Fear is a bad counselor
Wednesday July 29th
At 1 o'clock in the morning Tsar Nicholas sent a telegram to Kaiser Wilhelm and it expressed indegnation that an "ignoble war has been declared on a weak country". He asked the Kaiser "in the name of our old friendship to do what you can to stop your allies from going to far". While Nicholas's telegram was on its way to Wilhelm, Wilhelm sent a telegram of his own to the Tsar. Wilhelm signed it "your very sincere and devoted friend and cousin". In it the Kaiser declared his hopes for peace and said, " I am exerting my utmost influence to induce the Austrians to deal straightly to arrive to a satisfactory understanding with you. This exchange was promising, though in his marginal scribblings, the Kaiser dismissed Tsar Nicholas's message as "a confession of his own weakness, and an attempt to put the responsibility on my own shoulders".
In any case, like every glimmer of hope during this exhausting and interminable with, the exchange would soon be submerged in the rush of events. The Tsar's Foreign Minister, Sazonov, continued to be under intense pressure from all sides. He needed little persuading when, later in the morning, War Minister Vladimir Sukhomlinov and the army's Chief of State came to him with their solution to the crisis, mobilization. Mobilizing the army, they said, would put Austria-Hungary on notice in the strongest possible way. Not mobilizing, on the other hand, would leave the army unable to respond if Austria's troops entered Serbia. In case of a wider war, the army would be totally unprepared. Sazonov was quick to agree.
The Chief of Staff then took the train to Tsar Nicholas's summer palace(the Tsar, capable of a strange degree of detachment when terrible things were happening around him, had not visited the capital once since Franz Ferdinand's assassination) and got his signature on two decrees. One ordered the mobilization of 12 army corps, 55 divisions, in 4 military districts where secret preparations were already most advanced. This army was bigger than the Austro-Hungarian army, but it would include less than half of Russia's troops ans so was not intended as a threat to Germany.
The other decree would put in motion a general mobilization involving all districts including those nearest Germany and thereby drastically escalate the crisis. Nicholas believed he was merely putting in place the paperwork necessary for possible action later. he told his visitor that neither order was to be executed without specific authorization from him.
That night army headquarters were preparing for execution of the general mobilization-and Sazonov was telling lies to the British Ambassador, assuring him that Russia was considering no action that could possibly distress the Germans-when the Tsar sent word that he had made a decision. Only a partial mobilization, he said, would be allowed; There must be no move against Germany. Nicholas was continuing to exchange telegrams with the Kaiser, who was continuing to assure him-truthfully that he was trying to slow the Austrians down.
On this same day President Poincare of France and Prime Minister Viviani landed at Dunkirk and hurried to Paris by train. They were surprised to learn that Austria had declared war. And Poincare was surprised to see that people where gathered and cheering "To Berlin" and it was just not here this was happening, other capitals were having the same reactions. People eager for their countries to go to war. Across Europe socialist leaders were mustering their followers in opposition to the impending conflict. Even among the political and military elites, the mood was generally grim.
Sir Edward Grey, from his office at the Foreign Ministry, made his famous comment that "the lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime". (Ironically long before the wars end Grey would have to retire from public life because he was going blind). Even though Poincare was touched by his peoples reaction, he was determined to avert hostilities if possible.
Poincare and Viviani sent a telegram to St. Petersburg urging the Russians not to do anything that would provoke the Germans. But this telegram came to late, for Nicholas had done gave approval of a partial mobilization.
Now out of all the holders of high office, one man, young Winston Churchill was overly exited about the up coming war. "I think a curse should rest on me," he wrote to Prime Minister Asquth's wife, "because I love this war. I know it's smashing and shattering the lives of 1000's every moment-and yet- I can't help it-I enjoy every second of it". Churchill was still a little premature in writing of "this war".
As Wednesday ended, the outlook appeared to be slightly less dark, the likelihood of war diminishing if only slightly. The Kaiser and the Tsar were not only communicating but cooperating in an attempt to impose restraint.
Only 2 things now seemed necessary for a resolution of the crisis to remain possible. One Russia must refrain from general mobilization; the Kaiser seemed willing to accept, temporarily, limited Russian measures that did not threaten German directly. And Austria must agree to something akin to the Stop-in-Belgrade plan. The 2nd condition was likely to be met eventually, simply because Germany wanted it to happen; Austria would find it very hard to proceed without Berlin's support. It all came down, therefore, to the question of whether the Russians would mobilize and stampede the Germans into doing like wise.
Now the German military authorities remained divided. War Minister Erich von Falkenhayn, frightened by the dangers of allowing a Russian mobilization to go unanswered, was urging preliminary step towards mobilization. But for Chief of Staff Moltke(sometimes accused, unjustifiable, of having plotted from the start to provoke a preventive war), the greatest fear at this point was of doing anything that might cause the Russians to mobilize.
In a memorandum dated July 29th, he told Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg that if war came,"the leading nations of Europe would tear one another limb for limb... in a struggle that would destroy the culture of almost all of Europe for decades to come." Bethmann, who needed no persuading, sent an evening telegram instructing Ambassador Pourtales to "kindly impress upon Minister Sazonov very seriously that further progress of Russian mobilization measures would compel us to mobilize and that then European war could scarcely be prevented".
