The Guns of August Addressed is prewar military planning, as done by the major powers in Europe. Included are the German Schlieffen plan, France's offensive Plan XVII, joint British and French arrangements, and Russia's approach to a future European war. "Outbreak" starts with a short introduction, which briefly mentions the event that triggered World War I. On June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, assassinated the heir apparent to the throne of Austria-Hungary, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. European-wide diplomacy and military preparations during July are then referenced. Chapters 6 to 9 commence with August
Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria nominal Minister-President chairing the liberal cabinet of State Minister Anton von Schmerling. Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Rainer Ferdinand Maria Johann Evangelist Franz Ignaz of Austria (11 January 1827 – 27 January 1913), a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and nephew of Emperor Francis II, was an Austrian politician who served as Minister-President of Austria from 1861 to 1865. Born in Milan, the capital of the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, he was a son of Viceroy Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria (1783–1853) and his consort Princess Elisabeth of Savoy (1800–1856). Rainer Ferdinand spent most of his youth at