Caused may be too strong a word but they certainly set in motion a sequence of events that ultimately led to the war. Many have argued that the war was inevitable and another pretense would have been found had the Archduke remained alive. As for inept bunglers, the world is full of them. I actually think it's a part of the human condition. A trip to any government office will reinforce that notion.
Yes, without a doubt a war would still have broken out even if the assassination had failed or indeed if it had never happened in the first place. I usually tell my pupils that it was a sandwich which caused the war as Princip apparently went to a deli after bottling his first attempt to have a sandwich and emerged to find the Archduke’s car driving past after it took a wrong turn. History is full of such quirky details - probably why I love studying it and teaching it.