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Sunday, November 24, 2013
The Romanovs
In 1914 the Romanov Family had just competed the celebration of its 300th year on the Russian Throne. It had been a turbulent and often bizarre 3 centuries. Geniuses and degenerates had worn the crown by turns, with strong women succeeding weak men. There had been royal murders and assassinations, questions about whether a Tsar who was presumably dead and buried had actually died at all, and enough sexual irregularity to make it uncertain whether the Romanovs of the 20th Century were even related to the founders of the dynasty.
By fits and starts. Russia changed from a remote and exotic Eastern Kingdom into one of Europe's dominating powers-still only half modern still not entirely European, but an Empire of immerse wealth reaching from Poland to the Pacific Ocean.
By 1914 the Romanovs had be stable and respectable for 5 generations. The reigning Tsar, Nicholas II, was far more virtuous man than his predecessors, but unfortunately he was far weaker than the best of them. The 1st Romanov Tsar was Micheal, crowned in 1613 when he was 16. He was given the crown only because Russia's previous royal family died out; and with 15 years of nothing but leaderless disorder, the country's most powerful factions were desperate for stability; and no better choice was available. Micheal's blood was not quite royal, but close enough, his Aunt Anastasia, his father's sister, had been the beloved 1st wife of Ivan The Terrible, and the mother of the last Tsar in Ivan's line.
The grief over her death is suppose to be the reason he turned into a homicidal maniac of inconceivable savagery. After this the Romanovs didn't burst onto the European scene until almost a century later, when Peter the Great became Tsar. He was a gigantic figure in every way; more than 6 1/2 feet tall, immensely strong, infinitely energetic, violent, a reformer of everything. But was a very ruthless tyrant.
He had become so determined to force Russia into the modern Western World, that he moved its capital from Moscow to some swampy piece of wilderness on the coast of the Baltic Sea. He built a magnificent new city that was laced with canals and became known as the Venice of the North. He name it St. Petersburg, because that was more Western than the Russian equivalent, Petrograd. There was nothing that he wasn't determined to change, and when his ministers weren't quick enough in doing wdhat he wanted, he would lash even the most exalted of them with his stick. He forced the mean of Russia to shave their beards and adopt Western dress; He modernized the government and the military. He conquered and developed seaports not only on the Baltic but on the Black Sea, beginning the long process of pushing the Ottoman Turks southward, back toward their capital of Constantinople. By the time of his death in 1725, he had transformed Russia into a major player among the nations of the world.
As a young man Peter had married a woman from the Russian nobility, but he soon found her tedious and eventually sent her to a convent. He replace her with a mistress, a Lutheran girl named Marta who begun her life as a humbly born orphan in Latvia. She had became a prisoner when an invading Russia army captured her hometown. She was give to a man who happened to be close to Peter, and was then taken back to St. Petersburg, where she was discovered by Tsar. Marta and Peter had 12 children together(only 2, both of them daughters, survived to adulthood), and she came to be the one person in whom he had complete confidence. She was christened in the Orthodox faith and give the name Catherine, and was married to Peter in 1712, when she was 28 and he 50. Peter had her crowned his Empress consort in 1724(Peter was the 1st Tsar to call himself Emperor), and upon Peter's death she was proclaimed Empress Catherine I in her own right. Her career has to be considered among the more remarkable in history.
The story becomes fuzzy in the years following Catherine's death. The Romanovs become extinct in the male line(Peter had his heir, a son by his 1st wife, but tortured him until he died), and in time the crown went ta an obscure German Princeling whose mother had been Peter's and Catherine's daughter. This new Tsar, Peter III, was nothing but a drunk, a fool and sexually impotent, and an ardent admirer of Russia's enemy Frederick the Great of Prussia. The only reason he matters in history, is because before becoming Tsar, he had married a 15 year old German Princess-another Catherine, as it happened-who quickly succeeded him on the throne.(Plotters from the army, in collusion with this 2nd Catherine, murdered him less than a year after his coronation). She became Catherine the Great, the 2nd monumental figure of the Romanov Era. She was a physically tiny woman whose appetites and ambitions equaled those of Peter the Great. She became more Russian than the Russians, and during her 34 year reign, the empire expanded tremendously and again was prodded along the road to modernization. Just like Peter the Great, she reached out to the West.
She corresponded with such enlightened giants as Voltaire and Diderot. She brung John Paul Jones from the New World to take command of her Black Sea Fleet and use it against the Turks. It was with Catherine that the Russians began to aspire seriously to the road of patron of the Christian peoples of the Balkans. And under Catherine, they 1st dreamed of driving the Turks out of Constantinople. Like Peter the Great and many of her other descendants, Catherine was a perplexing mixture of reformer and tyrant. She was a woman of intellect and cultivation. She also had many lovers before her husband passed and it was questioned whether or not her son was actually son of Peter III.
Now Catherine had no confidence in her son Paul, in fact, she despised him. So she took charge of raising Paul's sons, especially the eldest, Alexander. She carefully supervised his preparation for the throne. When Catherine died, Paul succeeded, but was murdered just as his father Peter III-assuming he was his father. He was then succeeded, as Catherine had planned, by the tall, handsome, and intelligent young Alexander I.
