the city in an open car, with surprisingly little security; one of the nationalists threw a bomb at their car, but it rolled off the back of the vehicle, wounding an army officer and some bystanders. Later that day, the imperial (def: relating to an empire’s ruler) car took a wrong turn near where Princip happened to be standing. Seeing his chance, Princip fired into the car, shooting Franz Ferdinand and Sophie at point-blank (def: close) range. He then turned the gun on himself, but was tackled by a mob of bystanders who restrained him until the police arrived. The archduke and his wife were rushed away to seek medical attention, but both died within the hour.

The Road to War

In order to maintain its credibility as a force in the Balkan region (let alone its status as a great power), Austria-Hungary needed to enforce its authority in the face of such an insolent (def: disrespectful) crime. However, with the threat of Russian intervention looming and its army unprepared for a large-scale war, it required Germany's help to back up its words with force. Emperor Franz Josef wrote a personal letter to Kaiser Wilhelm requesting his support, and on July 6 German Chancellor Theobald Bethmann Hollweg informed Austrian representatives that Vienna had Germany's full support.

On July 23, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Serbia delivered an ultimatum: the Serbian government must take steps to wipe out terrorist organizations within its borders, suppress (def: put an end to) anti-Austrian propaganda (def: publicity; advertising) and accept an independent investigation by the Austro-Hungarian government into Franz Ferdinand's assassination, or face military action. After Serbia appealed to Russia for help, the czar's government began moving towards mobilization (def: preparation for war) of its army, believing that Germany was using the crisis as an excuse to launch a preventive war in the Balkans. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28. On August 1, after hearing news of Russia's general mobilization, Germany declared war on Russia. The German army then launched its attack on Russia's ally, France, through Belgium, violating Belgian neutrality and bringing Great Britain into the war as well.

The Great War and its Impact

Over the next four years, the Great War would grow to involve Italy, Japan, the Middle East and the United States, among other countries. More than 20 million soldiers died and 21 million more were wounded, while millions of other people fell victim to the influenza (def: flu) epidemic that the war helped to spread.

The war left in its wake three ruined imperial dynasties (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey) and unleashed the revolutionary forces of Bolshevism in another (Russia). In the end, the uneasy peace brokered (def:

negotiated) at Versailles in 1919 kept tensions in check for less than two decades before giving way to another devastating world war.

Source: http://www.history.com/topics/the-death-of-archduke-franz-ferdinand-and-the-outbreak-of--world-war-i (The History Channel website)

Author: unknown

Publisher: A&E Television Networks

Article Title: “The Death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the Outbreak of World War I”

Last Updated: 2011

Accessed by: Ms. Handley 03-07-2011

The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

On 28 June, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Hapsburg heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina. His death led to Austria declaring war on Serbia, actions which triggered World War I.

Background

The Hapsburg Empire, which can be traced back to the 10th century in Switzerland, had its roots in all the major courts of Europe, including that of England. However, over the centuries, its power declined. In 1867, the Hapsburg lands were reorganized into the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, by which time dominance of Italy was lost and the German Confederation had been surrendered to Prussia (although alliances were still strong).

The 25 German states were united into the German Empire in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War. The Empire's foreign policies were essentially cautious, with the “Iron Chancellor” Otto von Bismarck focusing his energies on maintaining cordial (def: friendly) relations with the other European powers, and keeping France (still smarting (def: stinging) from defeat and the loss of Alsace and Lorraine) as isolated as possible. But when Kaiser Wilhelm II came to the throne in 1888, Bismarck was sacked and policy shifted towards aggressive colonial expansion, as Wilhem sought a “place in the sun” for the German Empire. This new enthusiasm for colonialism (def: ruling other nations as colonies) triggered a series of international crises in the early years of the 20th Century, and the rapid expansion of the navy threatened France and Britain. British power was dependent on her navy, and German naval expansion challenged Britain's policy of always having a navy as large as her two nearest rivals combined.

Meanwhile, the decline of the Ottoman Empire and rise of nationalism in the Balkans threatened the stability of Austria-Hungary, which contained large ethnic minority groups. Russia, who saw herself as the “mother” of the Slavic peoples, backed their claims for independence but had been forced into a humiliating climb-down in 1908 when Austria-Hungary annexed (def: took over) Bosnia-Herzegovina. For the Bosnian Serbs, this quashed (def: ended) any hopes of restored nationhood.

