World One War: The Assassin
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The shot heard around the World
One of the sparks to the powder keg which ignited the First World War was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand Archduke of Austria. The assassination, growing tensions in Europe and an arms race in the prior years ignited a cataclysmic war which would claim over 9 million lives by 1918. But what of the man who fired that fatal shot?
Gavrilo Princip was born on the 25th July 1895 and was a nationalist Bosnian Serb who was associated with the movement ‘Mlada Bosna’ (Young Bosnia), a group who would have deadly consequences for the world.
Born in the village of Obljaj which was part of Bosnia Herzegovina, which in turn was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Princip came from a poor family. The son of a postman, his parents, Petar and Marija, had in total nine children of which six died in infancy. Princip’s poor parents could not afford to care for him and sent him to live with his older brother in Zagreb.
It is generally accepted that Princip was part of a group called “Union or Death” which was a breakaway group of Young Bosnia. This group was made up of Serbs, Croats and Bosnians committed to independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1912, Princip took part in demonstrations against the Sarajevo authorities, an act which cost him his schooling.
Four years previous in 1908, Bosnia-Herzegovina had been declared part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire by the then Emperor Franz Joseph. This ultimately caused outrage amongst the Slavic people of Southern Europe.
At the outbreak of the First Balkan War in 1912, Princip planned to join the ‘Komite’ which was an irregular Serbian guerrilla force which was part of the ‘Black Hand’. Despite his patriotism, Princip was rejected due to his size.
Gavrilo’s fame ultimately came in 1914. The Governor of Austria, Oskar Potiorek, invited Franz Ferdinand and his wife Countess Sophie to the opening of a hospital. The Royal couple knew it was dangerous as Emperor Franz Josef had nearly been assassinated by the ‘Black Hand’ in 1911.
Six assassins of the ‘Black Hand’ lined the route Franz Ferdinand would take in Sarajevo. Following two failed assassination attempts, Franz Ferdinand decided to visit those who had been injured in the attacks. In order to avoid the city centre, the Royal entourage moved down Appel Quay to the Sarajevo Hospital. Failing to inform the driver, the entourage turned into Franz Josef Street, straight into the sights of Gavrilo Princip.
Spotting the Royal car, Princip stepped forward, drew his pistol and at a distance of five feet, fired twice at the car. Both Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were hit and later died.
Following the assassination, Princip attempted suicide, first with the pistol and then cyanide. Both these attempts failed and he was wrestled to the ground before he could fire another shot.
Ultimately Princip set off a chain reaction towards war and, surprisingly, too young to receive the death penalty. Princip was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Held in harsh conditions during the subsequent war, he contracted tuberculosis and had to have one of his arms amputated when the disease infected an arm bone.
Gavrilo Princip died on April 28th 1918 at Terezin, three years and ten months after he assassinated the Archduke. At the time of his death, Princip weighed around 40 kilograms, a result of malnutrition, disease and blood loss.
During the course of World War One, the house in which Princip lived was destroyed, and following the war, it became a museum in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Prior to the Bosnian War, the pavement site where Princip stood and fired the shots was marked by embossed footprints
If you would like to read more about Serbs Nationalists, the Assassination and the Balkan Wars which was a catalyst to the Great War, click on the links below to view my magazine
