#38: 29 July 1914 IV - Vienna Waits For You!

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

🗓️ 2 December 2024

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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By the evening of 29 July, a new wave of panic was overcoming the German government. In Berlin, the question of restraining Austria had long been treated with a wink and a nod, but news of Russian mobilisation seemed to change everything.

For Bethmann Hollweg and Jagow, this change moved them to take a stand against Austrian policy at long last. They demanded answers, compromise, and more information, and the Chancellor was willing to go further still. Although long since forgotten in the mad scramble that followed, Bethmann was sufficiently alarmed to advocate the nuclear option - he would cancel the blank cheque entirely, if Austria did not see sense.

This message would be as terrifying as it was confusing for the Austrians, who had frequently been assured of their ally's solidarity, and of their freedom to craft whatever policy they wanted. But with Britain stating its conditional neutrality, France and Russia united in their defiance, and now Italy complaining more forcefully about Austrian behaviour, not even Berlin could ignore that Vienna was forcing it towards the abyss. The real question for the German government as the 29 July became 30 July, was whether they would pull back, or jump.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, history friend. This is just a friendly reminder that for another week or so, you can get 50% off your first month of a $5 history friend membership on Patreon.
0:11.7	That will get you access to the age of Bismarck, to Poland is not yet lost, to my PhD thesis series, if you really are gluten for punishment, and so much more. You'll be
0:23.1	getting ad-free episodes of series just like this one here, along with scripts attached if you
0:29.1	want to read along and track down my sources. In short, there's never been a better time to
0:34.7	conquer when diplomacy fails as podcasting world and begin feasting on all
0:40.2	of these goodies. Doing so would be a huge help to me and I really appreciate all your support.
0:46.8	It is in its simplest terms when podcasting succeeds. But never mind all that. Let's go back to a time
0:53.4	when diplomacy failed and failed
0:56.2	horrendously. This is the July Crisis episode 38, and I hope you enjoy it.
1:03.2	In summer 1914, the world went to war. Now 110 years later, we go back to those figures, to those debates, to those
1:14.3	questions in the greatest failure in the history of diplomacy. I am Dr. Zach Twomley. You're
1:22.2	listening to When Diplomacy Fails. And this is the July crisis.
1:26.9	Music He fails, and this is the July crisis. Austrians have refused to discuss anything with anybody.
2:02.2	They are singularly stupid and ill-inspired.
2:04.9	Only remaining hope at the moment is that the Emperor of Russia is in communication with the German Emperor.
2:11.2	Air Crow writes to his wife, 29th of July 1914.
2:25.3	By the evening of the 29th of July 1914, German statesmen had been inundated with bad news. Unlike previous crises, Russia was willing to intervene in the Austro-Serb war this time,
2:30.3	and she had undertaken partial mobilization of key military districts. No direct negotiations
2:36.3	with Vienna could deter Russia from this course, and no guarantees of Serbian integrity seemed
2:42.0	to work either. Although the Kaiser had communicated directly with the Tsar, their family ties and
2:48.0	mutual interests in preserving peace could not dissuade Russian statesmen from pushing for military measures.
2:54.7	Nothing, so it seemed, could compel St. Petersburg to deviate from this provocative course.
	...

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