Austria-Hungary could not afford any further increase in nationalism, and Russia could ill (def: hardly) afford to back down a second time. Conditions were ripe for a diplomatic incident to start war and it was the political murder of Franz Ferdinand that became the catalyst.

Biography of Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand (full name: Franz Ferdinand Karl Ludwig Josef von Habsburg-Lothringen) was born on 18 December, 1863 in Graz, Austria. As the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (younger brother of Emperor Franz Josef), there was no reason at this stage to believe he would ever be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. He pursued a career in the army (rising through the ranks from second lieutenant to Inspector General) after a strict education in history and moral character and the pursuit of hobbies such as hunting and travel. But in 1889, with the death of Ferdinand's cousin Crown Prince Rudolf, and the subsequent death of Karl Ludwig in 1896, everything changed. Franz Ferdinand became the new heir to the throne. His

marriage to Sophie Chotek von Chotkova in 1900 was denied by Emperor Franz Josef for a good while because she was considered beneath his station, but they were finally allowed to marry on the condition that any children they had would be denied any rights of succession (def: inheriting the throne). Franz Josef did not attend the wedding.

Motives

Franz Ferdinand's killer, Gavrilo Princip, was one of seven members of Mlada Bosnia (Young Bosnia), a Bosnian Serb terrorist organisation controlled by military intelligence in neighboring Serbia. As ethnic minorities in Bosnia, these Serbs wanted to eliminate Ferdinand and the ruling powers because they were desperate for independence from Austria-Hungary, wanting instead to become part of Serbia. In actual fact, Franz Ferdinand was an advocate (def: supporter) of Austria Hungary's minorities having a greater say in matters which concerned them and in providing greater autonomy (def: self-government) for the provinces (def: regions), but only within the framework of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which wasn't enough for the Bosnian Serbs. All seven members of Mlada Bosnia had tuberculosis (def: respiratory illness), which was a terminal (def: deadly) illness in 1914. Under this death sentence, they had nothing to lose by risking their lives for the Serbian cause.

Franz Ferdinand was perhaps unaware of the historical significance of the day he chose, as Inspector General of the Armed Forces, to visit imperial troops in Sarajevo. That particular date, 28 June, was a national holiday there, marking a tragic point in Serb history. St. Vitus Day commemorated the 1389 Battle of Kosovo, where Serbia's Christian Knights had been defeated by the Turks and the country lost its freedom for the next 500 years. Serb nationalist feelings were therefore, running high.

Assassination

Initially, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand looked as if it was going to be a botched (def: poorly done) job. It was a beautiful morning and crowds of onlookers waved flags and flowers as the motorcade passed through the streets. Unusually, Franz was sharing the political engagement with his wife, Sophie, to celebrate their impending (def: upcoming) 14th wedding anniversary (on 1 July). They shared an open-topped limousine with Bosnia's military governor, General Potoirek.

The seven assassins were inexperienced with weapons and had been supplied with pistols and dynamite (or bombs) allegedly (def: assumed to be true) by Black Hand, another nationalist Serb group. At 10:15 a.m., the six cars passed the first gunman, Mehmed Mehmedbaši. He didn't get a clear line of sight to take the shot so gave up for fear of ruining the operation and alerting the authorities.

A little further on, another assassin, Nedjelko Cabrinovic, threw a bomb or stick of dynamite at the cars. He missed Ferdinand, whose driver sped ahead in panic, but hit the following vehicle, which was destroyed, severely wounding the passengers, a policeman, and several members of the public. Swallowing a cyanide (def: poison) pill (each assassin had been equipped with one), Cabrinovic jumped into the nearby River Miljacka. Unfortunately for him, his suicide wasn't to be: the pill didn't work, the river was only four inches deep, and he was dragged out by the angry crowds.

Ferdinand and the rest of the procession reached the town hall, and while he planned to continue with the afternoon's engagements (lunch at the governor's residence and a museum visit), Ferdinand was anxious to check on those injured by Cabrinovic's bomb, who were now in hospital. The change of route took his car along Appel Quay, but as the driver turned down Franz Joseph Street, General Potoirek shouted that he was supposed to continue along the Quay.

