Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s Assassination That Ignited World War I

On the morning of June 28, 1914, the streets of Sarajevo were dressed for ceremony. Flags hung from buildings, soldiers lined the route, and a sense of stiff imperial order tried to mask the unease beneath. By the end of that day, a single gunshot would echo far beyond Bosnia, tearing through the fragile balance of Europe and setting the world on a path to unprecedented war. The killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary is often described as the “spark” of World War I. That word, however, can be misleading. Sparks do not ignite unless the ground is dry, the air tense, and the fuel already piled high. By 1914, Europe was exactly that—an overloaded system waiting for a…