In 1914, a young Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo, triggering the outbreak of World War I.
However, the assassination was not a simple act of fate, but rather a result of a series of coincidences and blunders. Princip was part of a group of six conspirators who had planned to kill the archduke as he drove through the city in an open car.
However, their first attempt failed when one of them threw a bomb that bounced off the car and exploded behind it, injuring some bystanders.
The archduke's car sped away and the other conspirators lost their chance to shoot him. Princip, who had been stationed near a bridge, gave up and went to a nearby cafe to get a sandwich.
Meanwhile, the archduke decided to visit the hospital where the bomb victims were taken, but his driver took a wrong turn and ended up on the same street where Princip was eating. As fate would have it, the car stopped right in front of the cafe, giving Princip the opportunity to shoot the archduke and his wife at point-blank range.
The assassination precipitated the crisis which led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia and the start of World War I.
The first image is of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie riding in an open carriage shortly before their assassination. The second photo is of the killer, Gavrilo Princip.
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