It was as Ferdinand's driver reversed that he happened to pass assassin Gavrilo Princip, who was in a nearby café. Spotting his opportunity, Princip rushed up to the car and fired two shots. Statements vary on exactly where Ferdinand and his wife were hit; however, most believe that Sophie was shot in the abdomen, while the second bullet caught Franz Ferdinand in the neck.

Their bodyguard for the day, Count Franz von Harrach, who was positioned on the running board of their car, failed to protect his charges. He did, however, provide a valuable eyewitness account after the assassination:

As the car quickly reversed, a thin stream of blood spurted from His Highness's mouth onto my right cheek. As I was pulling out my handkerchief to wipe the blood away from his mouth, the Duchess cried out to him, 'In Heaven's name, what has happened to you?' At that she slid off the seat and lay on the floor of the car, with her face between his knees.

I had no idea that she too was hit and thought she had simply fainted with fright. Then I heard His Imperial Highness say, Sophie, Sophie, don't die. Stay alive for the children!'

At that, I seized the Archduke by the collar of his uniform, to stop his head dropping forward and asked him if he was in great pain. He answered me quite distinctly, 'It's nothing!' His face began to twist somewhat but he went on repeating, six or seven times, ever more faintly as he gradually lost consciousness, 'It's nothing!' Then, after a short pause, there was a violent choking sound caused by the bleeding.

Aftermath

Ferdinand and his wife were taken to the governor's residence but died of their wounds shortly afterwards. Princip, like Cabrinovic before him, swallowed a cyanide pill but it was too weak and he vomited it back up. His gun was seized from him and he was arrested and beaten by officers. Cabrinovic and Princip later died of tuberculosis in prison.

Austria-Hungary issued Serbia with various ultimatums (def: demands) after Ferdinand's assassination (no more anti-monarchist propaganda, a fast trial and sentencing for the assassins, and a purge (def: cleansing) of its military), which weren't entirely met. So on 28 July 1914, assured of German military support, Austria declared war on Serbia. This act had swift repercussions (def: consequences) around Europe.

Russia mobilized (def: prepared for war) its armies in Serbia's defense, which triggered France to join in. Under the terms of its spoken alliance or “entente” with Russia, and further motivated by fears of a German invasion and a wish to reclaim Alsace-Lorraine, France moved to support Russia and Serbia.

Germany took this as an act of war against its Austro-Hungarian ally and mobilized its armies in early August in a large advance on the Western Front. The Germans invaded France through Belgium, whose neutrality was guaranteed by Britain. Britain used this as an excuse to enter the war and sent forces to France. Britain's foreign policy at the time dictated that no one power should dominate Europe, particularly the coastline facing the British Isles. Germany's actions therefore, drew the UK away from its colonial ambitions and towards attempting to re-balance European powers.

Although Ferdinand's assassination acted as a spark, Europe was pretty much a powder-keg at this time because of the system of alliances and the sheer number of warmongers (def: people eager for a war) spoiling for a fight in all countries. As the European war progressed, events then escalated into World War I. It was German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck who aptly (def: appropriately) predicted, “If there is ever another war in Europe, it will come out of some damned silly thing in the Balkans.”

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A11873900 (BBC Online)

Author: Otto Fisch

Publisher: BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)

Article Title: “The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand”

Last Updated: 06-13-2006

Accessed by: Ms. Handley 03-07-2011

Assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Europe plunged into a general war in 1914 after ninety-nine years of peace, since 1815, which had witnessed the end of the wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon. There had, of course, been a number of wars since 1815: Italy had had to fight for her independence; Germany had fought three short campaigns, against Denmark, Austria, and then France in 1870, before the German Reich could be made; the Turks had been driven out of Europe and the Balkan powers which took the place of the Ottoman Empire fought among themselves. Yet always the Great Powers had managed to keep these conflicts from spreading.

At first, the spirit which had guided the conservative statesmen who had settled Europe after Napoleon at the Congress of Vienna continued as the mainstay (def: primary support) of peace. It was the duty of the sovereigns of Europe and their ministers never again to allow Europe to destroy itself, and its social order. Later in the century, this idea lingered on as “the Concert of Europe,” which still, in a vague form, preserved the idea of unity. Able statesmen such as Bismarck and Disraeli could still summon up a European spirit to avoid disaster. The “Concert of Europe” by the beginning of the twentieth century had given way to a much less secure way of keeping the peace, the Balance of Power: a Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy faced a Triple Entente of Russia, France, and Britain.