In what would become a Romanov pattern, Tsar Alexander began his reign as a reformer of whom great things where expected. his 1st 15 years on the throne were turbulent in the extreme, with Napoleon marching his enemies up and down Europe and finally occupying and burning Moscow. It fell to Alexander to save Russia and his dynasty, and he succeeded brilliantly. In the end he out waited and outwitted the French Emperor. At one point he even pretended to consider offering his sister to Napolean, though in fact giving a Romanov Princess to such an upstart was unthinkable. But Napolean took an Austrian bride(it seems the mighty Hapsburgs turned out to be more submissive than Alexander) and was driven into exile. Shortly after, Alexander restored the old order.
Intriguing questions hang over the death of Alexander. In 1825, childless and at the peak of his power, he was suddenly reported to have died in a town where he had been staying far from the capital. When his coffin arrived in St. Petersburg, his brothers refused to open it, even though rumors where flying around that he didn't die at all. Everyone was saying that he had withdrawn to a monastery in Siberia to spend the rest of his life in contemplation. But nothing was ever proven if he did or not.
But towards the end of the 20th century, his coffin was finally opened and it was empty. And since Alexander had no kids, the throne was passed to his brother Constantine, but he turned it down, so it was then passed onto a much younger brother Nicholas I. He would prove to be a worthless ruler, he had no ephemeral reforming instincts, was a reactionary in all ways from the start. When he died in 1855, he was known as the man who had frozen Russia for 30 years. Now his son Alexander II was also conservative but more intelligent and therefore able to understand the need for change. He began his career as a reformer and even something of an idealist, abolishing the serfdom that had long been the shame of Russia. Gradually he too went in the direction of reaction and repression, taking such severe measures against a movement of young reformers that some became bomb-throwing radicals. In the last few years of his life in the throne, they were repeated attempts on his life, but Alexander never completely abandoned his efforts to move Russia closer if not quite into the modern world. In 1881, shortly after he had approved the creation of a parliament like body that was to be allowed to advise on legislation without actually passing laws, a young pole threw a bomb and blew him apart.
Barely alive, he was taken back to the palace where he died, horribly in the presence of his family, including his eldest son who then became Alexander III, and the latter's eldest son, 13 year old Nicholas. He was the 3rd Tsar to be murdered in 6 generations. He dedicated himself to reversing as many of his father's reformers as possible(a restoration of serfdom was not among the possibilities), refusing any innovations that might reduce the power of the Romanovs, and he clamped down in an almost totalitarian fashion on every form of dissent. Newspapers were not even allowed to print the word constitution.
Alexander III's son Nicholas was unlike his father in almost every respect; physically slight, something of a playboy in his youth, though in fairly innocent ways, and utterly lacking in self-confidence. He was given the same tutor as his father, Constantine Pobedonostsev, known as the High Priest of Social Stagnation. Nicholas learned that it was not only the Tsar's right but his sacred duty to be a strong father to all the Russians, to yield power to no one. But Nicholas has absolutely no wish to succeed the throne. But there had been no cause for worry on that score for Nicholas, who in 1894 was in his mid 20's and marrying Princess Alex of Hesse-Darmstadt, to which his parents weren't pleased. But his father Alexander III was not yet 50 and was a fountain of vitality. And would seem he would rule another 20 years or more, so Nicholas was never prepared to take the throne and all responsibilities that went with it.
But Alexander's III's health went into a swift decline-the problem was diagnosed as nephritis and soon died. his heir Nicholas went into total panic, he was never taught a prepared to be Tsar. He knew nothing of how to rule or make decisions. And in his own words "I have no ides how to even talk to the minister".
In 1914 the Romanov Family had just competed the celebration of its 300th year on the Russian Throne. It had been a turbulent and often bizarre 3 centuries. Geniuses and degenerates had worn the crown by turns, with strong women succeeding weak men. There had been royal murders and assassinations, questions about whether a Tsar who was presumably dead and buried had actually died at all, and enough sexual irregularity to make it uncertain whether the Romanovs of the 20th Century were even related to the founders of the dynasty.
By fits and starts. Russia changed from a remote and exotic Eastern Kingdom into one of Europe's dominating powers-still only half modern still not entirely European, but an Empire of immerse wealth reaching from Poland to the Pacific Ocean.
By 1914 the Romanovs had be stable and respectable for 5 generations. The reigning Tsar, Nicholas II, was far more virtuous man than his predecessors, but unfortunately he was far weaker than the best of them. The 1st Romanov Tsar was Micheal, crowned in 1613 when he was 16. He was given the crown only because Russia's previous royal family died out; and with 15 years of nothing but leaderless disorder, the country's most powerful factions were desperate for stability; and no better choice was available. Micheal's blood was not quite royal, but close enough, his Aunt Anastasia, his father's sister, had been the beloved 1st wife of Ivan The Terrible, and the mother of the last Tsar in Ivan's line.
The grief over her death is suppose to be the reason he turned into a homicidal maniac of inconceivable savagery. After this the Romanovs didn't burst onto the European scene until almost a century later, when Peter the Great became Tsar. He was a gigantic figure in every way; more than 6 1/2 feet tall, immensely strong, infinitely energetic, violent, a reformer of everything. But was a very ruthless tyrant.
