"World War 3 'talk is spreading after the assassination of Andrei Karlov in Turkey

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama shake hands for the cameras before the start of a bilateral meeting at the United Nations headquarters September 28, 2015 in New York City. (Getty)

 

 smart people are talking about Franz Ferdinand and comparing his assassination, which started World War I, to the assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov. 
They’re wondering if there’s any scenario where this assassination might eventually lead to World War 3. If you’re noticing that the term “World War 3” is trending, it’s not because world war is imminent, but it’s because of these comparisons.

 


You’re likely seeing tweets like these:



 








Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated on June 28, 1914 in Sarjevo. He was killed by Gavrilo Princip, a group of six assassins who were working on his assassination.
Ferdinand’s assassination was the trigger to the war, which resulted in Austria-Hungary delivering an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. International alliances on both sides were invoked and within mere weeks, the major world powers were at war. In fact, some believe that if it weren’t for World War I, Germany and France would be world superpowers like the United States is today.
Dan Carlin of Hard Core History did an in-depth podcast series on World War I, including Ferdinand’s assassination. The series is called Blueprint for Armageddon. You can listen to three hours of the series