Other factors increased the likelihood of war when the century began. There were fierce resentments from past wars in the Balkans and France remained unreconciled (def: not accepting) to the loss of Alsace-Lorraine which Germany, against Bismarck’s advice, had taken from her in 1870. Germany, the most powerful military and industrial nation of the Continent, ruled by a neurotic (def: anxious) and vainglorious (def: excessively proud or boastful) Kaiser, Wilhelm II, resented the fact that she had virtually no colonial possessions whilst Britain and France had huge empires. Determined to win her “Place in the Sun,” Germany started a naval building program to challenge the British Navy. Britain replied by building yet more ships. In general, all the nations, small, medium and big, were supporting ever-larger armed forces year by year. Europe was in a nationalistic (def: pride in one’s country) mood. In the civilized countries of Western Europe, little boys wore sailor suits and their nurseries were full of toy soldiers. When war came the people welcomed it, though only in Germany was it welcomed whole-heartedly.

Nevertheless war was not inevitable (def: unavoidable). There were precedents (def: established practices) and tried (def: tested) methods for solving crises in the hands of the diplomats. Wars are not made by moods, and if there was “jingoism” (def: extreme patriotism expressing itself in hostility toward other countries), this was counter-balanced by great economic stability and by the growth of international feeling. Currencies were interchangeable, and you could pay for a drink in the Cafe Royal in Piccadilly in Greek drachmas, French francs, or German marks [drachmas, francs, and marks are all forms of money]. Passports were unnecessary in most countries. The growth of industry and trade between the nations of Europe seemed to make war unthinkable and, though there was talk about commercial rivalry overseas, the struggle for export markets was far away.

The great financial and economic interests of Europe were on the whole against the idea of war. If Nietzsche and Kipling in different ways glorified force, it was also the age of Tolstoy, Ibsen, Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells. One has to conclude that the profound universal influences making for war or peace largely cancelled themselves out. All Europe was guilty and also not guilty of allowing war in 1914. But when one looks at the way war was actually brought about it is another story.

Although during the nineteenth century many peoples had won their national existence, there were still many demands not met. The Irish problem nearly led to civil war in the United Kingdom in the spring of 1914; Poles groaned under the foreign domination of Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary; Finland was still a part of the Czar’s empire.

Above all, suppressed national demands threatened the life of Austria-Hungary in which eleven subject races, including Czechs, Slovaks and Italians, all demanded, with varying degrees of determination, political liberty or another allegiance. This fermentation (def: agitation; excitement) of revolt had created in the minds of the Austrian political leaders, and in that of the aged Emperor Franz Joseph who had been on the throne since 1849, an increasingly bellicose (def: warlike) state of mind. It was because they believed that their cumbrous (def: large and unweidly) Hapsburg Empire could only be held together by force that Europe was involved in war.

The main danger which the politicians of Austria-Hungary feared came from the little Slav kingdom of Serbia, which had fought so well against the Turks in the Balkan wars and whose example inspired so many of Austria’s Slav subject peoples. Austrian diplomacy had been long exercised to crush Serbia and had successfully prevented her access to the Adriatic after the second Balkan war by creating the independent kingdom of Albania. Opportunities for totally crushing Serbia would have been seized but for the fact that Serbia enjoyed Russian protection.

The heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary was the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, an intelligent, rather authoritarian (def: strict and demanding obedience), moody, middle-aged man who, with his square head, melancholy (def: expressing sadness) eyes and large chin, looked a typical Hapsburg, whilst his hair en brosse

(def: in a crew cut) and his upturned moustaches gave him a general resemblance to the Teutonic (def: stereotypically German) aristocracy and particularly to Kaiser Wilhelm. He was not popular either in Austria or Germany. His ill-humor (def: bad mood) came in part from the fact that he had married, morganatically (def: marrying someone of lower social with the understanding that his/her children will have no right to the throne), a Czech Countess Sophie, against his father’s will, and his wife, to whom he was devoted as he was to his children, suffered thereafter from a sort of social ostracism by imperial society.

