The assassination - the basics

On the morning of 28 June 1914, a failed assassination attempt led Archduke Franz Ferdinand to try to abandon his visit to the Sarajevo. However, by a stroke of bad luck, he came face to face with another assassin on his journey to the railway station and was shot dead.

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  1. Sarajevo was in Bosnia, the province that - to Serbia's anger - had been annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908.

  2. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. He was inspecting the army in Sarajevo with his wife Sophie. The royal couple arrived by train at 9.28am.

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  3. Seven young Bosnian Serbs planned to assassinate Franz Ferdinand as he drove along the main road in Sarajevo, the Appel Quay.

  4. The first conspirator who tried to kill Franz Ferdinand was Nedeljko Cabrinovic - he threw a bomb at his car. He missed and was arrested.

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  5. The Archduke escaped unhurt and went to the town hall. He decided to abandon the visit and return home via a different route to the one planned. The royal couple left the town hall immediately.

  6. No one had told the driver the route had changed. On the way back, therefore, the driver turned into Franz Josef Street, following the published route and, when told of his error, stopped the car to turn around.

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  7. Unfortunately, the car stopped in front of Gavrilo Princip, one of the conspirators, who was on his way home thinking he had failed.

  8. Princip pulled out a gun and shot at Franz Ferdinand, hitting him in the jugular vein. There was a tussle, during which Princip shot and killed Sophie. By 11.30am, Franz Ferdinand had bled to death.