#51: 1 August 1914 III - The Kaiser's Rollercoaster

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

🗓️ 17 March 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We open with the shattered dreams of Kaiser Wilhelm II, as the British claim a 'misunderstanding' must have occurred to make Berlin believe Britain and France could remain neutral. The rollercoaster of emotions ended with Wilhelm's bitter confirmation to Moltke - he could do what he liked now. What Moltke liked to do and what he had to do were one and the same. It was time to switch back on the Schlieffen Plan, which meant world war was inevitable.

And yet, Germany delayed its declaration of war on France, even as mobilisation was announced in Paris, and Italy signalled it would remain neutral. Germany's diplomatic options had shrank dramatically. All that now existed was Vienna, and the hope that the pressure campaigns in Constantinople would finally pay off, yet there were no guarantees. The only guarantee was that war was now official, even if St Petersburg had yet to confirm it...

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Transcript

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0:00.0	In summer 1914, the world went to war.
0:04.6	Now 110 years later, we go back to those figures, to those debates, to those questions,
0:12.2	in the greatest failure in the history of diplomacy.
0:16.3	I am Dr. Zach Twomley. You're listening to When Diplomacy Fails.
0:23.2	And this is the July house. Premier had once made the statement in the lower house that England was not bound by treaties of any sort to take part in case of war.
1:03.5	Thus England had a free hand now, but Germany must realise that there existed certain public treaties, the violation of which by Germany,
1:12.3	would bring England into a difficult situation.
1:16.4	Lignowski reports on the mood in London 1st of August 1914.
1:24.2	It was hard to recall the last time Kaiser Wilhelm II had ever felt so confident. Thanks to the
1:30.7	ingenuity of his diplomats and the threat posed by his formidable army, two of Germany's potential
1:36.4	enemies had backed down. As he relaxed with clinking champagne glasses among his family, his Chancellor
1:43.8	Bethmann Hauig, was somehow more
1:45.8	jubilant still. Bethmann's years of work to affect a d'etan in Anglo-German relations
1:51.4	had borne astonishing fruit. It was perhaps the greatest diplomatic coup of any German minister
1:57.9	since Bismarck. Wilhelm congratulated his Chancellor for his manly bearing,
2:03.9	and for the felicitous way in which he had implemented his plans.
2:08.5	Now the war would focus entirely on Russia,
2:11.6	and although manoeuvring the army back to the East would be challenging,
2:16.2	this was a small price to pay for such an ideal
2:18.8	outcome. The noon deadline had long since passed, and with Germany's general mobilization approved,
2:25.0	Ambassador Portelae could be expected to deliver the formal declaration of war on Russia.
2:31.3	That afternoon, a telegram had arrived from the Tsar. It contained the usual empty
	...

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