#53: 2 August 1914 I - Into Luxemburg

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

🗓️ 31 March 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Schleiffen Plan demanded an invasion of the small Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, where German forces would seize key railway installations, facilitating their march into Belgium, and then to France. Of course, nobody told the Luxemburgers, but Berlin was very eager to make it clear that this unannounced invasion was not an invasion at all. Oh no, this was merely a precautionary measure, essential for German security.

If the Luxemburgers complied peacefully, all would be well. If not, well, then the Luxemburgers must be mad to face down the full might of 7/8 of the German army which barrelled towards them. As hundreds of thousands of soldiers flooded westwards, Europe was alight with diplomatic activity, complete with questions which really should have been answered by now. Peace was all but lost, but that did not mean the war had to arrive with any measure of clarity.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The weather. Tomorrow, expect a biting cold front. Hmm, how naughty. I wonder what I'll be
0:06.8	wearing or taking off. The night will be wild and untamed. Expect heavy, lashing rain
0:13.0	that'll soak you to the skin. By Monday, temperatures will rise slowly but surely reaching
0:18.7	their peak in the afternoon.
0:23.0	Not in the mood for miserable weather?
0:25.9	Fly cheaply to Turkey with SonExpress.
0:28.7	SunExpress, non-stop sunshine.
0:36.2	In summer 1914, the world went to war.
0:42.5	Now 110 years later, we go back to those figures, to those debates,
0:50.4	to those questions, in the greatest failure in the history of diplomacy. I am Dr. Zach Twomley. You're listening to When Diplomacy Fails, and this is the July crisis. The crisis is telling on our nerves.
1:13.6	We are all worn out, and that is the truth. The crisis is telling on our nerves.
1:29.7	We are all worn out, and that is the truth.
1:32.2	I don't think we could stick it for another 48 hours.
1:35.0	The whole thing is, to me, a gigantic nightmare,
1:38.3	and I keep on wondering whether I'm in a sane world.
1:42.2	Sir Horace Rumbled, British Charger de Fair in Berlin, writes to his wife on the 2nd of August.
1:51.0	As Sunday morning greeted Europe's contemporaries, it was no longer possible to deny what was
1:56.5	happening.
1:57.3	All the four involved powers, Germany, Russia, France and Austria had mobilised.
2:02.7	Germany had declared war on Russia.
2:04.9	Austria and Germany had closed ranks against Russia, while France had stated its intention
2:10.0	to support her.
	...

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