Why the First World War Began

June 28th 1914 and Gavrilo Princip would fire two bullets that would change Europe forever. Those two bullets which killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his beloved wife Sophie would in the end cause nine million deaths and total mayhem in Europe.

The First Death
When he fired those shots Princip had no idea that his actions would engulf all of Europe believing that he was simply making a political statement while striking a blow against oppression. He and his motley crew of conspirators believed they were just striking a blow for their cause, the creation of a Greater Serbia.

The fact is that these conspirators knew very little about Archduke Franz Ferdinand but as he was the head of the Hapsburg Empire he was the personification of Austrian oppression of Bosnian Serbs.

Princip had been born into a poor family and knew only too well the oppression and suffering of the Bosnian Serbs. His family tilled a four-acre plot of land in the Krajina, the most impoverished region of Bosnia. Owning land was not allowed and one third of the cash value of their meager crops had to be paid to a landlord, usually a Muslim.

Princip's Early years
Gavrilo Princip was one of ten children of whom only four survived infancy. He was an undersized frail child and youth and was bullied by his peers. To escape his unhappy existence Princip turned his attention to books, which he later recalled ‘were his life.’ Princip particularly concentrated on books about Serbian history and wept over the tragic defeat at Kosovo making a vow that he would take up arms for the cause of a united Serbia.


In 1913 Princip moved to Belgrade to further his education. He began reading the teachings of the Russian anarchists, particularly those that advocated the use of tyranicide to liberate oppressed people

Princip decided that Franz Ferdinand had to be assassinated and recruited some young men to join his cause.

Archduke Ferdinand Plans to visit Bosnia
The opportunity arose when in February 1914 the teenagers read that the Archduke would be in Bosnia on June 28th. This being the anniversary of the battle of Kosovo led Princip to believe that this was an obvious opportunity for a symbolic act.

On the 28th June 1914 the conspirators placed themselves along the motorcade route at intervals each armed with a bomb and four of them with shotguns. The first bomb was thrown and missed the Archduke by inches. The Archduke halted the procession to see if anyone had been seriously injured. This brought him in front of Princip but Princip was too short to see over the on-lookers and had no field of fire. The procession moved on.

Half an hour later the motorcade came back down the quay at high speed. The Archdukes driver made a wrong turn that would bring about a final rendezvous with Princip and death.

Princip was too young to receive the death penalty and received the maximum twenty years imprisonment.