6 Assassins And Their Fate: Sarajevo Break Down (WW1 Documentary)

Shortly before the bells chimed eleven on a crisp Sunday morning on the 28th of June 1914, a crackle of gunfire pierced the serene streets of Sarajevo. Two shots, sharp and sudden, echoed through the city, forever altering the course of history. The gunman, a young Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip, had just ignited a spark that would soon engulf Europe in a brutal conflict. His targets? None other than Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Duchess Sophie Chotek.

This wasn't just an assassination; it was a calculated act of defiance, a desperate plea for freedom from a simmering nationalist movement. In this video, we'll rewind time to that fateful day. We'll dissect the assassination, delve into the simmering tensions that laid the groundwork for this pivotal moment, and ultimately understand how a single bullet, fired with unwavering conviction, could set the world ablaze.

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General Sources:
• US National Archives (NARA)
• Google Earth Pro & Web Versions
• Maptiler Pro (Desktop Version)
• Geolayers 3
• Epidemic Sounds

Credits:
• Research & Script: Shane Greer
• Narration: Dan Hill
• Editing: Shane Greer
• Thumbnail Design: Linus Klassen
• Music & Sound Effects: Shane Greer

[Isus]

To this day, Princip is considered a hero in Serbia, streets named after him, and a terrorist amd assasin in Croatia. On Bosnia it depends if you are in Repulika Srpska or in the Federation of BiH.
Balkans in a nushell.

[lawrenceharris]

Interesting and informative😊. As a former HS teacher, I presented this story many times, including the biographies of the assassins. I had not the slightist idea that some of the assassins lived until the 1980's
.

[basingstoke]

A fascinating and educational video, which explains this story perfectly . This should be shown in history lessons in schools . Well done, and, thank you .

[pimpompoom]

Excellent video, very well done. One of the best reviews of this incident I've seen.

[twalk]

I am so glad I watched this production. It was laid out so well with some really interesting and pertinent facts that I did not know . Facts are important but so is context and you blended them so well.I have subscribed and feel a binge watch of other videos coming my way! BRAVO!🙌

[gaiusjulius_caesar]

Worth mentioning, not sure about the others... However GP was consumptive long before that fateful day... Was definitely on his way out... Enjoyed the vid

[kevanhubbard]

I have walked across the Princep Bridge (now called the Latin Bridge)and it's a surprising short span given it's monumental connection with history.

[SteveMikre]

Excellent breakdown of this tragic event...

[robcanisto]

Hey, I'm listening to the multi-hour examination of this shooting on The Rest is History! perfectttt

[derfel]

I have heard this story told many times. Every time, I still find it such an intriguing chain of events that played out that day. To such an end... 😢

[StrLab]

Excellent documantery and on time for the 110th anniversary of the Great War, I wonder why youtube's algorithm doesn't promote it more, it deserves way more views. I dropped a like though as I enjoy your videos...

[jovanpejic]

2:20 Context is important. Serbia and Austria were mostly closely connected and friendly countries. They were allies in many situations and always shared sympathy. Economies were closely linked. Even in 1720s, Serbia was part of Austria for 20 years. Austria supported uprisings in the 1800s, etc. In the 1870s, there was a big uprising in Bosnia, primarily by Serbs. Of course, Serbia helped them (it was expensive) and did everything it could without openly angering Turkey. Austria encouraged the insurgents and promised them help... promised... but in the end help never came even though they shared a common border and could help the insurgents as they wanted. It was obvious to the insurgents what it was all about, and thus they hated Austria, which watched as Turkey slowly suppressed the uprising. Austria's goal was to get Bosnia without a fight, so that the insurgents will tire Turkey into giving it up, and the future potential problem in the insurgents (if they rebelled against Turkey today, they will against Austria tomorrow) will be solved by Turkey in fighting. That's how it happened. Austria sat on the sidelines and harassed the rebels, but did not help them. She waited for both the rebels (with Serbia) and Turkey to spoil, so that in the end she would take 100% of the cake for herself. Since then, hostilities between Serbia and Austria started because the goal of Austria was clear to everyone, they dropped the mask.

[thinman]

This is more than we learned in my school about the start of WWI.

[damirbajramovic]

Pozdrav iz Sarajeva !!
Mimo ovih Istoriskih događaja Dobro Došli u Sarajevo 🇧🇦☮️✌️

[billandmonicaschleicher]

Another great video on a very interesting topic... Thanks for uploading, Battle Guide!

[captainamerica]

An argument could be made that those shots were the precursor to both world wars.

[brucemclennan]

Good overview; thought you might mention the date (June 28th) was not only the Archduke’s wedding anniversary, it was also the anniversary of the ‘field of black crows’ - the 600 year(approx) anniversary of final battle when Serbia lost to Ottoman Empire, but killed the Ottoman leader. Despite losing the battle, the historic date was held in esteem by Serbia and the attendance of the Archduke did inflame Serbian nationalist passion; in other words, the Archduke picked the worst date possible to attend Bosnia.

[alex]

Great video, Battle Guide. The background you gave is informative. I had learned a bit about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand before, but learned even more here.
The satellite images and labels are helpful also.
The imagery of the City Hall is great too and so is the view from the bridge. It really helps to visualize the distance.

I've heard about how Archduke Ferdinand had allowed the events to continue, but it still amazes me that he did this - especially after surviving an assassination attempt.

"A cruel twist of fate" - That is so true.

I didn't know that Cabrinovic wrote an apology letter (or that the Archduke's children forgave him).
I didn't know Popovic became the curator of Sarajevo Museum.

Very informative video. Dan's narration is excellent.

Great work, Battle Guide team.
The podcast is excellent and I look forward to listening to it at the end of each week. Take care.

[Eltanin]

Funny thing - the car didn't belong to the Archduke, but rather to the Count Harrach. Archduke wanted to travel in a open car, so he borrowed it from the Count together with the driver. Which maybe meant that the driver wasn't as experienced in the role as the Archduke's own driver would be.
The driver's name was Leopolod Lojka and he impressed the Count when he, as a young dragoon, was injured while stopping spooked horses. The Count took him into his personal service and made him his personal driver. When the Count was ordered to join the Archduke in Sarajevo, he went there together with his car and driver and rest is the history.
Lojka blamed himself for that bad turn and for the war that followed. He served as a driver during it, survived and then got a permission to have a pub. It didn't do well, his wife divorced him and left with their son and Lojka died alone of kidney failure in 1926 at the age of 39. One writer captured this scene in his memories - the pub owner dying, while the guests were serving themselves the beer and only after the man died, his connection to Sarajevo assassination was revealed when police went through his papers.
He was buried in an unmarked grave, until 10 years back (2014) when some historical group bought a nice new gravestone and made a small ceremony on his grave. (Historical costumes, voley fire and all that).

[michaelaburns]

This event if it didn't unfold, it would play differently.