#32: 28 July 1914 I - The Kaiser's Conundrum

When Diplomacy Fails Podcast

Zack Twamley

19th Century, 20th Century, International Relations, Politics, Thirty Years' War, Korean War, 18th Century, First World War, Phd, 17th Century, European History, History, War

4.8 • 773 Ratings

🗓️ 14 October 2024

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The 28 July 1914 is best remembered today as the point of no return, as Austria declared war on Serbia.

However, as we will see in this episode, the announcement of this Austro-Serb war, made in the afternoon, and reaching Europe's capitals by the evening, did not ruin the prospects for peace as we might expect. Many contemporaries still believed that it was possible to preserve peace, and foremost among these was Kaiser Wilhelm II. Weeks before, he had given the green light to the blank cheque, but on this morning, Wilhelm finally read Serbia's reply to Austria's ultimatum, and in his view, all reasons for war were now gone.

Wilhelm now proposed a way out of the crisis - Austria would occupy Belgrade, in lieu of Serbia's commitment to dismantle the Pan Serb propaganda and fulfil Austria's remaining demands. This was the Halt in Belgrade, and it was to have a short, but fascinating shelf life, while experiencing several ups and downs before it was eventually killed. In this episode, we trace this idea, and why some in the German government worked hard to push for it, while their colleagues worked to undermine them.

The German policy was confused, but also impatient. German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg was running out of patience with his Austrian ally, and in his view, Vienna needed to be given a stark warning. She must make amends with Italy, and present her war plan to her ally - did she want to annex Serbia, or not? It was vital that these questions were clarified, as it would make all the difference when dealing with Serbia's protector, Russia. Could Germany stop the ball rolling, or were their efforts, like so many others, hampered by delusions, misinformation, and mistrust? Find out as we begin our coverage of this watershed moment in our history.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Yes! I just can't believe!
0:02.4	This Christmas, you could be a millionaire.
0:05.2	Get your lotto ticket for tonight's draw.
0:07.0	The National Lottery. Rules and procedures apply.
0:08.8	Players must be 18 or over.
0:12.0	In summer 1914, the world went to war.
0:16.9	Now 110 years later, we go back to those figures, to those debates, to those questions, in the greatest failure in the history of diplomacy.
0:28.6	I am Dr. Zach Twomley. You're listening to When Diplomacy fails.
0:32.8	And this is the July crisis.
1:14.5	Thank you. And this is the July crisis. Everything tends towards catastrophe and collapse. I am interested, geared up and happy. Is it not horrible to be built like that? The preparations have a hideous fascination for me. I pray to God to forgive
1:20.8	me for such fearful moods of levity. Yet I would do my best for peace, and nothing would induce me
1:26.8	wrongfully to strike the first blow.
1:30.1	Winston Churchill writes to his wife Clementine in the evening of the 28th of July, 1914.
1:39.4	When Kaiser Wilhelm II rose early on Tuesday the 28th of July, he began what would be his
1:46.3	final morning routine in peacetime.
1:50.0	The Kaiser was a rigorous rider, and on his morning ride he was joined by Hans von Plesson,
1:55.3	his aide to camp.
1:56.5	At 7.30 a.m., Plesson recalled, Wilhelm was already telling him of Britain's reaction to the situation.
2:02.9	After absorbing Serbia's reply to the ultimatum, London seemed of the view that basically all of
2:08.5	Austria's demands had been met, and there was thus no reason for war. Pleasant suggested that
2:14.0	Austria should, at least get her hands on a hostage which could serve as a guarantee
2:18.5	for sticking to the agreements. Pleasant was not referring to a literal hostage, but to the temporary
	...

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