Franz Joseph I of Austria the Empire on 6 October 1908. However a diplomatic crisis erupted, as both the Serbs and the Italians demanded compensation for the annexation, which the Austro-Hungarian government refused to entertain. The incident was not resolved until the revision of the Treaty of Berlin in April 1909, exacerbating tensions between Austria-Hungary and the Serbs. On 28 June 1914 Franz Joseph's nephew and heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his morganatic wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a Yugoslav nationalist of Serbian ethnicity, during a visit to Sarajevo. When he heard the news of the assassination, Franz Joseph said
Historical characters in the Southern Victory Series bomb on June 28, 1914. In real history, the Archduke and his wife were assassinated on the same date, but by gunshot after failed attempts to throw bombs into their car. After the assassination, Austria-Hungary issued a number of ultimata against Serbia, which was supported by Russia. Austria-Hungary was in turn supported by Germany and the United States. Russia invoked its alliances with the United Kingdom, France, and the Confederate States, and the Great War began. Franz Ferdinand's death inspired Arthur McGregor's last failed attempt to assassinate General George Armstrong Custer in 1922. Duchess Sophie and her husband Archduke Franz