Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife was the immediate cause of the First World War.

A Serbian-nationalist terrorist group known as the Black Hand sent groups to engineer the assassination of the Archduke.

Their first attempt misfired when a driver evaded a grenade targeted at their car. Nevertheless, Gavrilo Princip a Serbian-nationalist assassinated him.

This was a clear protest over the hegemony of Austria-Hungary over this region. Serbia wanted to take over Bosnia and Herzegovina. This led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia which evoked the purpose of the alliances.