The Fall of the Dynasties: The Collapse of the Old Order: 1905-1922

by Edmond Taylor

The assassin fired twice. The first shot hit Francis Ferdinand, tearing through his chest and lodging against his spine. The second, aimed at Potiorek, hit Sophie in the abdomen, either because the gunman’s hand swerved or because she tried to jump up and shield her husband with her body. For a few seconds both of them continued to sit straight; Potiorek thought that the assassin — grabbed by neighbors in the crowd just as he was raising the automatic to put a bullet in his own head — had missed. Then, as the chauffeur finally got the car turned in the right direction and it leaped forward, the Duchess collapsed against the Archduke. He remained upright, but a thin dark rivulet of blood stained the front of his tunic, and the corners of his mouth were red.