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The Tinderbox: Europe—all of it. By the dawn of the 20th century, the European powers were involved in so many treaties and counter-treaties, it’s a wonder one of the countries didn’t declare war on itself.
The Lit Match: One wrong turn.
June 28, 1914, was just one of those days … that lives in infamy. That was the day Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the less-than-popular heir to the even-less-popular Austro-Hungarian Empire, chose to go on a processional drive through Sarajevo. Surprisingly, this is not the great mistake we’re writing about.
Actually, the first few days of the archduke’s visit to Bosnia went pretty well—particularly considering that nationalists from neighboring Serbia had marked him for death. He even managed to survive an assassination attempt in Sarajevo by successfully playing Hot Potato with a lit bomb that was thrown at his convertible. The bomb exploded in the street, and the archduke continued about his business. Unfortunately, he let his guard down a bit too soon.
Just hours later, toward the end of the motorcade, Ferdinand’s driver took a wrong turn and stopped the car, accidentally landing them in the worst parking spot in history—right in front of Gavrilo Princip, one of the main conspirators in the failed bombing. Princip thought fast and improvised, fatally shooting the archduke. One month later, Austria-Hungary declared retaliatory war on Serbia. That led Russia to jump to Serbia’s aid, prompting Austria’s ally, Germany, to declare war on Russia, whose ally, France, then declared war on Germany, which responded by invading Belgium, and—voilà—World War I.
—This summer, mental_floss is re-running parts of “The 20 Greatest Mistaikes in History,” Maggie Koerth-Baker’s cover story from March-April 2007. To order the back issue, click here. To see other installments in this series, click here.
Shhh…super secret special for blog readers.
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Well, there is more (much more) in all of that then just parking incident… First of all, you have to remember general Oskar Potiorek, the chief of security of Archduke’s visit to Sarajevo. After that first assasination attempt, with motorcade of six open cars targeted with hand granade, he ordered one thing cruical to security – to driver to stop there (they were like sitting ducks for more then two minutes). And Gavrilo Princip tried to shoot him (the general was in a car with Archduke and his wife who were shot) because he was standing and giving directions to the driver – and missed him twice (with bullets hitting those on the back seat). So general Potiorek concluded that everyone was ok and ordered car to the residency – passing by the hospital on the way there with two royalties bleeding behind him…
And the assasins did ther part of incompetence – they were on the suicide task so Serbia could not be involved, and there were three of them on the mission, each with pistol, two handgranades and vial of cyanide (for that suicide part of the mission). But they met three other would be assasins and gave each of them a granate and then they’ve split cyanide into half dose packs. Enough to burn their mouth, not enough to halt the investigation.
There are at least dozen other misfortunes (or plans gone very very wrong) in that event that triggered the Great War – and all in less then two hours from the moment the motorcade reached the Miljacka river to the fatal shots in front of the City Hall…
posted by Veljko on 7-31-2008 at 6:32 am
Should I find it ironic that after scrolling down from this post my recaptcha came up as “Vienna included?”
posted by ACute Angle on 7-31-2008 at 8:42 am
Conspiracy theorists will say that the war was intentionally started in order to build profit for the big business men. Not to mention get us started toward a one-world government.
posted by kevin on 7-31-2008 at 9:07 am
Kansas City has a great museum about WWI–it’s the only musuem dedicated solely to WWI in the U.S. They just redid it about a year and a half ago(I think by the same people who did the Holocaust Museum in D.C.). It’s well worth your time if you’re in the area.
posted by kate on 7-31-2008 at 9:39 am
kevin: That’s why I don’t pay much attention to conspiracy theorists. They make simple things too complicated and complicated things too simple, and they give me a headache. I’m inclined to believe that history, for the most part, got it right.
Besides, has there ever been an actual conspiracy that *someone* didn’t squeal on?
posted by Joanna on 7-31-2008 at 12:17 pm
Kate, I am from Overland Park (suburb of KC) and I agree, the WWI museum is absolutely great. It really does paint a facinating and truly graphic picture of the war. It is definitely worth a trip.
posted by Christian on 7-31-2008 at 2:24 pm
Cool, I grew up in Overland Park, on 97th St. I almost died in the little park they have there, I forget the name. It’s like a KC reunion here haha. Never went to the WWI museum though.
posted by CK on 7-31-2008 at 4:36 pm