Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The rivalries between the Great Powers were so intense that Europe was on the brink of war. The trigger was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914 in Sarajevo, Bosnia.

The assassination

Archduke Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
28 June 1914: the Archduke and his wife were in Bosnia, the area annexed by Austria-Hungary. They were there to inspect the army.
During the visit, the Archduke and his wife were shot by a Bosnian Serb called Gavrilo Princip.

The political response

The assassination of the Archduke was nothing new for the Austro-Hungarians. Two royals had been assassinated in the past 20 years.
The difference was how politicians responded in the next six weeks.

Consequences of the assassination

Austria-Hungary wanted to use the assassination to attack Serbia because it believed that the Serbian government had secretly helped the assassins.
- Austria-Hungary asked for Germany's help to attack Serbia.
- 5 July 1914: Austria-Hungary received full German support in the ‘blank cheque’.
Serbia asked for Russian support against the threat of Austria-Hungary and Germany.

1The Causes of the First World War

1.1The Alliance System

1.1.1The Threat of Germany & The Triple Alliance

1.1.2The Franco-Russian Alliance & the 'Entente'

1.1.3End of Topic Test - The Alliance System

1.2Crisis in Morocco and the Balkans

1.2.1The Crisis in Morocco

1.2.2The Crisis in the Balkans

1.2.3The Balkan Wars

1.2.4Impact on International Relations

1.2.5End of Topic Test - Morocco & the Balklans

1.3Anglo-German Rivalry

1.3.1Britain & Splendid Isolation

1.3.2Kaiser Wilhelm II's Foreign Policy

1.3.3European Rearmament

1.3.4End of Topic Test - Anglo-German Rivalry

1.4Outbreak of War

1.4.1Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

1.4.2The July Crisis

1.4.3The Schlieffen Plan and Belgium

1.4.4Reasons for the Outbreak of Hostilities

1.4.5End of Topic Test - Outbreak of War

2The First World War: Stalemate

2.1The Schlieffen Plan

2.1.1Reasons Behind the Schlieffen Plan & its Failure

2.1.2Stalemate

2.1.3End of Topic Test - The Schlieffen Plan

2.2The Western Front

2.2.1Technology

2.2.2Military Tactics

2.2.3The War of Attrition (1915-1916)

2.2.4The War of Attrition (1917)

2.2.5End of Topic Test - The Western Front

2.3The Wider War

2.3.1The War at Sea

2.3.2The War in the Air

2.3.3Other Theatres

2.3.4End of Topic Test - Wider War

3Ending the War

3.1Changes in the Allied Forces

3.1.1The Bolshevik Revolution

3.1.2Reasons for the Entry of the USA

3.1.3The Impact of US Entry on the War

3.1.4End of Topic Test - Changes in the Allied Forces

3.2Military Developments in 1918

3.2.1Tactics & Technology

3.2.2Ludendorff & the German Spring Offensive

3.2.3The Allied Advance During The Hundred Days

3.3Germany Surrenders

3.3.1The Impact of the Naval Blockade

3.3.2Abdication of the Kaiser

3.3.3Armistice

3.3.4The Contribution of Haig and Foch

3.3.5End of Topic Test - Developments & Surrender

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