When Diplomacy Fails presents the July Crisis Anniversary Project, a day-by-day account of the events that occurred 100 years ago.

Away from Vienna.

Today is the 18th of July 2014, and over this period in history 100 years ago,

occurred the following events. Louis de Robian left Paris for St. Petersburg on the morning of

the 6th of July, so he would arrive in the Russian capital,

with ample time to prepare for the important state visit of his country's president to the

Russian Tsar on the 20th of July. His journey, recounted in Christopher Clark's book, The Sleepwalkers,

how Europe went to war in 1914, makes for highly entertaining reading.

When reaching the borders of East Prussia, Derobien, much to his irritation, had to switch

carriages to compensate for the change in gauge in the Russian railway system. Such an apparent

design flaw was deliberate and meant to ensure against the fast advance of a foreign enemy into Russian territory.

Yet for the Robienne, it was a serious nuisance, and it signalled the end of the leisurely portion of his trip.

Switching trains and travelling across the Russia-German border in the process,

Robian was greeted by a horde of bearded persons, who wore boots and white aprons, and took charge of his baggage

so fast he was unable to follow. His passport was checked, a process which irked Robien

since, in that era of liberty, one travelled everywhere in Europe except for Russia without carrying a passport.

Robien was ushered then into a candlelit room and forced to wait for the train to arrive that would take him to the Russian capital.

Any officers he tried to speak with spoke only a few words of German, and he no doubt hoped that

the capital would provide a better experience as his train finally arrived. However, upon arriving,

Robien recalled that the Russian capital completed our disappointment about the whole journey,

and he felt as if he were in a remotely foreign place.

We felt, he would later recall, as if we were in China.

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