Kaiser Franz Joseph I-class cruiser period, "Kaiserin Elisabeth" was mobilized twice during the Balkan Wars, while "Kaiser Franz Joseph"s crew were deployed to protect Shanghai during the Xinhai Revolution. In 1913, the cruisers were ordered to rotate duties one final time, with "Kaiserin Elisabeth" going to China, and "Kaiser Franz Joseph I" returning to Austria-Hungary in 1914. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo triggered a chain of events which led to the July Crisis and Austria-Hungary's subsequent declaration of war on Serbia on 28 July. Events unfolded rapidly in the ensuing days. On 30 July 1914 Russia declared full
Archduke Otto of Austria (1865–1906) to repair their relationship with the Saxon royal family, after both Crown Prince Rudolf and Otto's brother Franz Ferdinand had snubbed the Saxons by rejecting Maria's elder sister Mathilde. Otto and Maria had two sons: Their marriage was unhappy, however, since the Archduke was often unfaithful. He had two children by his mistress, Marie Schleinzer: The mountain lodge on the Rax plateau in Lower Austria, is named after him. Archduke Otto of Austria (1865–1906) Otto Franz Joseph Karl Ludwig Maria, Prince Imperial and Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia (21 April 1865 – 1 November 1906) was