What event is considered the immediate trigger of World War I?

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, is more than just a historical fact; it is a story of mistakes, coincidences, and crossed fates. The young assassin, Gavrilo Princip, a member of a Serbian nationalist movement, was not originally supposed to be on the archduke's path that day. After a failed assassination attempt earlier in the day, Franz Ferdinand decided to change his route to visit the injured at the hospital. By a strange twist of fate, his driver took a wrong turn, stopping right next to Princip. Seizing this unexpected opportunity, Princip fired, changing the course of history. This tragic coincidence plunged the world into a war of unprecedented scale and brutality, illustrating how small events can have global repercussions.