War · 1914–1918
World War I
Latin Bridge, Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), site of the assassination
On 28 June 1914 the Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo; Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia, and within weeks Europe's alliance system had pulled the great powers into war between the Allies (the Entente) and the Central Powers. Machine guns, artillery, poison gas, aircraft and tanks made it one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with 15 to 22 million deaths, before the armistice of 11 November 1918.
Why it mattered
The war destroyed the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires, and the peace settlements that followed, including the Treaty of Versailles, left unresolved tensions that helped cause World War II.
Related
- The world in 1914: The World Goes to War chapter
- First World War 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918
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