The assassination of an archduke. Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, hoped that his sympathy for Slavs would ease tensions between Austria-Hungary and the Balkans. He arranged to tour Bosnia-Herzegovina with his wife, Sophie. As the couple rode through Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, an assassin jumped on their automobile and fired two shots. Francis Ferdinand and Sophie died almost instantly. The murderer, Gavrilo Princip, was linked to a Serbian terrorist group called the Black Hand.

The assassination of Francis Ferdinand gave Austria-Hungary an excuse to crush Serbia, its long-time enemy in the Balkans. Austria-Hungary first gained Germany's promise of support for any action it took against Serbia. It then sent a list of humiliating demands to Serbia on July 23. Serbia accepted most of the demands and offered to have the rest settled by an international conference. Austria-Hungary rejected the offer and declared war on Serbia on July 28. It expected a quick victory.

Within weeks of the archduke's assassination, the chief European powers were drawn into World War I.

Excerpt from the "World War I" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999