Black Hand facts for kids
The Black Hand (also known as Crna Ruka in Serbian) was a secret group of Serbian nationalists. Its official name was "Unification or Death." This group was formed in 1911 in Serbia.
Their main goal was to create a larger Serbian country. They wanted to unite all Serbs living in different areas, including places like Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time (since 1908).
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The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
On June 28, 1914, five members of the Black Hand were in Sarajevo, a city in Bosnia. They were there because Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, who was the next in line to become emperor of Austria-Hungary, was visiting with his wife.
The Archduke was riding through the city in an open car. The Black Hand members tried to kill him. One of them threw a grenade at his car. The grenade bounced off and exploded under the car following Ferdinand's, injuring some people. One member tried to escape by swallowing Cyanide and jumping into a shallow river, but the cyanide didn't work well, and he was quickly arrested.
One of the members, a young student from Bosnia named Gavrilo Princip, went to a cafe after the first attempt failed. The Archduke and his wife decided to visit the people who were hurt in the hospital. However, their driver took a wrong turn and stopped right outside the cafe where Princip was.
Princip saw his chance. He quickly pulled out a gun and shot at Ferdinand's car. Two bullets hit the Archduke, one hit his wife, and another hit the car itself. Both Archduke Ferdinand and his wife died very soon after the shooting.
How the Assassination Led to War
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand had huge consequences. Austria-Hungary quickly blamed Serbia for the attack. Because of this, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
Soon, other countries got involved. Russia joined the war on Serbia's side. This was because many people in Serbia were Slavic, just like the people in Russia. Slavic countries had an agreement to help each other if one was attacked.
Russia is a very large country, so it needed time to move its soldiers closer to the war zone. But Germany worried that Russia's soldiers might also attack Germany. Germany and Russia also had disagreements from the past. So, Germany declared war on Russia.
Germany had a plan to attack Russia, which also involved attacking France and Belgium. Because of this, France and Great Britain also joined the war. Great Britain had promised to help Belgium if it was ever attacked.
This series of events quickly led to a huge conflict. What started as a dispute between Austria-Hungary and Serbia soon pulled in many other countries, and most of Europe became involved in what became known as World War I.
Other Actions of the Black Hand
The Black Hand was also involved in other important events before the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. For example, they were responsible for the killing of King Aleksandar Obrenovic and Queen Draga Masin of Serbia.
See also
In Spanish: Mano Negra para niños