He had become so determined to force Russia into the modern Western World, that he moved its capital from Moscow to some swampy piece of wilderness on the coast of the Baltic Sea. He built a magnificent new city that was laced with canals and became known as the Venice of the North. He name it St. Petersburg, because that was more Western than the Russian equivalent, Petrograd. There was nothing that he wasn't determined to change, and when his ministers weren't quick enough in doing wdhat he wanted, he would lash even the most exalted of them with his stick. He forced the mean of Russia to shave their beards and adopt Western dress; He modernized the government and the military. He conquered and developed seaports not only on the Baltic but on the Black Sea, beginning the long process of pushing the Ottoman Turks southward, back toward their capital of Constantinople. By the time of his death in 1725, he had transformed Russia into a major player among the nations of the world.
As a young man Peter had married a woman from the Russian nobility, but he soon found her tedious and eventually sent her to a convent. He replace her with a mistress, a Lutheran girl named Marta who begun her life as a humbly born orphan in Latvia. She had became a prisoner when an invading Russia army captured her hometown. She was give to a man who happened to be close to Peter, and was then taken back to St. Petersburg, where she was discovered by Tsar. Marta and Peter had 12 children together(only 2, both of them daughters, survived to adulthood), and she came to be the one person in whom he had complete confidence. She was christened in the Orthodox faith and give the name Catherine, and was married to Peter in 1712, when she was 28 and he 50. Peter had her crowned his Empress consort in 1724(Peter was the 1st Tsar to call himself Emperor), and upon Peter's death she was proclaimed Empress Catherine I in her own right. Her career has to be considered among the more remarkable in history.
The story becomes fuzzy in the years following Catherine's death. The Romanovs become extinct in the male line(Peter had his heir, a son by his 1st wife, but tortured him until he died), and in time the crown went ta an obscure German Princeling whose mother had been Peter's and Catherine's daughter. This new Tsar, Peter III, was nothing but a drunk, a fool and sexually impotent, and an ardent admirer of Russia's enemy Frederick the Great of Prussia. The only reason he matters in history, is because before becoming Tsar, he had married a 15 year old German Princess-another Catherine, as it happened-who quickly succeeded him on the throne.(Plotters from the army, in collusion with this 2nd Catherine, murdered him less than a year after his coronation). She became Catherine the Great, the 2nd monumental figure of the Romanov Era. She was a physically tiny woman whose appetites and ambitions equaled those of Peter the Great. She became more Russian than the Russians, and during her 34 year reign, the empire expanded tremendously and again was prodded along the road to modernization. Just like Peter the Great, she reached out to the West.
She corresponded with such enlightened giants as Voltaire and Diderot. She brung John Paul Jones from the New World to take command of her Black Sea Fleet and use it against the Turks. It was with Catherine that the Russians began to aspire seriously to the road of patron of the Christian peoples of the Balkans. And under Catherine, they 1st dreamed of driving the Turks out of Constantinople. Like Peter the Great and many of her other descendants, Catherine was a perplexing mixture of reformer and tyrant. She was a woman of intellect and cultivation. She also had many lovers before her husband passed and it was questioned whether or not her son was actually son of Peter III.
Now Catherine had no confidence in her son Paul, in fact, she despised him. So she took charge of raising Paul's sons, especially the eldest, Alexander. She carefully supervised his preparation for the throne. When Catherine died, Paul succeeded, but was murdered just as his father Peter III-assuming he was his father. He was then succeeded, as Catherine had planned, by the tall, handsome, and intelligent young Alexander I.
In what would become a Romanov pattern, Tsar Alexander began his reign as a reformer of whom great things where expected. his 1st 15 years on the throne were turbulent in the extreme, with Napoleon marching his enemies up and down Europe and finally occupying and burning Moscow. It fell to Alexander to save Russia and his dynasty, and he succeeded brilliantly. In the end he out waited and outwitted the French Emperor. At one point he even pretended to consider offering his sister to Napolean, though in fact giving a Romanov Princess to such an upstart was unthinkable. But Napolean took an Austrian bride(it seems the mighty Hapsburgs turned out to be more submissive than Alexander) and was driven into exile. Shortly after, Alexander restored the old order.
Intriguing questions hang over the death of Alexander. In 1825, childless and at the peak of his power, he was suddenly reported to have died in a town where he had been staying far from the capital. When his coffin arrived in St. Petersburg, his brothers refused to open it, even though rumors where flying around that he didn't die at all. Everyone was saying that he had withdrawn to a monastery in Siberia to spend the rest of his life in contemplation. But nothing was ever proven if he did or not.
