One Morning in Bosnia

The date was June 28, 1914, a memorable day, 25 years ago this week. It was the 550th anniversary, of the battle of Kossovo ("the Field of Blackbirds") in which the Serbs lost their independence to the Turks. It was the day which Franz Ferdinand--Archduke of Austria-Este, Heir Apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne--and his good Czech wife, Sophie, chose to visit Sarajevo, and it was the day when the trigger was pulled which set off World War I.

Franz Ferdinand was a barrel-chested, walrus-mustached man of 51, unusually able and liberal by the standards of the Court which surrounded his aged uncle,

Emperor Franz Josef. A few days earlier, he had gone to witness Army maneuvers in Bosnia, a province whose patriotic aspirations he planned to satisfy, when he came to the throne, by giving it autonomy.

His personable wife Sophie, who was 46, came to join him, and they put up at a hotel in Ilidze, about twelve miles from the provincial capital, Sarajevo. It rained dismally on the maneuvers, but the morning of St. Vitus' day dawned fair and fine. To celebrate it they had planned to pay a state visit to the provincial capital.

They arrived at Sarajevo just before 10 and paused to review a contingent of local troops. Then Franz Ferdinand got into a high-sided touring car with the top down. Sophie sat at his side and General Potiorek, the Governor of the Province, occupied a jump seat in front of them. The procession of four cars formed--one ahead and two behind them--and they drove on toward the Town Hall.

Sarajevo nestles between the hills in the valley of the Miljachka River. Its main thoroughfare, the Appel Quay, follows the river bank. The domes and minarets of Sarajevo's 100 mosques gleamed white in the rain-washed air as the procession started up the quay toward the Town Hall (see map).

Seven members of the straggling crowd did no cheering. All seven were native Bosnians, but three of them--young Gavrilo Princip, Trifko Grabezh, Nedelyko Chabrinovitch--had arrived three weeks earlier from Belgrade, sent by the Ujedinjenje Hi smrt (known as the "Black Hand" Society, sworn to reunite Bosnia and Serbia). They had bombs and revolvers to murder the Archduke, and during the three weeks, with the help of a local conspirator, Hitch, they had recruited and armed three Sarajevo youngsters to aid in the attempt.

Chabrinovitch took his post at the first bridge along the Archduke's route, Princip at the second, Grabezh at the third. The four local bumpkins, quaking in their boots, were stationed near Chabrinovitch. They never got up their nerve to take part.

The imperial car drove slowly to give the peasants a good view. General Potiorek was pointing out some new barracks to the Archduke and his wife. The passengers did not see wild-eyed young Chabrinovitch take a small bomb from his pocket and knock off its cap against a post. But the chauffeur noticed and stepped on the gas. A small black object hurtled through the air, struck the rear of the car, fell spinning to the street. Then with a roar and a flash the bomb exploded. Several bystanders were injured. The Archduke's aide, riding in the third car, was badly wounded. The time was about 10 a.m.

Franz Ferdinand stopped the procession, surveyed the damage, ordered his wounded aide driven quickly to the hospital. Meanwhile Chabrinovitch jumped over the embankment. The Archduke, more disgusted than frightened by this bucolic attempt on his life, said: "Come on. The fellow is crazy. Let us proceed with our program." A board was put over the fragments in the street, a, policeman stood on it to keep peasants from prying, and the three remaining cars drove on to the Town Hall. So the incident ended.

On the way they passed Princip and Grabezh, both of whom lost their nerve with the failure of the first attempt. At the Town Hall the Mayor was waiting. When Franz Ferdinand and Sophie entered he began a speech of welcome. His subject: Bosnian loyalty to the crown. This was too stuffy for Ferdinand. He interrupted: "Enough of that! I make you a visit and you greet me with bombs." Sophie quieted him and the Mayor nervously finished his address.

After the ceremonies, there was a conference. Franz Ferdinand wanted to send Sophie home and go on with his program. Sophie refused to go. An officer suggested that they go to the Governor's residence. "Do you think Sarajevo is full of assassins?" was General Potiorek's squelcher. Finally the Archduke decided to scrap the program which would have taken him to the town museum and to drive straight back to visit his wounded aide in the hospital. As Franz Ferdinand and Sophie again entered their car (see cut, right), he was informed that Chabrinovitch had been collared by police in the dry river bed. "Hang him as soon as you can," he exclaimed bitterly, "or else Vienna will send him a decoration." The procession started back up the quay. Nobody had remembered to tell the chauffeurs about the change of plans. The hour was about 10:45.

Meanwhile Gavrilo Princip had crossed the quay and regained his courage. The first car turned the corner right in front of him. The Archduke's car started to turn also. General Potiorek called: "That's the wrong way. Drive straight down the Appel Quay." The driver put on the brakes. The car came to a full stop in front of Princip.

He lifted his revolver and fired point blank. The bullet pierced the Archduke's neck. Sophie rose to protect her husband. Princip aimed at Potiorek and fired again just as a bystander grabbed his arm. The bullet struck Sophie in the abdomen.

For a moment the Archduke sat straight, apparently unhurt, with his wife slumped across his lap. Then blood ran from his mouth, dark stains appeared on the collar of his green uniform, he crumpled up. Then they hastily drove Franz Ferdinand and Sophie to the Governor's residence just across the river. Both were dead before a doctor or a priest could reach them.

Princip and his fellow conspirators were tried, convicted and sentenced.* In 1918 he died in prison. By the following year his two shots had caused the deaths of some 19,000,000 men in the world's greatest war.

*Princip, Grabezh and Chabrinovitch, too young to receive the death penalty, were sentenced to prison for 20 years.

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