Chapter 184 The Impact of the Sarajevo Incident (Part 2)
Germany received news of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand on the afternoon of the 18th.
At that time, Kaiser Wilhelm II was driving his luxury yacht in Kiel to participate in a sailing race. Admiral Müller drove a motorboat and used a cigarette box to throw the telegram containing the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand onto Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht. Wilhelm II
Kaiser opened the cigarette box and read the telegram inside. After reading it, his face turned pale, and then the Kaiser ordered the yacht to turn back to the shore.
The reason why the Kaiser was emotionally depressed was that Ferdinand was one of his few friends (at a royal gathering with Archduke Ferdinand, in order to circumvent Austrian laws, the Kaiser allowed the dining table to seat only four people.
, this will only allow the Kaiser and his wife to sit together with Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, and the changed Sophie can only sit in the final embarrassment.), and is also the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which is now Germany's most important ally. William II also
The current relationship between the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph and Austria-Hungary is not harmonious. Even if Austria-Hungary now seeks help from Germany, this phenomenon cannot be changed. Archduke Ferdinand is different. He and Wilhelm II have great differences in European politics and diplomacy.
There is consensus.
If Archduke Ferdinand can succeed, the relationship between Austria-Hungary and Germany will be even closer. Now that Europe is divided into two camps, William II is very willing to see this situation, but a gunshot in Sarajevo makes
The Kaiser's dream was ruined
When Wilhelm II rushed back to Berlin the next day, he found that none of his trusted ministers were there. Prime Minister Holweg was on vacation at his country villa in Hohenfenno. Chief of General Staff General Moltke was conducting governance in Carlsbad.
Recuperating from illness. Navy Minister Admiral Tirpitz is spending his summer vacation in the Black Forest. Foreign Minister Jagow is on his honeymoon. This means that the Kaiser has no advisers around him, so he can only deal with the changes in the Balkans alone.
At this time, the German ambassador to Austria-Hungary, Chershki, sent a telegram hoping that Germany would agree with him to take cautious actions. This made Wilhelm II furious. "Who authorized him to do this?" The Kaiser was originally because of his friends.
Still uneasy, he saw such a report again. He scrawled a line of comments in the margin of the report. "This is absolutely stupid! He has no right to make irresponsible remarks on Austrian affairs. If something happens in the future, they will
Said: This is all Germany's fault! Please Chershiki stop doing stupid things."
The Kaiser's reaction was what Bertold, the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, wanted to see. Because of this assassination, the Kaiser's previous indifference towards Serbia turned into hatred.
On July 4, Berthold sent his deputy, Count Hoyos, to explain to the Kaiser the Austro-Hungarian response to the assassination. In this diplomatic note to the Kaiser, Berthold mentioned the matter without telling the Hungarian Prime Minister.
Serbia has modified some contents, the biggest change is to eliminate Serbia's political influence in the Balkans, which means war.
When Tisza found out, he asked to see the original diplomatic note. After seeing the greatly revised diplomatic note, he called to delete the revised content. Unfortunately, it was too late, Hoyos had already revised it with Berthold
The diplomatic note he had received arrived in Berlin, and he had already arrived at the Kaiser's palace with this diplomatic note.
During a lunch with Kaiser Wilhelm II on July 5, Hoyos and the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to Germany Szogotyny gave this diplomatic note to the Kaiser and informed him that it was from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
attitude. However, what disappointed both of them was that Wilhelm II did not agree with the offensive nature of this diplomatic note. Apparently the Kaiser had recovered from the grief of losing his friend.
He calmly told the two of them that he hoped that Austria-Hungary would take some important steps against Serbia. However, in this diplomatic note, the Kaiser felt that it might cause a European war. Wilhelm II's statement did not discourage the two of them. They knew that the emperor
character, so they continued to talk about the advice the Kaiser should give to Austria. At this time, Wilhelm II's reckless side appeared.
"Our actions against Serbia cannot be delayed. Russia's attitude is certainly full of hostility, but we have been preparing to deal with this situation for several years. If a war between Austria-Hungary and Russia is inevitable, we must stand as loyal allies
On the other hand, Russia is not ready for war yet and will definitely think twice before resorting to force."
These were all suggestions given by Wilhelm II. Szogtinny recorded the Kaiser's remarks and sent them back to Vienna. The Kaiser's words gave hope to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
At this time, William II summoned the military advisers who were staying in Berlin in the palace and asked for their opinions.
Based on the diplomatic note sent by Austria-Hungary, the military advisers all believed that this was a sign that Austria-Hungary was going to go to war with Serbia. They all agreed that the sooner Austria-Hungary went to war with Serbia, the better. They also basically agreed that although Russia was an ally of Serbia,
But it will not participate in the war, so Germany does not need to carry out military mobilization, and the Kaiser can continue to take leave (this is very important).
The next day, the Kaiser and Prime Minister Holweg summoned Hoyos and Szogkinny. At that time, Prime Minister Holweg was very sad because of the death of his wife and was very tired from traveling all the way.
Completely unaware of how serious the situation was.
In the meeting with the Austro-Hungarian envoy, Holweg believed that the time is better now, but the good time may not be there anymore. So far, the Kaiser and the Prime Minister have successively provided a blank check to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
When I received the check, I did not know that Hungarian Prime Minister Tisza was firmly opposed to this plan.
Wilhelm II left Berlin that day and boarded a trip to the Baltic Sea. Before that, he summoned the top brass of the army and navy to inform them that Austria-Hungary was going to war with Serbia, but Russia and France were not yet ready for war. In the evening, Ho
Chancellor Erweg also returned to Hohenfenno.
In their view, Austria-Hungary took advantage of the fact that other major powers were not paying attention to teach Serbia a lesson. It should be a task that could be completed quickly, and they did not need to worry too much. In fact, because of Tisza's opposition, this war would drag on for a long time.
Night.
The first evidence of the interrogation of the Assassins before receiving German support. It was verified that the Serbian officer Major Tankosvich was in Belgrade.
Training. With this evidence, it will be difficult for Tisza to prevent war against Serbia.
On the afternoon of July 7, an emergency cabinet meeting was held at Tisza's request. At the meeting, Hoyos, who had returned overnight, recounted his conversation with the German Prime Minister. Regarding the content of the raid on Belgrade and the carving up of Serbian territory, Tisza
Sa was horrified after hearing this.
He warned that if the Austro-Hungarian government directly used force without sufficient diplomatic efforts, the entire Balkans except Bulgaria would be hostile to Austria-Hungary. In time, Bulgaria was interested, but after suffering heavy losses in the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria
It will not provide much help on the battlefield. In this case, Austria-Hungary is likely to be attacked on three sides in the war.
In order to avoid such a situation, Tisza proposed to take cautious diplomatic steps before going to war with Serbia. First, he must make demands that Serbia cannot agree to. If he refuses, he will issue an ultimatum and threaten force. If Serbia accepts, then he can
The Balkans have won a diplomatic victory. If they refuse, war can be used. However, Tisza said that Austria-Hungary's goal can only be to weaken Serbia and gain some territory, and it must not carve up Serbia.
Faced with Tisza's request, Foreign Minister Berthold gave different opinions, but still could not let Tisza give in. Tisza then declared as the Prime Minister of Hungary that he was firmly opposed to Austria-Hungary occupying any territory in Serbia, and it was best to
Benefit smaller Balkan countries.
Faced with Tisza's opposition, Conrad's hope of preparing for a surprise attack was dashed, and he could only start with diplomacy.
