Chapter 185 The Impact of the Sarajevo Incident (2)
At Tisza's request, Foreign Minister Berthold prepared a diplomatic ultimatum with 48 hours to respond.
The ultimatum is as follows: 1. Seize any publications that cause hatred and contempt for the Austrian royal family.
2. Immediately ban the National Self-Defense Organization (Narodna Odbrana) and other organizations that produce anti-Austro-Hungarian propaganda.
3. Immediately delete from educational groups and teaching methods any teaching content that will or may incite anti-Austro-Hungarian propaganda.
4. Remove officials from the military or administrative departments who are accused of carrying out anti-Austro-Hungarian propaganda, and the list of such officials shall be provided by the Austro-Hungarian government.
5. Accept cooperation with relevant departments of the Austro-Hungarian government to suppress activities in Serbia that attempt to subvert the territorial integrity of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
6. With the assistance and instructions of the relevant departments designated by the Austrian government, take legal action to punish those who planned or carried out the assassination of June 28, 1914 on Serbian territory.
7. Immediately arrest the two named persons revealed by the preliminary investigation in Austria-Hungary.
8. Maintain cooperation and take effective measures to curb arms smuggling within their borders.
9. Explain to Austria-Hungary the statements made by senior Serbian officials inside or outside Serbia who are hostile to it.
10. Take the above measures immediately and inform the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Bertold was preparing to issue an ultimatum to the Serbian government on July 12, but at this time, an important event stopped his actions first.
At that time, Hartwig, the Russian ambassador to Serbia, visited Gisl, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Serbia. He expressed his sincere condolences to Gisl for the murder of Archduke Ferdinand. As a result, at 9:20 pm, he was in Austria-Hungary.
He suffered a heart attack in the embassy and died a few minutes later. Ambassador Hartwig was the driving force behind Serbia's participation in the Balkan War and the person in charge of Russia in the Balkans. Austria hated him very much.
Among them, after Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated, all countries held solemn commemorative activities, lowered their flags at half-mast, and bowed their heads in silence. Although it was a bit pretentious, they all expressed their sympathy for Austria-Hungary. Only Russia showed abnormality in the embassy.
, the flags were not flown at half-mast at the embassies in Rome and Belgrade. Even at the Serbian official memorial ceremony for Archduke Ferdinand, the Russians still refused. Obviously this was Hartwig's intention.
This spread rumors in Serbia that the Austrians had murdered Hartwig, which also delayed the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
When the Austro-Hungarian Empire was being held back, Britain and France showed little concern about the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.
Among them, Britain is currently struggling with the Irish Home Rule Act. After the British Empire annexed Ireland, the people of this small island have been dissatisfied with the rule of the British Empire, especially the British performance during the Great Irish Famine. For this reason, the British in 1886
The Irish Home Rule Bill was discussed twice in succession in 1892, but both ended in the collapse of the Gladstone government and failed to pass.
After Asquith became prime minister last year, in order to gain the support of Irish parliamentarians, he proposed the third Home Rule Bill to the British Parliament in April 1912. According to this bill, Ireland could establish a bicameral parliament, with members of the upper house appointed by the British King.
Members of the House of Commons are elected in accordance with electoral laws. However, the Parliament has no power to deal with foreign relations, levy taxes, control land, and manage the police and army. Executive power is still in the hands of the British Governor.
This bill was also opposed by the Conservative Party. After many twists and turns, it was finally passed by the British House of Commons on third reading, but was still rejected by the House of Lords. According to British law in 1911, any bill passed by the House of Commons on third reading can be ignored by the Upper House.
It was vetoed and submitted directly to the king for signature. In this case, the Conservatives failed to obstruct the parliament and turned to create trouble in Ireland. The Conservatives, led by A. Carlson, first instigated the Protestants in Northern Ireland, and in September 1912
The "Solemn Covenant" was passed on September 28, threatening to use all necessary means to crush the current conspiracy to establish a local self-governing assembly in Ireland.
Then armed riots broke out in the north, triggering a "constitutional crisis" in Britain. The Asquith government decided to send troops to quell the riots, but the officers refused and threatened to resign. After the northern riots planned by the Conservatives, Ireland
A volunteer army was also formed, and a nationwide war was imminent.
