SMS Kaiser Karl VI and Argentina. On 25 May, she represented Austria-Hungary at the centennial of Argentina's May Revolution, which won the country's independence from Spain. On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo; the assassination sparked the July Crisis and ultimately the First World War, which broke out a month later on 28 July. The German battlecruiser , which had been assigned to the Mediterranean Division, sought the protection of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, and so Admiral Anton Haus sent the fleet, including "Kaiser Karl VI", south on 7 August to assist his German ally.
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