On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie were assassinated in Sarajevo by a Yugoslav nationalist, Gavrilo Princip. Bosnia and Herzegovina had been annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908 and the archduke was there in his role as Inspector General of the Armed Forces of Austria-Hungary. The Serbian government were blamed for the assassination and, on 28 July 1914, war was declared on Serbia by Austria-Hungary, who had the support of Germany. Russia backed Serbia and the peace between Europe's great powers had begun to disintegrate