Word: ferdinands
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...date was June 28, 1914, a memorable day, 25 years ago this week. It was the 550th anniversary, of the battle of Kossovo ("the Field of Blackbirds") in which the Serbs lost their independence to the Turks. It was the day which Franz Ferdinand-Archduke of Austria-Este, Heir Apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne-and his good Czech wife, Sophie, chose to visit Sarajevo, and it was the day when the trigger was pulled which set off World...
...Franz Ferdinand was a barrel-chested, walrus-mustached man of 51, unusually able and liberal by the standards of the Court which surrounded his aged uncle...
They arrived at Sarajevo just before 10 and paused to review a contingent of local troops. Then Franz Ferdinand got into a high-sided touring car with the top down. Sophie sat at his side and General Potiorek, the Governor of the Province, occupied a jump seat in front of them. The procession of four cars formed-one ahead and two behind them-and they drove on toward the Town Hall...
...Franz Ferdinand stopped the procession, surveyed the damage, ordered his wounded aide driven quickly to the hospital. Meanwhile Chabrinovitch jumped over the embankment. The Archduke, more disgusted than frightened by this bucolic attempt on his life, said: "Come on. The fellow is crazy. Let us proceed with our program." A board was put over the fragments in the street, a, policeman stood on it to keep peasants from prying, and the three remaining cars drove on to the Town Hall. So the incident ended...
...they passed Princip and Grabezh, both of whom lost their nerve with the failure of the first attempt. At the Town Hall the Mayor was waiting. When Franz Ferdinand and Sophie entered he began a speech of welcome. His subject: Bosnian loyalty to the crown. This was too stuffy for Ferdinand. He interrupted: "Enough of that! I make you a visit and you greet me with bombs." Sophie quieted him and the Mayor nervously finished his address...