37 Day Count Down to War - Day 30

Day 30 - July 26th 1914

On July 26, Count Berchtold rejected Grey’s mediation offer, and wrote that if a localisation should not prove possible, then the Dual Monarchy was counting, “with gratitude”, on Germany's support “if a struggle against another adversary is forced on us”. That same day, General Von Moltke sent a message to Belgium demanding that German troops be allowed to pass through that kingdom “in the event of an imminent war against France and Russia”. 

Bethmann Hollweg

Bethmann Hollweg in a message to the German Ambassadors in London, Paris and St. Petersburg stated that the principal aim of German foreign policy now was to make it appear that Russia had forced Germany into a war, in order to keep Britain neutral and ensure that German public opinion would back the war effort. Bethmann Hollweg advised Wilhelm to send Nicholas a telegram, which he assured the Emperor was for public relations purposes only. AsBethmann Hollweg put it, “If war should come after all, such a telegram would make Russia’s guilt glaringly plain”. Moltke visited the German Foreign Ministry to advise Jagow that Germany should start drafting an ultimatum to justify an invasion of Belgium. Later, Moltke met with Bethmann Hollweg, and told his wife later that same day that he had informed the Chancellor he was “very dissatisfied” that Germany had not yet attacked Russia.

On July 26, in St. Petersburg, the German Ambassador von Pourtalès told Sazonov to reject Grey’s offer of a summit in London, stating that the proposed conference was “too unwieldy”, and if Russia were serious about saving the peace, they would negotiate directly with the Austrians. Sazonov replied that he was willing to see Serbia accept almost all of the Austrian demands, and following von Pourtalès’s advice, rejected Grey’s conference proposal in favour of direct talks with the Austrians. Von Pourtalès reported to Germany that Sazonov was being “more conciliatory”, seeking “to find a bridge...to satisfy...Austrian demands” and willing to do almost anything to save the peace. At the same time, von Pourtalès warned that changes in the Balkan balance of power would be regarded as a highly unfriendly act by Russia. The following Austro-Russian talks were sabotaged by Austria’s refusal to abandon any of the demands on Serbia As a preparatory move in case a war did break out, and Britain were to become involved, Winston Churchill, First Lord of the British Admiralty, ordered the British fleet not to disperse as planned, arguing that news of the British move might serve as a deterrent to war, and thus help persuade Germany to put pressure on Austria to abandon some of the more outrageous demands in their ultimatum. Grey stated that a compromise solution could be worked out if Germany and Britain were to work together. His approach generated opposition from British officials, who felt the Germans were dealing with the crisis in bad faith. Nicolson warned Grey that in his opinion “Berlin is playing with us”. Grey for his part, rejected Nicolson's assessment, and believed that Germany was interested in stopping a general war.
Philippe Berthelot, the political director of the Quai d’Orsay told Wilhelm von Schoen, the German Ambassador in Paris that “to my simple mind Germany’s attitude was inexplicable if it did not aim at war”. In Vienna, a dispute began between Conrad and Berchtold about when Austria should begin operations. Their conversation ran as follows: Berchtold: “We should like to deliver the declaration of war on Serbia as soon as possible so as to put an end to diverse influences. When do you want the declaration of war? Conrad: Only when we have progressed far enough for operations to begin immediately—on approximately August 12th. Berchtold: “The diplomatic situation will not hold as long as that.”
In summary:
Germany thinks Russia will not fight, but threatens mobilisation, i.e. war, if Russia does not stop her preparations, and asks Entente States to keep Russia quiet.  

Kaiser and German Fleet return from Norway.

Conrad informs Berchtold that he will not be ready for full military action before 15-Aug-1914. Shelling would have to do until then.

The Kaiser's first words to Bethmann-Hollweg upon his return - "How did it all happen?"

Austria begins to mobilise eight corps on Russian frontier.

Sir Edward Grey suggests Conference of Ambassadors in London.

Russia declares she will mobilise on Austrian frontier if Austria crosses Serbian frontier.  General Putnik released with apologies.

A copy of the ultimatum is wired to Poincare aboard the French battle cruiser France.

Montenegro orders mobilisation.

Information resourced from the following sites:

http://www.firstworldwar.com/onthisday/1914_07_26.htm
http://www.worldwar1.com/tlplot.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_Ultimatum#Content_of_the_Austro-Hungarian_ultimatum_to_Serbia
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/richardpreston/100281464/ww1-9-days-to-go-there-is-war-fever-in-vienna-the-city-has-a-black-saturday/

37 Day Count Down to War - Day 24

July 20th 1914 -Day 24

The ultimatum is delivered to Bad Ischl. franz Josef gets his first look at the "jewel":

"This duplicity of Austria is intolerable." German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg

Count Leopold von Berchtold Imperial foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary

Franz Joseph of Austria

Because of the Austrian delay in writing the ultimatum, the element of surprise that Germany had counted upon in the war against Serbia was lost. Instead, the strategy of “localisation” was adopted, which meant that when the Austro-Serbian war began, Germany would pressure other powers not to become involved even at the risk of war. On July 19th, Jagow published a note in the semi-official North German Gazette warning other powers “that the settlement of differences which may arise between Austria-Hungary and Serbia should remain localized”. Asked by Jules Cambon, the French Ambassador to Germany, how he knew about the contents of the Austrian ultimatum as he had revealed in the North German Gazette,Gottlieb von Jagow pretended to be ignorant of it. Sir Horace Rumbolf of the British Embassy in Berlin reported:

“We do not know the facts. The German government clearly do know. They know what the Austrian government is going to demand...and I think we may say with some assurance that they had expressed approval of those demands and promised support should dangerous complications ensure...the German government did not believe that there is any danger of war.”

