To my peoples was made plural. After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, diplomatic relations between Austria-Hungary and Serbia became strained. After weeks of discussions, government and army leaders of the Empire decided to risk war with Serbia, hoping for a short and victorious campaign. Emperor Franz Joseph signed the declaration of war in his Imperial Villa in Bad Ischl on July 28. The document was distributed all over the empire and was widely published on the morning of the next day. At this time, several
German occupation of Luxembourg during World War I neutral state. The Luxembourg Crisis had seen Prussia thwart France's attempt to purchase the Grand Duchy from the Netherlands. Luxembourg's neutrality was accepted by Prussia's then-Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, who boasted, "In exchange for the fortress of Luxembourg, we have been compensated by the neutrality of the country, and a guarantee that it shall be maintained in perpetuity." In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the thrones of Austria-Hungary, was assassinated by pan-Slavic nationalists, leading to a sudden deterioration in relations between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Austria-Hungary was supported by the German Empire, while Serbia had the backing of the