Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand sparks crisis from "summary" of The Origins of the First World War by Annika Mombauer
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, on 28 June 1914, in Sarajevo, sparked a crisis that would ultimately lead to the outbreak of the First World War. The assassination was carried out by a Bosnian Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, who was a member of the Black Hand, a secret society seeking independence for South Slavs from Austro-Hungarian rule. The assassination set off a chain of events that escalated tensions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, as Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbian government for supporting the assassins. In response, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia, which contained demands that were intentionally designed to be unacceptable to the Serbs. Serbia, feeling threatened by Austria-Hungary's aggressive posture, turned to its ally, Russia, for support. The crisis quickly drew in other major European powers as alliances and rivalries came into play. German...
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