But towards the end of the 20th century, his coffin was finally opened and it was empty. And since Alexander had no kids, the throne was passed to his brother Constantine, but he turned it down, so it was then passed onto a much younger brother Nicholas I. He would prove to be a worthless ruler, he had no ephemeral reforming instincts, was a reactionary in all ways from the start. When he died in 1855, he was known as the man who had frozen Russia for 30 years. Now his son Alexander II was also conservative but more intelligent and therefore able to understand the need for change. He began his career as a reformer and even something of an idealist, abolishing the serfdom that had long been the shame of Russia. Gradually he too went in the direction of reaction and repression, taking such severe measures against a movement of young reformers that some became bomb-throwing radicals. In the last few years of his life in the throne, they were repeated attempts on his life, but Alexander never completely abandoned his efforts to move Russia closer if not quite into the modern world. In 1881, shortly after he had approved the creation of a parliament like body that was to be allowed to advise on legislation without actually passing laws, a young pole threw a bomb and blew him apart.
Barely alive, he was taken back to the palace where he died, horribly in the presence of his family, including his eldest son who then became Alexander III, and the latter's eldest son, 13 year old Nicholas. He was the 3rd Tsar to be murdered in 6 generations. He dedicated himself to reversing as many of his father's reformers as possible(a restoration of serfdom was not among the possibilities), refusing any innovations that might reduce the power of the Romanovs, and he clamped down in an almost totalitarian fashion on every form of dissent. Newspapers were not even allowed to print the word constitution.
Alexander III's son Nicholas was unlike his father in almost every respect; physically slight, something of a playboy in his youth, though in fairly innocent ways, and utterly lacking in self-confidence. He was given the same tutor as his father, Constantine Pobedonostsev, known as the High Priest of Social Stagnation. Nicholas learned that it was not only the Tsar's right but his sacred duty to be a strong father to all the Russians, to yield power to no one. But Nicholas has absolutely no wish to succeed the throne. But there had been no cause for worry on that score for Nicholas, who in 1894 was in his mid 20's and marrying Princess Alex of Hesse-Darmstadt, to which his parents weren't pleased. But his father Alexander III was not yet 50 and was a fountain of vitality. And would seem he would rule another 20 years or more, so Nicholas was never prepared to take the throne and all responsibilities that went with it.
But Alexander's III's health went into a swift decline-the problem was diagnosed as nephritis and soon died. his heir Nicholas went into total panic, he was never taught a prepared to be Tsar. He knew nothing of how to rule or make decisions. And in his own words "I have no ides how to even talk to the minister".
Friday, November 22, 2013
He was born on January 13th, 1859 in Paris as the son of a Wallachiann Romanian Revolutionary who had fled to France after attempting to assassinate Prince Gheorghe Bibesar during the 1848 Wallachian Revolution; Alexandru was one of 3 illegitimate children of Elisabeta Vacarescu of the Vacarescu family of boyars-he and his siblings were later adopted by Zoe Vacarescu, Elisabeta's mother, who gave the children her maiden name Paleologu. The name became Paleologue in French language spellings.
After graduating in Law, Maurice Paleologue obtained an office at the French Foreign Ministry in 1880, and moved on to become Embassy Secretary at Tangiers, in the Morocco Protectorate, then in Beijing and later in Italy. A Minister Plenipotentiary in 1901, he represented France in Bulgaria(1907-1912) and Imperial Russia(1914-1917) and moved on to become General Secretary of the Foreign Ministry in the Alexandre Millerane Cabinet.
At the same time, Paleologue published essays and novels, and wrote contributions for the Revue des deux moneles. He also wrote several works on the history of Russia in the wake of WWI, which included an intimate portrait of the last Tsarita Alexandra Fyodorovna(he had been present at meetings between her and Grigori Rasputin, among others.) He was called on to give testimony during the Dreyfus Affair, and left important notes on the topic.
Paleologue was elected a member of the Academic Francaise in 1928. He died in Paris a few months after the city's liberation during WWI.
Born on July 15th, 1858 in Dresden, he was the son of Otto von Tschirschky und Bogendorff, the Director General of the Royal Saxon State Railways, and a member of the Tschirchsky noble family. He joined the German Foreign Service in 1883, and served from 1885 to 1886 as personal secretary to Herbert von Bismarck. He was subsequently stationed in Vienna, Athens, Berne, Constantinople and St. Petersburg, before he became Minister Resident in Luxenbourg in 1900, Prussia Envoy to Mechlenburg and the Hanse-states in 1902. He also accompanied Emperor William on travels as a representative of the Foreign Office.
On January 17th, 1906 he was appointed Secretary of State, succeeding the late Oswald von Richthofen He served until October 7th, 1907, when he was succeeded by Wilhelm von Schoen.
After his term as Foreign Secretary, he was appointed Ambassador to Vienna, and served until his death on November 15th 1916.
Prince Henry of Prussia
He was born on August 14th, 1862 in Berlin. Prince Henry of Prussia was the 3rd of 8 children born to Crown Prince Frederick(later Emperor Frederick III) and Victoria, Princess of the United Kingdom(Later Empress Victoria and in widowhood Empress Frederick), eldest daughter of the British Queen Victoria. Henry was 3 years younger than his brother, the future Emperor William II.
After attending the gymnasium in Kassel, which he left in the middle grades in 1877,n the 15 year old Henry entered the Imperial Navy Cadet program. His naval education included a 2 year voyage around the world(1878-1880), the naval officer examination in October 1880, and attending the German Naval Academy(1884-1886).