So now the British Empire can't even care about the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince.
As for France, the Caillot scandal is now the focus of public attention across the country. This murder, regarded as one of the biggest scandals in the history of the French Third Republic, occurred on March 16, 1914. The former French Prime Minister and then Finance Minister
Henriette Caillaux, wife of the minister Joseph Caillaux, shot and killed Gaston Calmet, editor of Le Figaro.
The motive that prompted Mrs. Caillaux to commit the murder was a series of personal attacks against her husband manipulated by Calmet. As a heavyweight in French politics at the time, Joseph Caillaux's anti-war stance undoubtedly made him a thorn in the side of the right.
Calmet, the editor-in-chief of Le Figaro, France's most important right-wing publication, launched a lengthy attack on him in the newspaper. Starting in November 1913, Calmet claimed in the newspaper that Caillot was
When he was finance minister in 2001, he obstructed justice in a financial scandal. He also accused Caillaux of being too soft on Germany. Later, Calmet even broke the unwritten principles of the Paris press and pointed his gun at Caillaux's private life.
Calmette first made public the love letter Caillot wrote to his first wife 13 years ago. Caillot’s double-faced stance was fully exposed in his confession to his lover: “The income tax is on the surface just because it has to be implemented.
I have to oppose it." Calmet also threatened to continue to publish the love letters between Caillot and his second wife Henriette. Since Caillot and Henriette both had other families during their relationship, this
The letter is undoubtedly evidence of adultery between the two, which is enough to show Caillaux's moral flaws. In order to defend his dignity, Caillaux is bound to challenge Calmet to a duel.
But before that, Mrs. Caillaux couldn't bear it and visited Calmet on March 16. After being allowed to enter the latter's office, Mrs. Caillaux took out the revolver she had prepared and fired six shots in succession. Calmet immediately
Death. Mrs. Cayo was arrested on the spot and confessed to the shooting.
Such a good opportunity was wasted. At the same time, French President Poincaré and Prime Minister Viviani boarded the French battleship in Dunkirk and set sail to prepare for a visit to St. Petersburg. They were to consolidate the Franco-Russian alliance.
relations, and also discussed the Balkan issue.
From France's perspective, the Balkan issue does not have much interest for it. They hope that Russia will focus more on Germany. This is the main purpose of France's alliance with Russia, instead of focusing on the Balkans and Austria-Hungary. Obviously
They are also dissatisfied with Russia's aggressive attitude in the Balkans.
After arriving in St. Petersburg on July 20, French President Poincaré proposed at a welcome dinner with Nicholas II that the Russian-French alliance was based on common interests and the fear of Germany. This alliance uses the army and navy
Both sides favored each other. He also promised the Tsar that his Majesty could trust France and that France would carry out sincere long-term cooperation with Russia in the future as it had in the past.
However, the French president did not know about Austria-Hungary's intentions, and by interpreting Austria-Hungary's telegrams, Russia knew that Vienna wanted to go to war with Serbia, which paved the way for the future.
Later, the French delegation visited the city of St. Petersburg and watched the life of all walks of life in Russia. During the last visit of the French delegation, Prime Minister Viviani (who also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs) ordered the French Ambassador to write a communiqué,
Let’s summarize the results of this summit.
Ambassador Paleolog drafted a brief manuscript at the dining table; the two governments exchanged their respective views and intentions for maintaining the balance of power in Europe. Specifically, when it comes to the Balkans, the two countries' views are absolutely consistent. Vivian
Ni disagreed with the last phrase of the manuscript, pointing out that the interests of France and Russia in the Balkans were not absolutely identical.
Considering that this was just a wording issue, Paleolog withdrew the original manuscript. He drafted another one; the Franco-Russian alliance formed a completely consistent view on many issues related to peace in Europe, balance of power, etc., and
This was especially true of the East (no one could doubt that this meant Serbia). The then top brass of both countries fully agreed with the suggestive, if boring, communiqué.
So far, France has given Russia a guarantee of the alliance without knowing it. Now it depends on how Vienna responds.
