Damn. I know what you meant about amusing, but...this kind of stupid thing is what dragged the world into WWI.
Makes me nervous.
“this kind of stupid thing is what dragged the world into WWI.”
The Archduke was a relatively harmless guy—and the assassin was a bona fide Serbian nationalist—no evidence that anybody had to put him up to the task.
World War I was just one insane blunder after another—by both sides.
What dragged the US into WWI was german U-boats sinking liners and US flagged ships. The tipping point was the German cable to Mexico asking them to attack the US on the side of Germany. Mexico would be given territory lost during the Mexican-American war.
Otherwise Wilson wanted nothing to do w the War in Europe. All sides were sufficiently drained.