As an Imperial Prince, Henry quickly achieved command. In 1887, he commanded a torpedo boat and simultaneously the 1st Torpedo Boat Division; In 1888 the Imperial Yacht: SMY Hohenzollen; from 1889-1890 the 2nd Class Cruiser SMS Irene, the Armored Coastal Defense Ship SMS Beowolf, and the Capital Ships SMS Sachsen and SMS Worth.
Then in 1897, Prince Henry commanded several naval tasks forces' these included an improvised squadron in consolidating and securing the German Tsingtao in 1898. The Prince's success was more diplomatic than the military variety; he became the 1st European potentate ever to be received by the Chinese Imperial Court. In 1899 he became officially the commander of the East Asia Squadron, later of a Capital-Ship-Squadron and in 1903 Commander of the Baltic Sea Naval Station. From 1906 to 1909, Henry was Commander of the High Seas Fleet. In 1909, he was promoted to Grand Admiral.
At the beginning of WWI, Prince Henry was named Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Fleet. Although the means provided him were far inferior to Russia's Baltic Fleet, he succeeded, until the 1917 Revolution, in putting Russia's naval forces far on the defensive, and hindered them from making attacks on the Germans coast. After the end of hostilities with Russia, his mission was ended, and Prince Henry simply left active duty. With the wars end and the dissolution of the monarchy in Germany, Prince Henry left the navy.
Henry was truly popular in Northern Germany, and on account of his humble and open manner was beloved by those under his command. On foreign travels, he was a good diplomat, who unlike his brother, was able to strike the right tone. Thus, on his 1902 trip to the US, Henry made a favorable impression with critical
American press and succeeded in winning sympathy of more than just the numerous German American Segment of the population.
As a naval officer, Henry had a profession that completely satisfied him and that he loved. He was thoroughly a pragmatist. He received one of the 1st pilot's licenses in Germany, and was judged a spirited and excellent seaman. He was dedicated to modern technology and was able to understand quickly the practical value of technical innovations. A yachting enthusiast, Prince Henry became one of the 1st members of the Yacht Club of Keil, established by a group of naval officers in 1887 and quickly became the club's patron.
Henry was interested in motor cars as well and supposedly invented a windshield wiper and, according to other sources, the car horn. In his honor, the Prince-Hienrich-Takrt(Prince-Hienrich-Tour) was established in 1908, like the earlier Kaiserpreis precursor to the German Grand Prix. Henry and his brother gave patronage to the Kaiserlicher Automobile Club(Imperial Automobile Club).
Henry also was early proponent of introducing submarines and airplanes. He had a steamship converted into a primitive aircraft carrier for operations in the Baltic Sea.
Henry respected his brother, but this attitude was not returned in the same measure. Wilhelm kept his younger brother far from politics, although Henry served as his representative as long as the Crown Prince was still in his minority. Henry complied with this, for he did not interest himself in either politics or grand strategy. He did not recognize what political effect the German naval build-up would entail, and also would not have been in the position to move his brother toward a different policy.
After the German Revolution, Henry lived with his family in Hemmelmark near Eckernforde, in Schleswig-Holstein. He continued with motor sports and sailing and even in old age was a very successful participant in regattas. He popularized the Prinz-Heinrich-Mutze(Prince Henry Cap) which is still worn, especially by older sailors.
In 1899, Henry received an honorary doctorate(Doctor of Engineering) from the Technical University of Berlin, also in foreign countries he received numerous similar honers, including an honorary doctorate in 1902 from Harvard University.
Prince Henry died of throat cancer on April 20th, 1929.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Radomir Putnik also known as Vojvoda Putnik was born January 24th, 1847 in Kragjevac, Serbia. Putnik's family, which fled with 1,000's of other Serbian families from Kosovo during the Great Serb Migration of 1690 into Hapsburg Empire, returned from exile in Austria-Hungary to a Serbian entity independent of Ottoman rule in the middle of the 19th century. Putnik's father, Dimitrye, was a teacher in Kragjevac, and Radomir completed his basic schooling there. He attended the Artillery School in Belgrade, where he graduated in 1863, placing 8th in his class. In 1879, he married Ljubica Bojovic, the daughter of a colonel, with whom he had 7 children.
Contemporaries describe him as an ascetic, introverted man, and a heavy smoker; however, he also thought to have been tough on professional issues. He proved himself on the battlefield during Serbia's war against the Ottomans that were fought between 1876 and 1877. It was his detachment that took Grjilane and Gracanica from the Ottoman's in Kosovo, during the closing phase of the 2nd Serbo-Ottoman War. Putnik was famous for being righteous and demanding officer, strongly defending his point of view.
Putnik became a professor in the military academy holding that position from 1886 to 1895. In 1889, he was appointed the Deputy Chief of the General Staff. However, he soon came into conflict with King Milan I, partly for not allowing a King's protege to pass an examination. Political intrigue and latent conflict with King Milan Obrenovic and his successor, King Alexander I, would follow him throughout this part of his career. In 1895, he was forced to retire by the King under suspicion of sympathy for the Radical Party of Nikola Pasic.
