<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro - Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, occurred on 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo when they were mortally wounded by Gavrilo Princip . Princip was one of a group of six assassins (five Serbs and one Bosniak) coordinated by Danilo Ilić, a Bosnian Serb and a member of the Black Hand secret society . The political objective of the assassination was to break off Austria - Hungary's South Slav provinces so they could be combined into a Yugoslavia . The assassins' motives were consistent with the movement that later became known as Young Bosnia . The assassination led directly to the First World War when Austria - Hungary subsequently issued an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia, which was partially rejected . Austria - Hungary then declared war, triggering actions leading to war between most European states . </P> <P> In charge of these Serbian military conspirators was Chief of Serbian Military Intelligence Dragutin Dimitrijević, his right - hand man Major Vojislav Tankosić, and the spy Rade Malobabić . Tankosić armed the assassins with bombs and pistols and trained them . The assassins were given access to the same clandestine network of safe - houses and agents that Malobabić used for the infiltration of weapons and operatives into Austria - Hungary . </P>

Who was killed to start world war 1