Though Jagow’s pretence was not widely believed, it was still believed at this time that Germany was aiming for peace, and could restrain Austria.

General Moltke of the German General Staff again strongly approved of the idea of an Austrian attack on Serbia as the best way of bringing about the desired world war.

On July 20, the German government informed the directors of the Norddeutscher Lloyd and Hamburg America Line shipping companies that Austria would soon present an ultimatum that might cause a general European war, and they should start withdrawing their ships from foreign waters back to the Reich at once. That same day, the German Navy was ordered to start concentrating the High Seas Fleet, in case of a general war. Riezler’s diary has Bethmann Hollweg saying to him on July 20 that Russia with its “growing demands and tremendous dynamic power would be impossible to repel in a few years, especially if the present European constellation continues to exist.” Riezler ended his diary with noting that Bethmann Hollweg was “determined and taciturn”, and quoted his former Foreign Minister Kiderlen-Waechter who “had always said we must fight”.

Austria-Hungary: Preparations on Serbian frontier

Information sourced from the following sites:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/richardpreston/100269861/ww1-94-days-to-go-and-in-britain-members-of-the-stock-exchange-race-walk-from-london-to-brighton/
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_Crisis
http://www2.uncp.edu/home/rwb/July_Crisis_1914_Chronology.htm

37 Day Count Down to War - Day 22

July 18th 1914

Berchtold visits British Ambassador to Vienna, Sir Maurice de Bunsen. The ambassador notes that the Foreign Minister "was unusually chatty and agreeable." 

On July 18th, to reassure Stolberg, Count Hoyos promised him that the demands in the draft text of the ultimatum “were really of such a nature that no nation that still possessed self-respect and dignity could possibly accept them". The same day, in response to rumours about an Austrian ultimatum, the Serbian Prime Minister Pasic stated that he would not accept any measures compromising on Serbian sovereignty. Hans Schoen, a Bavarian diplomat in Berlin, told the Bavarian Prime Minister Count Georg Von Hertling that Austria was only making a pretence “of being peacefully inclined”. Commenting on the draft text of the ultimatum shown to him by German diplomats, Schoen noted that:

“It is perfectly plain that Serbia cannot accept any such demands, which are incompatible with her dignity as a sovereign state. Thus the result would be war.”

Count Franz Conrad Von Hotzendorf Chief of the General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army from 1906 to 1917

Zimmermann told Schoen that a powerful and successful move against Serbia would save Austria-Hungary from internal disintegration, and that was why Germany had given Austria “a blank power of full authority, even at the risk of a war with Russia”.

The extraordinary might of the Royal Navy is shown in this graphic, displaying the order of the fleet for today's review at Spithead

 The Daily Telegraph correspondent is as struck by the new possibilities offered by seaplanes as by the power of the dreadnoughts

While Austria-Hungary continues its verbal skirmishes with Serbia, the conflict in Albania continues to be a cause of anxiety

Back to 2014., In London today the first poppy was planted in the moat by the longest serving Yeoman Warder. In total there will be 888,246 ceramic poppies installed by over 8,000 volunteers, to mark the centenary of the First World War. Each poppy represents a British military fatality during the war. 

Register your interest in buying a poppy: http://bit.ly/TowerP 

Sign up to volunteer: http://bit.ly/poppyvolHRP 

Information sourced from the following websites:

http://www.worldwar1.com/tlplot.htm

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/richardpreston/100280555/ww1-17-days-to-go-the-fleet-masses-at-spithead-albania-continues-to-cause-anxiety/

https://www.ssafa.org.uk/news/2014/05/19/volunteer-plant-poppies-tower-london/

37 Day Count Down to War - Day 17

July 14th 1914 

Berchtold wins over Tisza by promising that no territorial demands will be placed upon Serbia. Berchtold was lying - Serbia had already been partitioned on paper. Tisza had written several letters to Emperor Franz Josef pleading for leniency in dealing with Serbia. Berchtold had these intercepted before they made it to the Emperor. He and Conrad would have the war against Serbia for which they had waited so long.

Conrad leaves for vacation in Innichen as planned. 

