Comment du Jour

The Guns of August

A Century Passes Since the Start of WWI but Tragic Wounds Remain

On June 28, 1914 the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were murdered in Sarajevo by a Serbian terrorist.   The assassination  a century ago led to a spiral of events which triggered the Great War.  Millions died in the carnage. 

Above,  the Archduke, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Throne is seen just before he was shot in his auto.

The car in which the Archduke was killed, is preserved in  the Austrian Army Museum in Vienna.
The auto is actually quite small and seemed just wide enough for the Royal couple to fit in the rear seat where they where shot by an terrorist from the infamous Black Hand.  This Serb nationalist group was active in multi-ethnic Sarajevo, site of the Archduke's official visit. 

The front of the auto as would have been seen as it approached the 19 year old killer Gavrilo Princip. 

The Royal Couple were both gravely wounded and died before reaching the hospital.  

The auto, an Austrian built Graf & Stift Double Phaeton,  is currently on display as the centerpiece to commemorations of the First World War.