A wrong turn put Franz Ferdinand in the right place to start WWI

In many ways, World War I was an international conflict waiting to happen; a complicated web of covert treaties, alliances, and agreements between various nations, combined with a variety of distinct ethnic and national tensions, increased the likelihood that something would have sooner or later sparked the international conflict. In the end, the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, served as the ignition source. But it might not have happened if not for a few crucial errors and miscalculations, as well as a language barrier.

Overall, the events leading up to the Austrian archduke's murder went horribly wrong; two of the conspirators did not act during the early stages of the archduke's schedule in the city, while a third had managed to toss his explosives but had hit the wrong automobile. Even Gavrilo Princip's initial attempt to kill Franz Ferdinand failed because he was unable to react in time. At that moment, the conspirators could have been excused for giving up.

However, the archduke decided after taking a short break that he wanted to go to the hospital to see how those hurt by the previous bomb were doing. The entourage got back into their vehicles, but as the drivers only spoke Czech and the arrangements for the new route had been established in German, they originally drove the old course. The automobiles stopped to turn back after it was apparent that there was a problem, with Franz Ferdinand's car stopping just in front of Gavrilo Princip. Almost miraculously, Princip murdered both the archduke and his wife with two shots to the automobile before escaping. The first world war may have unfolded very differently if not for a language barrier and a breakdown in communication.

• Year: June 28, 1914