110 years ago TODAY: The shot that started WW1 and gave rise to the world we live in. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand & his wife Sophie, Sarajevo 28th June 1914.
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8 comments:
Have you read The Trigger by Tim Butcher? I really liked it, as I knew literally nothing about Gavrilo Princip. Most general books mention him in passing, referring to him as an assassin, or something similar.
It's so insane ot think that the world might look so different had he not assassinated Ferdinand and Sophie.
Haven't read 'The Trigger'... yet... [grin] Weirdly, as I'm reading a book about the assassination ATM, I only realised today that today WAS the day.... I knew it was *soon* but that kinda surprised me [lol]
Imagine... No WW1.... No Russian Revolution... No WW2... No Cold War.... What a *strange* world THAT would be!!
Otto von Bismarck allegeldy said that some great European war would rise out of some damn foolish thing in the Balkans.
It could have been stopped many times over that long summer, but we kept marching like cattle into a greater war...just as we're doing now. -_-
It definitely wasn't a done deal after the assassination. Leaders had been killed before in Europe - recently to 1914 - and nothing cataclysmic followed. There were at least 5-6 possible off-ramps that could've stopped it.
I really do think that the whole WW3 thing is SO overblown. China is VERY unlikely to invade Taiwan, the Israel fiasco won't lead to WW3 even if Iran becomes directly involved. There being a war in the Middle East is like saying its Wednesday. The only possible 'flashpoint' would be if the Ukraine war spills over into a NATO country if the Russians are stupid enough or desperate enough to attack Poland, Finland or in the Baltic. Even then I guess the war will be short, non-nuclear and localised in Europe.
It's so daunting to think about, how WWII could have been avoided because Germany would not have been the last one standing at the end of WWI and forced to take responsibility for everything.
Indeed. There are (apparently) a few historical events - like this one - that have MASSIVE ripple effects through time. Of course we don't *really* know if WW1 might have happened anyway but its damned interesting to speculate about it! Such 'alt-History' theorising is one of the things I most love about reading History so much. Its always tantalising to think: What If?
I have read some really great what-if books. I read a good one about what might have happened if JFK had not been assassinated. I don't know that WWI could have been avoided either, though it did not begin immediately following Ferdinand's assassination, so anything could have been possible. Even with his and Sophie's deaths, there were so many points where it could have been stopped.
History isn't anywhere near as straight-forward as history books make out! I'm not sure if they'd survived or if the attempt never happened or if they'd never gone there, if the Great War might have happened anyway - just later maybe. WW1 *nearly* happened as a result of the 2nd Balkan War, so.... As with most everything else, it's complicated.
Interesting to speculate on though!
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