Austria, the Telegraph's Vienna correspondent hears from his foreign ministry sources, appears to be maintaining a calm but firm line with Serbia, while reminding the upstart neighbour that agitators must be brought to book – and while Italy and Germany support Austria-Hungary, Serbia will 'not easily be seconded by any foreign assistance'

Whatever Vienna wishes to convey with its tone, the markets are becoming nervous in Vienna and in Berlin

Rasputin, stabbed the day before, is reported to be alive but ailing

And at Charing Cross station, excited crowds greet the great French heavyweight boxer Georges Carpentier, who will fight Gunboat Smith at Olympia in two days' time

Information resourced from the following sites

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/richardpreston/100279906/ww1-21-days-to-go-austria-reminds-serbia-that-its-just-rights-will-be-defended-the-berlin-markets-tumble/

http://www.worldwar1.com/tlplot.htm

http://alphahistory.com/worldwar1/july-crisis/

37 Day Count Down to War - Day 16

13th July 1914

Now the tensions between Serbia and Austria-Hungary are becoming plainer to see. From Belgrade come reports that Austro-Hungarian officials fear being attacked in retaliation for assaults on Serbs in Bosnia, and specifically in Sarajevo. The Serbian press has circulated rumours that Hartwig, the Russian ambassador to Belgrade who died suddenly, might have been the victim of foul play. Responding to the mood, the Austrian ambassador has sent his family away from Belgrade.

From Vienna, the Telegraph's correspondent files a passionate statement from a 'source' close to Count Berchtold, the Austrian minister, laying bare the empire's attitude to Serbia – 'conspiracy and assassination are the principal weapons of the Serbian state'

On July 13, 1914, Friedrich von Wiesner, an official of the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Office, reports back to Foreign Minister Leopold von Berchtold the findings of an investigation into the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife Sophie the previous June 28, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. "

There is nothing to prove or even suppose that the Serbian government is accessory to the inducement for the crime, its preparation, or the furnishing of weapons. On the contrary, there are reasons to believe that this is altogether out of the question."

The only evidence that could be found, it seemed, was that Princip and his cohorts had been aided by individuals with ties to the government, most likely members of a shadowy organization within the army, the Black Hand. Nothing has been found to implicate the Serbian government in the assassination. Berchtold keeps the findings away from Franz Josef. Krobatin leaves for vacation in Bad Gastein as planned.

 "The note is being composed so that the possibility of its acceptance is practically excluded." German Ambassador to Vienna, Count Heinrich von Tschirschky, to German Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg 

In France, the shocking state of the army is discussed – millions of francs have been wasted and the military is short of 2 million pairs of boots

In Germany, soldiers are laid low for another reason – a heatwave

And in Russia, a woman attempts to murder the charismatic mystic Rasputin, stabbing him in the stomach

The following information resourced from the following websites:
http://www.worldwar1.com/tlplot.htm
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/richardpreston/100279736/ww1-22-days-to-go-austrians-in-belgrade-begin-to-panic-in-russia-rasputin-is-stabbed/
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2014/07/liveblogging-world-war-i-july-13-1914-austrian-investigation-concludes.html

37 Day Count Down to War- Day 13

July 10th 1914

You might have expected the foreign affairs debate in the House of Commons on 10 July to have discussed the growing tensions in the Balkans or the Austrian response to Sarajevo. If Members of Parliament truly thought that the twelve-day old assassination would lead to war, this topic would have consumed all others. It was an opportunity for serious debate that would have warned the nation of ominous developments that could well lead to a continental war. If the Foreign Office had honourably tried to raise the level of public awareness, then this was the logical platform. But the issue of Austrian intentions to punish Serbia and its possible consequences were not raised.

Instead of debating the nation’s role in the event of war, Members of Parliament had their democratic say about commercial interests and allegations that other nations were acting unfairly against British companies and investors. It set a tone of self-interest that was occasionally broken by a shard of enlightenment. Honourable members discussed China, India, Persia and Russia, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, improving relations with Germany, Portugal and Turkish Armenia but not the crisis in the Balkans. Sir Edward Grey said not a word to criticise or disagree with major points that were completely at odds with the true objectives of the Foreign Office, and then ignored them completely. Had it not been so serious, so calamitous, so despicable, the reader might find it amusing to appreciate how successfully he used the House of Commons to lull the country at large, and the Germans in particular, into believing that Britain had not the slightest concern that the events in Sarajevo might lead to a continental war.

What music to the ears of the German ambassador when Joseph King compared the scandal of Russia’s behaviour to the goodwill and affection for ‘countries like Germany, which stand with us in the forefront of civilisation’.Again and again, honourable Members of Parliament, completely ignorant of the Secret Elite agenda, underlined the much improved relationship between Britain and Germany. Ultimately, not one word spoken in the debate mattered. It was as if the ominous events in the Balkans had no relevance in London. The British people’s contempt for Russia was palpable, but that meant nothing to the Secret Elite. At that very moment, Grey’s ambassadors were manipulating St Petersburg towards a war to destroy Germany. That could not be achieved without the Russian armies. While Parliament praised the new warmth in the Anglo-German relationship, the Foreign Office continued its preparations to blow it apart. 

Meanwhile -Berchtold dispatches Friedrich von Wiesner to Sarajevo to report on the assassination inquest's findings.
The Russian minister to Serbia drops dead. 

Information resourced from the following sites:
http://firstworldwarhiddenhistory.wordpress.com/
http://www.worldwar1.com/tlplot.htm