Lesson Y9-U02-L03

Y9-U02-L03 The Balkans and the Assassination, 1914 Quiz: KS3 History, Unit 15

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y9-U02-L03, The Balkans and the Assassination, 1914: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 History (National Curriculum), Unit 15: Year 9: WW1 Causes, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Why did the collapse of the Ottoman Empire matter in the Balkans?

    • It forced Britain to sign a treaty with Serbia over the Black Sea
    • It left a power vacuum that several Great Powers wanted to fill
    • It gave every Balkan people their own fully independent state at once
    • It ended all rivalry between Austria-Hungary and Russia in the region

  2. What did Austria-Hungary do in 1908 that angered Serbia?

    • It annexed Bosnia, which had many Serbs and which Serbia wanted
    • It sold its navy to Britain in exchange for a large loan and new trade rights
    • It declared war on Serbia and invaded its capital at Belgrade the same summer
    • It banned all Serbian people from living in the Balkan states and their towns

  3. Why could Russia not back Serbia effectively in 1908?

    • Russia had agreed to hand Serbia over to Austria-Hungary
    • Russia had sent its whole army to fight in Persia
    • Russia had no interest at all in the fate of the Slav peoples
    • Russia was weak after losing a war to Japan

  4. What happened to Serbia during the Balkan Wars of 1912 to 1913?

    • It was forced to hand its capital to Austria-Hungary
    • It lost all of its land and became part of Russia
    • It was completely removed from the map of Europe
    • It doubled in size and grew more confident

  5. What was the Black Hand?

    • A Bosnian trade union that campaigned for lower taxes and wages for workers
    • A Russian newspaper that printed the secret treaties of the alliances
    • A German army unit that enforced the naval blockade of the North Sea
    • A Serbian nationalist secret society that trained young men to strike at Austria-Hungary

  6. On what date was Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo?

    • 25 June 1876
    • 28 June 1914
    • 28 June 1908
    • 4 July 1901

  7. Who fired the fatal shots at Franz Ferdinand?

    • Gavrilo Princip
    • Ferdinand Porsche
    • Franz Joseph
    • Alex Franz Brandt

  8. Who else was killed alongside Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo?

    • His driver, Franz Joseph
    • His wife, Sophie
    • The Austrian Emperor's chancellor
    • A Serbian prime minister

  9. Why was Franz Ferdinand's visit to Sarajevo on 28 June seen as provocative?

    • It was the anniversary of the Austro-Hungarian army's defeat by Russia in battle
    • It was the day Serbia was due to sign a secret treaty with Germany and Russia
    • It was a religious holiday that the Archduke had banned for his own people in Bosnia
    • It was Serbia's national day, a deliberate and provocative choice

  10. What happened when the driver took a wrong turn in Sarajevo?

    • The car arrived at the wrong hospital and the Archduke was never seen again
    • The car drove straight into the Danube and sank
    • The car stopped right beside the assassin Gavrilo Princip
    • The car was trapped by the crowd and delayed until nightfall

  11. What happened to the first bomb thrown at the Archduke's car?

    • It bounced off and injured others rather than the Archduke
    • It exploded in a shop on the other side of the city, injuring many people
    • It was caught by a guard and thrown into the river at once
    • It destroyed the car and killed the Archduke at once in the street

  12. Which of these happened last on the day of the assassination?

    • The bomb was thrown at the car
    • The Archduke visited the wounded in hospital
    • Princip fired the fatal shots
    • The Archduke arrived in Sarajevo

  13. What was the 'blank cheque' that Germany gave Austria-Hungary?

    • Full German support for whatever Austria-Hungary chose to do
    • A promise to hand over the Balkans to Austria-Hungary for ever and always
    • A treaty to share the colonies of Africa between the two empires equally
    • A loan of unlimited gold to pay for a war against Russia and its allies

  14. Why did Russia back Serbia after the assassination?

    • Because Russia had been promised Serbia's navy by Britain
    • Because Russia had been ordered to attack Germany by its allies
    • Because Russia wanted to annex Austria-Hungary's capital city
    • As protector of its fellow Slavs in the Balkans

  15. Which country's decision to mobilise its army drew its allies further into the crisis?

    • Serbia's neighbour Bulgaria
    • Bosnia
    • Russia
    • Italy

  16. What was Princip's stated motive in Source A?

    • To unite the South Slavs free from Austria-Hungary
    • To take revenge on Germany for its colonial policy in Africa and the Pacific
    • To win a seat in the Austro-Hungarian parliament for Serbia's people in Vienna
    • To protect his family from a crime committed by the Archduke in the past

  17. Why is Source B's usefulness limited for understanding who was really to blame?

    • It was written by a neutral Swiss historian who studied the trial records
    • It was printed in a Serbian newspaper that had no interest in the crisis
    • It is an Austro-Hungarian government note blaming Serbia
    • It was written in 1936 after the war, from memory of the events

  18. Why should a historian be careful when using Princip's words in Source A?

    • He wrote the words in a German newspaper that was known for printing lies
    • He was a Russian diplomat who wrote the words to win Russian support in the crisis
    • He had never met Franz Ferdinand and so could not have known his views at all
    • He spoke at his trial in an Austro-Hungarian court

  19. Why did the failed bomb matter for what happened next in Sarajevo?

    • The failed bomb meant the Archduke cancelled all of his later visits to the Balkans
    • The Archduke stayed on his route, where a wrong turn put him near Princip
    • The failed bomb convinced Austria-Hungary to give up its claim on Bosnia for good
    • The failed bomb caused the Serbian government to resign that very day in Belgrade

  20. Which statement BEST explains why the assassination led to a world war rather than just a local one?

    • The alliance system and deep tensions spread the crisis among the Great Powers
    • Princip was an excellent shot who had trained for years with the army in Bosnia
    • Franz Ferdinand was a very popular and important man across all of Europe and beyond
    • Serbia had the strongest army in Europe and could defeat any power in the field

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