After a military coup d' etat against Alexander I Obrenovic in 1903, Putnik was under the new King of Serbia, Peter I Karadjordjevic rehabilitated, promoted to the rank of General and was appointed the Chief of The General Staff. Putnik was Serbian War Minister 3 times; 1904, 1906-1908, 1912. Putnik was the 1st officer to be appointed to the highest rank of Vojvoda(Field Marshall) In 1912 he led the Serbian army into spectacular victories in the 1st against Ottomans and the 2nd Balkan War against Bulgarian.
Now during the crisis that was going on in Austria over the assassination of the Archduke, Putnik was caught in Budapest when Austria-Hungary declared war on his county, but was allowed safe passage back to Serbia by the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph. After a very troublesome trip home, Putnik gave his resignation to King Peter I of Serbia, on the grounds of ill health. But the King rejected it and insisted that he take command of the army. He was to give the orders, while the younger generals carried them out. Putnik done all this from a well heated room. However, his impaired health did not prevent him from successfully organizing a campaign.
Serbia defeated the Austro-Hungarian army's offensives in August and September 1914. Now everything had been quiet until Autumn 1915 when joint Austro-Hungarian, Germany, and Bulgarian forces led by Field Marshall August von Machensen, began a large offensive against Serbia with more than 300,000 soldiers. Before this attack came Putnik warned his government this attack was coming, but no one listened. So when war broke out, Putnik's men who where farmers, didn't stand a chance against this attack, so he ordered a full retreat in an attempt to save his men, and in doing so, his government dismissed him and also dismissed all other officers for their failure to keep the Austrians for crossing the borders.
With everything that Putnik had done for his country, the government never told him he had been dismissed. He didn't find out until a cashier had gave him his salary without a Chief General Staff's supplement. After he learned of being dismissed, he traveled to Nice, where French Authorities welcomed him with open arms. He lived here without ever seeing his homeland again and died in Nice at his villa on May 17th, 1917. But in November 1926 his remains were transferred to Serbia and buried with honors in a chapel at Belgrade's New Cemetery. The grave carriers the epitaph "Grateful Homeland to Radomir Putnik"
Prince Karl Max Lichnowsky
Born March 8th, 1860 in Krzyzanvice, Upper Silesia(Now Poland) He was the 6th Prince and 8th Count Lichnowsky. He succeeded his father in 1901. His father was a general of calvary, and his mother a princess of Croy. Karl was the head of an old noble Bohemian family and of immense wealth, possessing estates at Kurchelna in Silesia and Graz in Austria. As an hereditary member of the upper house of the Prussian Diet, Lichnowsky played some part in domestic politics, adopting in general or moderate attitude and deprecating party legislation. Though a Roman Catholic, he avoided identifying himself with the clerical party in Germany.
Entering diplomatic service, Karl was appointed an attache at the London Embassy in 1885 and later served as Legation Secretary at Bucharest. He became German Ambassador to Austria-Hungary in 1902, replacing Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg-Hertefeld, but was forced into retirement in 1904, accused of too much independence from the Foreign Office after several conflicts with Freidrick von Holstein, Senior Political Division.
He spent 8 years in retirement and in 1912 became Imperial German Ambassador to the Court of St. James's when the preferred candidate for the job was thought to be to young and the 2 other candidates turned the job down. Karl held this position from 1912-1914.
During the July Crisis of 1914, Lichnowsky was the only German diplomat who raised objections to Germany's efforts to provoke an Austro-Serbian War, arguing that Britain would intervene in a continental war. On July 25th, he implored to the German government to accept an offer of British mediation in the Austro-Serbian dispute. On July 27th he followed with a cable arguing that Germany could not win a continental war. This cable wasn't shown to Kaiser Wilhelm II. A cable on July 28th relayed an offer from King George V to hold a conference of European Ambassadors to avoid general war. A final cable on July 29th to the German Foreign Office stated simply "if war breaks out it will be the greatest catastrophe the world has ever seen." These warnings want unheeded, and by the time the final cable reached Berlin, Austrian troops were already bombarding Belgrade. On Britain's declaration of war on August 4th, 1914, Lichnowsky returned to Germany.
Now in 1916 Karl printed a pamphlet, My Mission to London 1912-1914. It started to circulate in Germany's Upper class circles, he accused his government of failing to support him in efforts to prevent World War I. But Germany was not the only place his pamphlet began to circulate in. It made its way all the way to the US in 1917, this led to his expulsion from the Prussian House of Lords. But his pamphlet didn't stop there. It got published in the Disclosures from Germany, New York's; American Association for International Conciliation in 1918 and made its way to the Swedish Journal Politiken in 1918 and finally it had made its way all they way to Britain and was published by Cassel and Co. in 1918.
Karl had his pamphlet broke down into 3 main points of blame that caused the war.
1. We (Germany) encouraged Count Berchtold to attack Serbia.
2. Between July 23th and July 30th, Sazonov having declared that Russia would not tolerate an attack on Serbia, all attempts to mediate the crisis was rebuffed by Germany.
3. On July 30th when Berchtold wanted to come to terms, we sent an ultimatum to Russia merely because Russian mobilization, although Austria was not attacked: and on July 31st we declared war on Russia. Which destroyed the possibility of a peaceful settlement.
