CAUSES - THE ASSASSINATION
The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the match that lit the fire of World War One.
On the 28 June, 1914, a 19 year old Serbian student Gavrillo Princip shot and killed Franz Ferdinand, the nephew of Franz Joseph, King of Austria Hungary. Serbia was blamed and attacked by Joseph's armies... Russia got involved and threatened Austria Hungary... can you work out the rest? Why did Princip do this? He was a Nationalist and a member of a terrorist group 'The Black Hand'. They were Serbians who wanted to unite all 'Slavic' people in the Balkans under one country: Yugoslavia. Their first target was to free the Bosnian peoples, their 'Slavic cousins' who were living inside the borders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. To do this, they needed to start a fight. To start a fight, the Black Hand and Princip, needed to make a big statement. To make this statement, Princip and the Black Hand members were willing to die. Franz Joseph sent his nephew, Franz Ferdinand to Sarejevo, the capital of Bosnia before it was in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, on 28 June to oversea the training exercises of Joseph's army. This decision was foolish for two reasons. 1. It was announced in the newspaper. Everyone knew when and where Ferdinand would be. 2. It was on the same day as the National Day of Sebian peoples - A day when many Bosnians' hatred for Austria Hungary was at its highest as they were not allowed to celebrate with their Serbian cousins. THE SANDWICH THAT CHANGED THE WORLD Princip and his fellow terrorists snuck across the border into Sarajevo and prepared their attack. Blending into the crowds watching Ferdinand and his wife travel down the main street in a open top car, one of Princip's fellow agents threw a grenade at the car. Amazingly, Ferdinand saw it in the air and swatted it away! The grenade exploded behind the car and Ferdinand's driver sped away to the Town Hall for safety. Princip was disappointed he had failed and headed to a local bakery. Ferdinand was furious that someone had tried to kill him and cancelled the trip. Once back in his car, Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie told their driver to head directly for the train station, however the driver took a wrong turn and drove past the exact bakery where Princip was standing. Amazed that he had a second chance, Princip walked onto the road and fired two shots into the car with his pistol. He shot Ferdinand in the throat and Sophie in the stomach. Both died on arrival at the hospital. Princip tried to commit suicide at the scene but failed, he was taken to the police station and beaten up. Franz Ferdinand was obviously furious. He, and many others in Austria Hungary blamed the Serbian government for the actions of the terrorist group The Black Hand. Within a few weeks the Austro Hungarian army attacked Serbia and war broke out between the two. One assassination of one man led to a small conflict between two nations many people around the world had never heard of. However Serbia had an alliance with another Empire power... Russia. However, World War One was about to begin. |
Wait, What? How did this lead to war?
Complete the following paragraph by filling in the gaps in your exercise book:
"When Austria Hungary attacked Serbia in 1914, that meant that ____________ would come in to protect Serbia. With this country now involved, it meant that ___________ would come to protect its ally, Austria Hungary. However, this second country had more enemies and ____________ would also come to the aid of Serbia's ally. This meant a war on two fronts was inevitable. However, thanks to ____________, the Schlieffen Plan, a large world war was inevitable, especially when a Naval arms race with ____________ had been raging for years. Thanks to Austro-Hungarian ______________ and Serbian ___________ the ______________ of Franz Ferdinand and a complex set of ___________ which set off a chain of events that led to World War One.
MISSING WORDS:
Germany, Militarism, France, Imperialism, Russia, Alliances, Great Britain, Nationalism, Assassination
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