The bridge in the photo is the Latin Bridge in Sarajevo. On June 28th, 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, Duchess Sophie were driven across it. 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip assassinated them shortly after they crossed the bridge.
Before that, Princip and two others had traveled to Belgrade. They acquired guns and bombs from a terrorist group with ties to the Serbian Army called Black Hand. In July of 1914, Austria-Hungary gave Serbia a 48-hour ultimatum to accept a list of ten demands. Serbia refused. On July 28th, Austria-Hungary, with support from Germany, declared war on Serbia.
Latin Bridge
37,508,686 Casualties
More than 65 million soldiers from both sides (Central Powers and Allied Powers) would be sent to fight the First World War, of which 8.5 million were killed, 21.2 million wounded and 7.8 million were either held as POW or missing. Civilian deaths due to starvation, disease, massacre, etc. are estimated to be around 13 million.
The First World War ended when Germany signed an armistice with the Allies on November 11th, 1918. The Austro-Hungarian Empire fell. Gavrilo Princip died a few months before that, at the age of 23, from tuberculosis while serving a twenty-year sentence.
On the 100th Anniversary of the First World War Armistice, countries around the world honor the men and women who served and their sacrifices. In Sarajevo, the Ashkenazi Synagogue, the Gazi Husrev-bey Library and the Kursumli Madrassah were lit in observance.
World War One: Casualty and Death Tables. Source: U.S. Department of Justice.
The Kursumli Madrassah in Sarajevo, illuminated in observance of the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice of WWI.
The Gazi Husrev-bey Library in Sarajevo, illuminated in observance of the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice of WWI.
Let History Never Forget
Around Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid respect to fallen soldiers especially those from their countries. In Paris, Donald Trump, the sitting American President, canceled his visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial when rain prevented his 30-minute helicopter ride. Instead of traveling by car for 90 minutes like other American representatives, he and his wife, Melania Trump, spent the next four and a half hours at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence where they had been staying. Let history never forget that.
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