Week 1 - 28 July 1914 - The Outbreak of World War I Flashcards
What Happened on 28th July 1914
- On 28th June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed by Gavrilo Princip who was a Serb
- On 5th July 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany pledges his unconditional support to Austria-Hungary in whatever actions they decide to take against Serbia ( The Blank Checque )
- On 28th July 1914, The Empire of Austria-Hungary declared war against The Kingdom of Serbia
- This snowballed within days into World War I
Who Was Franz Conrad Von Hotzendorf
- In the days following the assassination of The Austrian Archduke in Sarajevo, there were Anti Serbian Riots and Demonstrations in much of Bosnia and official dispatches to Vienna that there was Serbian Complicity in the plot but general European reactions to the killings were quite mild
- Austria, however, had big ideas, many of them coming from Army Chief of Staff Franz Conrad Von Hotzendorf
- Conrad was a Vehement ( Passionate, Forceful, Intense ) Imperialist ( A Policy of Extending Power and Dominion Over Other Territories By Direct Territorial Acquisitions ) for Austria and Austrian Greatness who has been described as being :-
” The Most Dangerous Kind of Officer … Both Stupid and Intensely Energetic. “
- In the year and a half before 1914, he asked his Government to go to war no less than 26 times
- His main counterweight was Archduke Franz Ferdinand who repeatedly urged The Emperor Franz Josef against any war with Russia or war with Serbia and not to listen to Franz Conrad who was now deceased
- The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was to Franz Conrad was :-
” A heaven sent means to curb Serbian Power and Ambition. “
Germany and Russia
- In 1912, The Kaiser had told Army Chief of Staff Von Moltke and Grand Admiral Von Tirpirz that :-
” Austria had to act vigorously against The Foreign Slavs … If Russia were to support The Serbs, War would be inevitable for us. “
- Prior to 1914, due to shortage of money, Russia had never been able to :-
1) Build and equip its Army like The Germans could
2) Build their Railways like The Germans could
- By 1914, Russia had become the World’s 4th Largest Economy and Russian Currency was on The Gold Standard
- Thus, The Railroad were booming and Russia would be able to easily and quickly defend its borders only within a few years
- Now this was a big fear in The German High Command since Russia obviously had The Manpower advantage once Russia’s Railways were a match for Germany’s
- German Chancellor Von Bethman Hollweg’s Diary from July 7th tells us these thoughts :-
” Russia had become a nightmare. The German Generals say that there must be a war before it was too late. By 1917, Germany has no hope, so better 1914. “
- As a side note, this was the opinion of The Generals and some Government Leaders but not The German People at large
Kaiser Wilhelm II
- Leading up to World War I, Kaiser Wilhelm II said the following :-
1) On 30th June 1914 - The Serbs must be disposed of and right soon
2) On 5th July 1914 - Should War between Austria-Hungary and Russia prove unavoidable, Germany would be at Austria’s side
- However, The Kaiser also told his Chancellor that he did not think that there was a real prospect of war and that Russia was not close to being ready
- The next day, The Kaiser went on his annual 3 week vacation to Norway which is not what one would do if they were planning for a war ( Showing That A World War Was Not On The Kaiser’s Mind )
Austria-Hungary and Serbia
- On 7th July 1914, The Austro-Hungarian Cabinet met to discuss Serbia and they were for a war to reduce Serbia’s Size and make her dependent on Austria
- On 13th July 1914, a secret report reached Vienna ( Capital of Austria ) from Sarajevo that there was zero evidence that The Serbian Government had anything to do with the assassination which did not really change anything
- Emperor Franz Josef finally became convinced that Austria could take action against Serbia without any other powers interfering so he agreed to issue an ultimatum
- The Terms of The Ultimatum were finalised on 19th July 1914 and had a total of 15 Demands and it linked the Belgrade ( Capital of Serbia ) Government with the assassination even without evidence
- Some of The Terms of The Ultimatum were :-
1) The Serbian Government must condemn Anti Austrian Propaganda and punish anyone who made or distributed it
2) Austrian Officials would participate in The Judicial Process in Serbia ( Essentially They Would Be In Charge Of Justice In Another Country )
- This Ultimatum was designed to be rejected and was sent on 23rd July 1914 and gave Serbia 48 hours to reply to it
- On 25th July 1914 at 6 pm, Serbia answered The Ultimatum and agreed that Anti Austrian Propagandists would be punished and subversive movement suppressed and actually agreed to almost everything else except to Austria participating in The Judicial Process within Serbia which Serbia asked that this demand be submitted to The Tribunal in The Hague
- Everybody apart from Austria thought this response was just fine but Austria was determined to go to war
- Russia suggested 2 days later that negotiations between Austria and Vienna should be open to try and sort things out which was refused
- A British attempt the same day to talk Germany into having a 4 Power Conference to also try to sort things out failed as well
Kaiser Wilhelm II
- On 28th July 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm II finally read the full text of The Austrian Ultimatum and Serbia’s Response and he could see no reason at all for Austria to Declare War
- After all this that had happened, The Kaiser wrote :-
” A Great Moral Victory For Vienna ( Capital of Austria ) but with it, every reason for war is removed … “
- Just about an hour after The Kaiser scribbled that in the margins, Emperor Franz Josef signed a Declaration of War on Serbia confident of German Support
- That Declaration would turn out to be the Death Warrant of his own Empire