Franz Ferdinand had liberal inclinations and believed in a plan which was seriously considered in some circles in Vienna, for turning the Dual Monarchy, in which the Austro-Germans and Hungarian-Magyars formed the ruling class, into a Triple Monarchy in which the Slav subjects of the Hapsburg Empire would have an equal share. So in Serbia the Archduke was particularly disliked as a dangerous reformer who might wean (def: cause someone to go away from something) away Serbs and Croats and other southern Slav people from the true ideal of a great Serbian State.

In 1908, after the third Balkan war, Austria-Hungary had annexed (def: taken over) the large territory known as Bosnia-Herzegovina which ran down the Adriatic coast to Albania and which had been in the hands of the Turks. It was a comparatively new acquisition that in June 1914, the Archduke and his wife were visiting, the occasion being some important military maneuvers. Though there were many Serbs in Bosnia, the Croat majority, mainly Catholic, was counted, in Vienna, as among the relatively loyal elements of the Empire. The Archduchess, a woman of charm and character, greatly added to the success of the tour.

The royal pair had left Vienna on Tuesday and had spent four days in Bosnia, at Ilidze, a small village connected with the important town of Sarajevo by a narrow-gauge railway. One of Franz Ferdinand’s A.D.C.s seems to have urged the Archduke, on Saturday, to return to Vienna and cut out the visit to Sarajevo. There had been rumors of assassination plots and the Archduke’s entourage was jumpy, so jumpy that a court photographer carrying a long flashlight tube had been arrested as he hid in the bushes to snap the Archduke and his wife as they passed.

On Sunday morning, after hearing Mass in a private chapel and sending a telegram to his children saying he and their mother would be with them on Tuesday next, the Archduke and Duchess caught the train to Sarajevo, inspected some troops, and then climbed into the rear seats of a dark-green open car, General Potiorek, the Governor of Bosnia, and Count Harrach, who owned the car, sitting in front. The Archduchess wore a white dress with a large hat, the Duke a light blue tunic and black trousers with a cocked (def: tilted) hat with green ostrich plumes. Other cars with A.D.C.s and senior officers followed.

Sarajevo lies at the beginning of a plain, with some high mountains behind it to the north, on the Miljacha river. An important Turkish garrison (def: military post) town, it had, and still has, some fine Turkish architecture, and in 1914 it had one hundred mosques (def: Muslim churches). The plum trees were in blossom, and a hot sun was blazing after a heavy rain when the royal couple left the station and drove down a wide street called Appel Quay which runs along the river bank to the center of the town.

Along the Appel Quay six young assassins, all of them Bosnians, five of them Bosnian-Serbs, had posted themselves.

Three of them, Princip, Cabrinovic and Garbez, had been trained by the Serbian Black Hand organization, whose object was the achievement of Serbian aggrandizement (def: to make greater in power) by violence. Though these three denied that they had ever been given instructions by the Black Hand and that the intention to murder the Archduke was theirs and theirs alone, it is certain that the three others were recruited by a Black Hand agent living in Sarajevo.

As the Archduke’s car was moving at some twenty miles per hour down the Quay, the first of the assassins did not, from fear or surprise or nearness of gendarmes (def: police officers), fire. But stationed on the other side of the Quay was Vaso Cabrinovic, who lobbed (def: threw casually) a home-made bomb, the cap of which he had banged on a water hydrant, onto the hood of the Archduke’s car. Franz Ferdinand had seen what Cabrinovic was doing, stood up in the car and knocked the bomb into the road, where it exploded and wounded some bystanders and occupants of the next car. Cabrinovic swallowed a vial (def: small glass bottle) of poison, which did not work, and jumped into the river but was soon captured. The Archduke’s chauffeur drove rapidly to the Town Hall. The other assassins, one of whom was Gavrilo Princip, did nothing.

The Archduke was extremely angry and would scarcely listen to the Mayor’s address of welcome. He refused to wait until troops were sent for to protect the procession of cars and decided he would not visit the museum which was the next place on his program, but would drive back along the Appel Quay to the hospital where the injured were being treated. Count Harrach insisted on riding on the running board (def: step for getting into the vehicle), choosing the left side. Had he stood on the right it is possible that he would have received Princip’s bullets and that a European war might have been averted (def: avoided). Had the chauffeur been told beforehand of the change of itinerary, the Archduke’s car would not have been halted by a bridge where the chauffeur was ordered to turn left to the hospital, back along the Appel Quay, and not right to the Museum.

