Answer :
Final answer:
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on June 28th, 1914, inflamed tensions across Europe, leading to the outbreak of World War I as nations were drawn into the conflict through a complex web of alliances.
Explanation:
Headline: Heir to Austro-Hungarian Empire Assassinated in Sarajevo - War Looms Over Europe
On the morning of June 28th, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, along with his wife, Duchess Sophie, were assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Serbian nationalist group known as the Black Hand. The tragic event escalated tensions across Europe, with Austria-Hungary making stern demands of Serbia, setting off a series of reactions among nations bound by alliance. Germany, allied with Austria-Hungary, stood by as aggression mounted, Russia sided with Serbia, and France and Great Britain were pulled into the fray, marking the onset of what would become known as World War I.
This assassination was the culmination of a complex web of political alliances and deep-seated tensions within the Balkan region, including the Black Hand's goal of separating Bosnia-Herzegovina from Austria-Hungary to create a larger Serbian state. The failure of Austria-Hungary and Serbia to reconcile their differences following the assassination, and the intricate system of alliances, led to a chain reaction that ultimately plunged the entirety of Europe into conflict, marking the start of World War I.
