7 Facts About the Absurd Circumstances of Franz Ferdinand's Assassination

Leave it to a pesky grenade to ruin a perfectly good parade.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, visited Sarajevo to commemorate Bosnia’s induction into the empire on June 28th, 1914. A group of Serbian rebels learned of his plans and decided to assassinate the archduke to protest Bosnia’s inclusion in the empire, feeling Bosnia should be part of a unified Serbian federal nation instead.

Armed with grenades and pistols, strategically placed along the parade route, the rebels had an assassin among them: Gavrilo Princip, trained by the secret Serbian society Black Hand. Princip eventually killed Ferdinand, but the first blow came from rebel Nedeljko Cabrinovic, who threw a grenade at the archduke’s open-top car. The grenade bounced off the car and landed on the car directly behind it, injuring many, but not the archduke; he was able to escape unharmed thanks to the grenade's 10-second delay.

After Nedjelko Cabrinovic hurled his grenade at Ferdinand, he attempted suicide with a vial of cyanide, something all the rebels had to avoid arrest. Unfortunately, the cyanide was weak and only made Cabrinovic sick. In a panic, he jumped off a bridge, but survived the fall because the river was only 4 inches deep. Ouch. Standing in shallow water with a broken leg, puking thanks to his out-of-date poison, Cabrinovic was arrested. A similar fate awaited Princip, though he and the other rebels were able to get away amidst the panic of the crowd, in the wake of the first, failed assassination attempt.

After Cabrinovic's catastrophic attempt to assassinate Ferdinand, Princip and the other rebels disbanded, each going his separate way. While Princip allegedly looked for a bite to eat, Ferdinand and his wife, Sarah, went to the town hall for a previously scheduled meeting with local officials.

A few hours later, after the streets had returned to relative normalcy, Franz and Sarah planned to leave the town hall, though Franzy changed his mind, deciding he wanted to do the honorable thing and visit an officer injured in the morning’s blast. This change of plans proved to be the worst last-minute decision in the 20th century, because it delivered him right into the hands of Gavrilo Princip. 

After the blast, Princip ended up in the vicinity of Mortiz Schiller’s delicatessen, on Franz Joseph Street. There’s some debate as to whether Princip was eating a sandwich or just standing near the deli (more likely than not it's the latter; apparently Serbs don't even eat sandwiches). Regardless, if Ferdinand’s last minute change-of-plans was the 20th century’s worst decision, Princip going to Mortiz’s was the luckiest (for him, at least).

Ferdinand’s driver wasn’t familiar with the streets of Sarajevo and got lost on the way to the hospital. Amidst his confusion, he pulled up in front of Mortiz’s. Princip noticed and took his shot.

The stage was set - Princip was in the right place at the right time, the archduke's driver was hopelessly lost. Princip took his shot while Ferdinand's driver was (manually) pushing the car in reverse down the narrow street where Mortiz’s deli was located.

Contrary to popular myth, the car did have a reverse function, though that function was a pain the ass to use, given how laborious and time consuming it was. It was easier, therefore, for the driver to push the car, thereby giving Princip the opportunity to realize who was in the car, and ample time to take his shot. 

Princip fired just two shots, but managed to kill both Ferdinand and his pregnant wife, Sarah. Princip later said he never intended to kill Sarah, and was aiming for General Oskar Potiorek, military governor of Bosnia. He also got really lucky in killing the archduke - somehow, the one shot he fired nicked Ferdinand's carotid artery, and he bled out in minutes. 

Panicked, Princip swallowed his vial of cyanide, which was weak and only made Princip sick (it must've come from the same worthless batch as Cabrinovic's). Cyanide-induced sickness made Princip easy to catch. The archduke’s driver tackled him, and he was arrested. In the days after the assassination, all the other rebels were arrested.

News spread quickly (for 1914), and exactly a month later, Austria-Hungary held Serbia responsible for the assassination and declared war, leading to World War I. All because a 19-year-old kid just happened to be in the right place at the right time.