Few people know that the First World War sparked just because of a ‘wrong turn‘. While, this fact might look exaggerated, but it’s true. Following its occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Austro-Hungarian Empire wanted to occupy Serbia as well. Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Serbia were the home of many Slavic people. Needless to say, people of both the countries were sympathetic towards each other.
Notably, the residents of Serbia were against becoming a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Slavic people aspired to create a unified country, naming it either ‘Greater Serbia‘ or ‘Yugoslavia‘. The desired country would have been formed by merging Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia.
Austro-Hungarian Empire would have captured Serbia long ago, if it was free from the giant Russian Empire. To mitigate the fear, the Austro-Hungarian Empire allied with Germany. However, the Russian Empire too formed an alliance with France.
With time, tensions began to escalate and the prospect of war began to loom on the global horizon. Meanwhile, a militant organization, Black Hand of Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia, secretly started fighting for independence. Among the member of this group was a 19-year-old boy, Gavrilo Princip.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, planned a trip to Bosnia. As soon as the trip was revealed, the Black Hand and Princip conspired to assassinate him, but with different plans. Notably, the plan to capture Serbia was actually the prince’s.
The Wrong Turn
Upon Ferdinand’s visit to Bosnia, the men from the Black Hand stationed along the prince’s route to assassinate him failed, but Princip’s plan was still on. After the failure of the first assassination attempt, the prince changed his schedule, but his driver was unaware of the change.
The driver took a ‘wrong turn’ on another route as per the old schedule, and this turn turned into one of the most dangerous wars in the modern history. The driver began to reverse the car after being informed of the schedule change. However, Princip seized the opportunity, he shot the prince and his wife with a pistol, taking advantage of the slow speed of the car while reversing.
Beginning Of The World War 1
Upon receiving the news of Price’s assassination, the Austro-Hungarian Empire immediately attacked Serbia. The Russian Empire thought that the assassination was a pretext to occupy Serbia, and therefore, it sided with Serbia.
Meanwhile, Germany allied with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while France stood solid with the Russian Empire. The Ottoman Empire, weakened by Russian and French influence, allied with Germany. The UK allied with the France, and in due time Italy, the US and Japan also joined the group.
The war resulted in the loss of 4 crore lives and the downfall of several major and minor empires. A wrong turn sparked a massive war. Meanwhile, its mastermind, Princip, died of tuberculosis in prison in 1918 while serving his sentence.
Lessons From The Past
The story of the First World War is enough to make us understand that every big and small decisions taken in life determine our future path. Who would have thought that a wrong turn could trigger a world war? It’s astonishing that 2 murders by a 19-year-old boy ultimately vanished approx 40 million people from the planet.
The question is that the First World War could have been avoided? In my view, yes, I believe that dialogue can resolve even the most complex issues. Maybe introspection and humility are crucial for preventing such massacres. History teaches us that our decisions may not always be right, but what’s crucial is that they’re made with the right intentions.
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