who shot archduke franz ferdinand of austria

Having himself come to power at the young age of eighteen, Franz Joseph was evidently unable to see things from an heir’s perspective. For this reason the emperor rarely involved his heir in the political decision-making process – a mistake that he had already made with his son Rudolf and was later to repeat with his great-nephew Karl. Franz Ferdinand saw in Franz Joseph an old man desperately clinging on to power, while the emperor believed his successor to be a hothead who for sheer ambition could not wait for him to die.įranz Joseph thought that his successor should remain patiently and submissively in the background until the eleventh hour. The two infuriated each other: encounters between the two frequently degenerated into shouting matches, with Franz Joseph putting an end to the discussion with a categorical “As long as I live, I rule!”. Whereas Franz Joseph was self-controlled and reticent to a fault, Franz Ferdinand had a rather charmless personality and was prone to acting on impulse. The personal dislike between uncle and nephew originated from their differences in character. Supplying and aiding the assassination plot was the Black Hand, an extensive and well-orchestrated organisation with connections to the top ranks of the Serbian military.Possessed of profoundly different personalities, the emperor and his successor had widely diverging views of the office of emperor and the future of the monarchy. Just teenagers on the day of the attack, Princip and Cabrinovic were members of Young Bosnia, a loosely coordinated group of Serb nationalists made up mainly of high school students. Princip died on 28 April 1918, also of tuberculosis. Cabrinovic died in prison from tuberculosis in January 1916, 13 days before his 21st birthday. They would not see the end of the war their actions triggered. Princip and Cabrinovic were too young to face death under Austro-Hungarian law and received the maximum term possible of 20 years imprisonment. Tried for treason and murder, eight were found guilty (one remianing conspirator escaped to Serbia before the trial) and three of the men were executed. Both were immediately arrested and, under questioning, eventually gave up the names of their co-conspirators. Only two made an attempt on his life, Nedjelko Cabrinovic and Gavrilo Princip. Nine men had set out to kill the archduke that day. 'His face began to twist somewhat but he went on repeating, six or seven times, ever more faintly as he gradually lost consciousness, 'It's nothing!' Then, after a short pause, there was a violent choking sound caused by the bleeding. He answered me quite distinctly, 'It's nothing!' Lt Col Harrach added 'I seized the Archduke by the collar, to stop his head dropping forward, and asked him if he was in great pain. Then I heard His Imperial Highness say, 'Sopherl, Sopherl, don't die.

'I had no idea that she was hit and thought she had simply fainted with fright. As Harrach went to the archduke's assistance, the duchess appears to have cried out, 'What has happened to you?' before sinking down in her seat with her face between her knees. He has revealed details of the archduke and Sophie's final moments.Īfter the shots were fired, Harrach describes seeing 'a thin stream of blood spurt from His Highness's mouth onto my right cheek'. We have just heard from the Archduke's aide, Count Frank Harrach, who was standing beside the archduke when the attack took place.

Who shot archduke franz ferdinand of austria