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The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 set off the chain of events that led to World War I.

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Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, which had annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908. On 28 June 1914 he and his wife Sophie were shot in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a 19-year-old Bosnian Serb student. Princip belonged to a group of young conspirators, helped by a secret Serbian nationalist society called the Black Hand, who wanted to free Bosnia from Austro-Hungarian rule and unite the South Slavs in one state. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia and declared war on it on 28 July. Because the great powers were bound by alliances, the war spread within days: Germany declared war on Russia and France, and Britain entered on 4 August after Germany invaded Belgium. The Ottoman Empire joined that autumn on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Türkçe oku
Avusturya Arşidükü Franz Ferdinand, 28 Haziran 1914'te Saraybosna'da öldürüldü. Bu suikast, Birinci Dünya Savaşı'na giden olaylar zincirini başlattı.

Franz Ferdinand, 1908'de Bosna-Hersek'i topraklarına katan Avusturya-Macaristan'ın veliahdıydı. 28 Haziran 1914'te Saraybosna'da, 19 yaşındaki Bosnalı Sırp öğrenci Gavrilo Princip onu ve eşi Sophie'yi vurarak öldürdü. Princip, Bosna'yı Avusturya-Macaristan yönetiminden kurtarıp Güney Slavlarını tek bir devlette birleştirmek isteyen bir grup genç suikastçıdan biriydi; onlara Kara El adlı gizli bir Sırp milliyetçi örgütü yardım etmişti. Avusturya-Macaristan Sırbistan'ı suçladı ve 28 Temmuz'da ona savaş ilan etti. Büyük devletler birbirine ittifaklarla bağlı olduğu için savaş birkaç gün içinde yayıldı: Almanya Rusya'ya ve Fransa'ya savaş ilan etti; Almanya'nın Belçika'yı işgal etmesi üzerine İngiltere de 4 Ağustos'ta savaşa girdi. Osmanlı Devleti de aynı yılın sonbaharında Almanya ve Avusturya-Macaristan'ın yanında savaşa katıldı.

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Background reading: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
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