It was whilst the car was stationary (def: standing still) by the bridge and going into reverse that Gavrilo Princip, disconsolate (def: extremely sad) at the failure of the attempt and waiting just in case the Archduke should reappear, was able to fire at a sitting target and from about five yards. One shot hit the Archduke in the throat, the other the Archduchess in the abdomen. The Archduchess died even before the car had reached the Governor’s house. The Archduke was dead fifteen minutes later. His last words were, “Sophie, for God’s sake, stay alive for our children.”

The world heard of the Archduke’s assassination with some alarm; but little happened for three weeks, from 18 June until just before 23 July, and most of the world by that time had forgotten all about it. A violent Press campaign was conducted in Austria against Serbia, but the Kaiser had set out on one of his customary annual visits to the Baltic, the Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian and German Armies, Conrad von Hoetzendorff and Von Moltke, had gone on holiday, and so too had the German High Seas Admiral, Von Tirpitz. The French President Poincare and the Prime Minister Viviani were on a visit to Russia and were indeed returning by sea on 23 July.

A Secret Austrian Commission of Inquiry had at once begun work; it failed to find any conclusive evidence of the complicity (def: involvement) of the Serbian Government in the plot. In Serbia a General Election was being held, and because of this and perhaps because the Government had had wind (def: heard of) of some plot but failed to communicate its information to Vienna, no inquiry was instituted on the Serbian side.

Until 23 July even “well-informed circles” outside of Vienna were unaware that Austria intended war on Serbia. On the whole, public opinion sympathized with the Austrian demand that Serbia should be punished for failure to control her national extremists. “To Hell with Serbia,” wrote Horatio Bottomley in his large-circulation weekly John Bull. The terms of the Austrian ultimatum, however, caused some alarm. They amounted, in their ten points, one of which included the temporary occupation of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, by the Austrian Army, to a demand for the abdication (def: resign a position) of Serbian independence. It was an ultimatum (def: demand) meant to be declined, and Austria’s intention to go to war was evident. Serbia accepted seven of the ten points on 25 July. On 28 July the Austrian army bombarded Belgrade.

One event which had happened behind the scenes in those three weeks was of the utmost importance. On 5 July the German Kaiser received Count Hoyos on behalf of the Austrian Foreign Office, and, over lunch, told him that Germany stood behind Austria whatever steps she might take. Constitutionally the Kaiser was obliged to consult the German Chancellor, Von Bethman Hollweg, and this he did, though very informally, for he was in a hurry to start his journey to the north, during a walk in the Palace grounds that afternoon. German support for Austria in any eventuality (def: possibility), the probable one of war with Russia in the event of positive action against Serbia, was pledged. This enabled the Austrian Foreign Minister, Von Berchtold, and the war party to overcome the objections to a war policy with Serbia and Russia raised by the powerful Tisa, the Prime Minister of Hungary.

The German government was not shown the Austrian note, and when the rather surprisingly conciliatory (def: trying to make people less angry) Serbian reply was received, the Kaiser was relieved and thought that Austria had won a bloodless victory. Germany, on 26 and 27 July, was suddenly trying to put on the brakes. Even so the German government refused to support Sir Edward Grey’s suggestion made on 27 July that Serbia should be given more time; Grey proposed a conference of Ambassadors of the powers not directly concerned with the quarrel: Germany, Britain, France, and Italy.

By then, however, the German General Staff had decided that war was to come out of this and that it was better now than a year or so later when Russia would have completed her strategic railways. Whilst the Kaiser and the German Chancellor were attempting to moderate the Austrian attitude, Von Moltke went so far as to send a telegram to the Austrian commander-in-chief, urging rapid mobilization (def: preparation for war).

On 29 July, Russia concentrated troops along the Austria-Hungarian frontier. Early on 30 July, the Czar, still in contact with the Kaiser, who was now extremely anxious, ordered a partial mobilization of the Russian Army, but by the late afternoon the Russian General Staff had persuaded him to declare a general mobilization on the grounds that a partial mobilization was impractical and might lead the French to consider they were not obliged to support Russia in a local war with Austria. Russia, therefore, mobilized fully on the 31st and so took the first virtually irrevocable (def: impossible to take back) step. On that day Germany asked France if she would remain neutral in a conflict between Germany and Russia. The German Ambassador had instructions to demand the handing over of the fortified (def: protected by a military) towns of Toul and Verdun as guarantees if France’s answer was “Yes”. But the French government answered “No” and France on 1 August decreed a general mobilization.

