Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1896. He was a threat to the Black Hand terrorist group, a of radical Serbian nationalists. They pledged to “destabilize the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire to incorporate their Serbian population into a greater Serbia” (CITE). However, the Archduke's goals were to “strengthen the Austro-Hungarian Empire” (CITE), which was contrary to the wishes of the Serbs. They feared that if he came to power he would continue to persecute the Serbs, hence the decision to assassinate him. On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were visiting Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, to inspect the army. At the same time, seven young Bosnian Serbs, part of a terrorist group known as the Black Hand, were carrying out their plan to assassinate Franz Ferdinand. Franz Ferdinand and his wife were in the procession when one of the members threw a grenade at them. He missed and instead it was the car behind them. At this point Franz Ferdinand decided to abandon the visit and return home by another route. However, no one informed the driver who ended up taking the wrong route. Gavrilo Princip, one of the conspirators, was driving and was returning home thinking he had failed. When he saw the motorcade, he knew he still had a chance. Princip pulled out his pistol and shot both Franz Ferdinand and his wife. They were dead within minutes. The Austrian government was looking for a reason to send an ultimatum to Serbia and finally had the chance. Serbia refused to comply and Austria declared war. The “long-simmering feuds” in Europe had finally erupted into war. At that particular time, Europe was suffering from but...... middle of paper ......Hungary, did not fully trust, so Italy made a secret treaty with France after its membership of the Triple Alliance. “A conflict involving any of the Triple Alliance countries could, under the terms of the treaty, involve the other two. Rather than acting as a deterrent, the Treaty could be used as a bullying tactic” (BBC.). Therefore, a local conflict could easily become a general war. When the war began, the Triple Entente became known as the Allied Powers and the Triple Alliance became known as the Central Powers. So, in addition to building a large fighting force, the great European powers were also strengthening their military strength. Along with all the rising tensions, the great European powers further expanded their armies and navies. The expansion of armies and navies led to an arms race that increased suspicion and made war even more likely.