On June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir apparent to the Hapsburg throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was assassinated in Sarajevo, along with his wife, Sophie, and the declaration of World War I became imminent. Francis Ferdinand was Inspector General of the Army and was sent to Bosnia in order to supervise the Hapsburg army's summer maneuvers. Talk of war in Europe had been brewing for months. Since February of that year, Russian, French, German, and English diplomats particularly were meeting to discuss various alliances and annexations in an attempt to reach a peaceful solution to many difficulties arising from a crisis in the Balkans as far back as 1908. The archduke and his wife had arrived in Bosnia only three days previous to their untimely deaths. Following two days of observing the army, he and Sophie went on to the capital of Sarajevo for official functions. Francis Ferdinand had been...