The Shot Heard Around the World: How One Bullet Sparked Global Conflict

We know that military power isn’t the only factor that decides wars. As we've witnessed, a strong army can fail against a handful of weaker opponents, and a smaller army can achieve victory, as many have achieved against overwhelming odds.

Sometimes a single bullet can ignite a war, and other times, it can calm an entire mob of rioters.

World War I began because of a single bullet. On June 28, 1914, in the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife, Sophia, were shot and killed. This assassination, known as "the shot heard around the world," set off a series of events that led to World War I.

In contrast, the Hebron pogroms of 1929, where Arabs massacred Jews in Hebron, ended with a single shot fired into the air. In the month of Av 1929, hundreds of Arabs from Hebron and the surrounding area brutalized the Jewish population, looting, robbing, and committing acts of violence. Approximately 70 Jews were murdered, while British officers stood by. At one point, a British officer, feeling threatened, fired a shot into the air, causing the rioters to flee.

Similarly, during the War of Independence, the city of Safed was liberated from all Arab fighters using a single cannon strategically placed to scare them off.

Yet, other locations fell despite having advanced defense systems, as we've seen in recent unfortunate events and on numerous other occasions.

The takeaway is this: We make every effort to be prepared against our enemies. However, ultimately, when Hashem wills it – even a broom can shoot, and when He wills it, a single shot can decide an entire battle.