Princip longed for a Bosnia-Herzegovina free of Austria-Hungary and a "union of south Slavs". The visit had been reported in the press as early as March, and a plot against the Archduke began shortly after. They were scheduled to spend a busy day in Sarajevo that included a troop inspection at the army barracks, a reception at town hall, the opening of a new museum, lunch at the palace of the governor, General Oskar Potiorek, and a visit to a carpet factory before an afternoon departure from the train station. The royal couple were completing a three-day visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Archduke to observe military maneuvers involving 20,000 troops in his role of Inspector General of the Army. The Archduke, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife both died within an hour. Using a pistol that would be traced to neighboring Serbia, Gavrilo Princip, a young Austro-Hungarian Bosnian and Slavic nationalist, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife Sophie von Hohenberg, shooting both of them at close range, him through the throat and her through the groin, in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, on Sunday, June 28, 1914. Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina June 28, 1914 The assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife. Supplying and aiding the assassination plot was the Black Hand, an extensive and well-orchestrated organisation with connections to the top ranks of the Serbian military.L'assassinio a Serajevo dell'arciduca Francesco Ferdinando erede del trono d'Austria, e di sua moglie. Just teenagers on the day of the attack, Princip and Cabrinovic were members of Young Bosnia, a loosely coordinated group of Serb nationalists made up mainly of high school students. Princip died on 28 April 1918, also of tuberculosis. Cabrinovic died in prison from tuberculosis in January 1916, 13 days before his 21st birthday. They would not see the end of the war their actions triggered. Princip and Cabrinovic were too young to face death under Austro-Hungarian law and received the maximum term possible of 20 years imprisonment. Tried for treason and murder, eight were found guilty (one remianing conspirator escaped to Serbia before the trial) and three of the men were executed. Both were immediately arrested and, under questioning, eventually gave up the names of their co-conspirators. Only two made an attempt on his life, Nedjelko Cabrinovic and Gavrilo Princip. Nine men had set out to kill the archduke that day. "His face began to twist somewhat but he went on repeating, six or seven times, ever more faintly as he gradually lost consciousness, 'It's nothing!' Then, after a short pause, there was a violent choking sound caused by the bleeding. He answered me quite distinctly, 'It's nothing!' Lt Col Harrach added "I seized the Archduke by the collar, to stop his head dropping forward, and asked him if he was in great pain. Then I heard His Imperial Highness say, 'Sopherl, Sopherl, don't die. "I had no idea that she was hit and thought she had simply fainted with fright. As Harrach went to the archduke's assistance, the duchess appears to have cried out, "What has happened to you?" before sinking down in her seat with her face between her knees. He has revealed details of the archduke and Sophie's final moments.Īfter the shots were fired, Harrach describes seeing "a thin stream of blood spurt from His Highness's mouth onto my right cheek". We have just heard from the Archduke's aide, Count Frank Harrach, who was standing beside the archduke when the attack took place.
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