In South-East Europe lies a town called Sarajevo but it is now known as Yugoslavia.
Summer 1914, Sarajevo was ruled by Austria which was one of Europe’s most powerful nations. 28th June 1914. An important visitor was coming to the town of Sarajevo – heir to the throne of the Austrian empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
It was a warm sunny day, a good day for the Archduke to visit. The streets were crowded to welcome the Archduke and his wife as they drove through the town. Among the crowd was a 19 year old young man with sad eyes named Gavrilo Princip.
Unfortunately for the Archduke, Princip was not there to cheer him.
Princip belonged to a nation called the Serbs like most of the people who lived in Sarajevo, the area belonged to them. Many of the Serbs didn’t like being ruled by the Austrians, they instead wanted to part of a nearby country called Serbia.
Princip was ready to show his hate for the Archduke by assassinating him.
Princip was standing on a corner where a side street joined one of the main roads through the town round about lunch time. Suddenly, a big black open car appeared. It came round the corner into the side street and stopped. The driver had taken the wrong turning. Princip could hardly believe his eyes at what he was witnessing; only a few yards away from him sat the Archduke. Pulling out an automatic pistol from his right hand jacket pocket, Princip stepped forward. He took aim and pulled the trigger from only four yards away, he shot the Archduke through the throat. A second bullet accidently hit the Archdukes wife.
For seconds nobody moved, everyone was in shock and tears. Then several of the spectators jumped on Princip, grabbed the gun off him and forced him to the ground but unfortunately it was too late. Within minutes, both the Archduke and his wife were dead. Those two shots from Princip’s automatic changed the history of the world, you could say that the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand was the most important...