France was still not at war. It is possible that if the British government had announced that Britain would enter the war if France was involved, the war could have been averted. The British Cabinet was divided and so was public opinion: Britain was not absolutely pledged to support France. But whatever Britain’s attitude, the die was really cast in Berlin.

Before Germany’s declaration of war on France on 2 August, the German government sent a note to Belgium demanding the passage of German troops through the national territory. The war plan of the German General Staff against France, the Schlieffen Plan, consisted in the turning of the French army, concentrated on the Franco-German frontiers, on its left flank (def: side) by a rapid movement through Belgium. On 1 August the Kaiser, hoping to secure British neutrality, tried to persuade Von Moltke to abandon this offensive against France through Belgium and to concentrate on the Eastern Front. Von Moltke replied that this was militarily impossible; thousands of trains were already speeding towards the West and the Belgium frontier and to alter the war plan now would simply mean chaos. Britain, he thought, would not come in.

It was the violation of Belgian neutrality, guaranteed by all the powers, that brought a now unanimous Britain into the war on 4 August. Even Von Moltke when he heard the news was abashed, for now Germany and Austria (without Italy who declined to follow their lead) had to face a powerful coalition (def: political alliance) in the West as well as the vast might of Russia in the East. The Kaiser exclaimed pathetically about his uncle Edward VII whom he had hated, “Edward dead is more powerful than I am, alive.”

This story of how war actually began does enable one to pin down responsibility more closely. The unwise German Emperor allowed the weak Dual Monarchy to believe that Germany would support it unconditionally against Serbia. The German Emperor had second thoughts but not so the German General Staff. The Czar might have delayed a general mobilization and again diplomacy might have intervened, but the Russian military leaders over-ruled him. This was the basic cause: weak, despotic (def: acting like a tyrant) emperors in Central Europe and strong generals.

England might have made a more vigorous attempt to preserve the peace in July if her pacific-minded Cabinet had not been preoccupied with Ireland or if she had had at that time a leader of the greatness of a Disraeli or a Gladstone (def: both British politicians). It was the tragedy of Europe that in the important countries there were no political leaders outstanding enough to control the military machines. So Europe blundered (def: made a mistake) into a war which was to be the suicide of an epoch (def: significant period). No one, and least of all the rulers of Central Europe, had the imagination to foresee what kind of a war it was going to be or what would be its consequences.

Source: http://www.famoushistoricalevents.net/assassination-archduke-franz-ferdinand/ (Famous Historical Events)

Author: unknown

Publisher: unknown

Article Title: “Assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand”

Last Updated: 2010

Accessed by: Ms. Handley 03-07-2011

Putting it All Together

Complete the following Thinking Maps™ with information from the various/all the articles. Look at the sections you highlighted to guide you to the right areas.

Tree Map: Use the information you highlighted in the articles above to answer the first and third questions in the Tree Map below. Each of the “branches” has one of the essential questions you will need to answer in your research paper. Be sure to list as many answers as you can think of; you can always add “rows” to the bottom of the tree map if you need more space, but you must fill in the rows that are provided. Next to each entry, cite the author’s last name or the title of the article (if the author is “unknown”) you obtained the information from. You must use each article at least once.

Flow Map: Use the following flow map to answer the essential question, “What was the timeline of events that enabled the assassination to take place or almost take place?” by using the information in the articles above. You can add boxes to the timeline if you need them, but you must fill in all the boxes that are here. Remember that each box is for a different event that makes up the story of the assassination, and the events should be in chronological order. Cite the author’s last name or title of the article you gained the information from just outside the boxes that contain the information.

Multi-Flow Map: In the Multi-Flow Map below, paraphrase (def: restate using other words) the causes and effects of the (attempted) assassination. The “Cause” section (the left side) should answer the essential question, “What motivated the (would be) assassins to commit murder?”The “Effect” section (the right side) should answer the essential question, “What was/were the political result(s) of the assassination or attempt?” You can add boxes to the multi-flow map if you need them, but you must fill up the boxes that are there. Cite the author’s last name or title of the article you gained the information from just outside the boxes that contain the information.