At the end of the pamphlet, he said the Central Powers must loose WWI. He says the world will belong to the Anglo-Saxons, Russians, and Japanese, and the Germans will remain alone with Austria and Hungary.
Karl died February 27th, 1928, but his pamphlet became a formative and primary source in the minds of all the allied politicians who arranged the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Secrets and Lies
Tuesday July 28th
Wilhelm II was back in his office seated in his saddle chair. (Wanting no doubt to be the perfect Hohenzollen Warrior-King, and proud no doubt of the agonies he had endured in boyhood to become a skillful horseman in spite of his crippled arm, he claimed to be more comfortable in a saddle then in a chair.)
He had an lot of work to catch up on. 1st he read the most recent wire from Lichnowsky in London; Grey stated that an Austrian attack on Serbia would have disastrous consequences, but the Serbian response to Austria appeared to provide a basis for negotiations. He then read Serbia's response, and his reaction was much the same as Grey's. "This was more than one could have expected" he declared. "A great victory for Vienna; but with this every reason for war drops away, and Giesl might have remained quietly in Belgrade."
Seeing an opportunity and eager to seize it, Wilhelm sent a handwritten note to Jagow declaring the Serbia response " a capitulation of the humiliating kind' so that " every cause for war falls to the ground." He instructed the Foreign Ministry to send a message to Vienna in his name, informing them that a basis now existed in resolving the crisis through mediation, and that he was prepared to help. He added that the Serbs where nothing but liars, tricksters, and masters of evasion and that Austria should send its army across the border and occupy Belgrade, but then go no further. In possession of the Serbia capital, the Austrians would be in a position of strength as mediation proceeded.
This would be called the Stop-in-Belgrade. It offered a solution much like the one that ended the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. The Germans remained in France until Berlin's terms where met.
Bethmann and Jagow still had not told the Kaiser that Austria declared war and would announce it in just a few hours. They prepared the Kaiser's note, but held it, so it would arrive to late. Even though Bethmann and Jagow had deceived the Kaiser, depriving him of any chance of intervening before Austria declared war, their motives may well have been good. As clumsy as their behavior had been at a crucial juncture where nothing less than brilliance was required, they knew Wilhelm all to well-his childish arrogance, his unpredictability, his history of reversing himself and even breaking down in the midst of a crisis. (Like he had done so in 1908, 1911, and again in early 1914, sinking so low that he had to be talked out of abdicating.) So they felt they had a better grasp of the situation then the Kaiser. Considering they where in Berlin and had been more informed of what was going on, and they only done this so they could keep the Kaiser uninformed. Plus they thought by giving their support to Austria, they had been carrying out the Kaiser's wishes. They also felt that involving the Kaiser this late would only complicate an already confusing situation.
When the Austrians declared war in the middle of the afternoon, it changed everything. It had been one of the two or three blunders committed by any of the great powers during the days leading up to the war. As with the delivery of the not to Serbia 5 days earlier. Since Serbia had moved its government, Berchtold didnt know where to send the note. So he took it upon himself to send a telegram coded in French, informing Prime Minister Pasic, that a state of was now existed between the two countries. Shortly thereafter, in an abundance of caution, he sent a 2nd identical telegram via the Serbian Foreign Ministry.
The 1st telegram enraged Pasic. But when got the 2nd telegram, he thought it was or could be a hoax. He never heard of one nation declaring war on another in such a manner. When they asked the German Ambassador about the declaration of war, he had no idea what they were talking about and he was being truthful; not even the Kaiser, as we have seen, was informed in advance of Austrians declaration of war. But the authenticity of the telegrams were confirmed soon enough. This sparked anti-Serbian demonstrations in Vienna and Berlin, but there was no movement of Austrian troops, only Conrad merely shelling Belgrade from the Bosnian side of the border.
After learning the truth, the Kaiser met with Chancellor Bethmann, who became visibly unhappy man. After his meeting with Kaiser, he sent a telegram to Tschirschky in Vienna, complaining that the Austro-Hungarian government left them in the dark concerning its intentions, despite repeated interrogations, and because of this, they left Germany to be the ones to take the blame for starting the war. He urge Tschirschky to have the Austrians respond positively to what was now Grey's not just the Kaiser's, Stop-in-Belgrade proposal. Berchtold was completely taken aback. For 3 weeks the Germans had been prodding him to act. Now that he was taking action-they suddenly wanted him to stop.
But the day brought one additional misfortune, and a serious one. Russia's Ambassador to Austria, having been kept waiting since Monday, finally got to meet with Berchtold. He wanted to discuss a number of ideas that were being passed around among various capitals; a suggestion by Saznov that he and Vienna's Ambassador to St. Petersburg should review the original Austrian note to see if it might be modified enough for Serbia to accept it, and that the Serbian reply should be used as a starting point for negotiations, rather than a reason to go to war. Everyone was so distracted by the rush of events, that Berchtold and the Ambassador lost track of exactly which idea they were discussing at various points. The results were misunderstood.
Berchtold thought he made it clear that he would not negotiate with Serbia, but he would with Russia. But the Ambassador came away with the impression that Berchtold didn't want to negotiate with anyone, and this was do to that both parties had to much on their minds and were approaching exhaustion, and an important door had been inadvertently closed. So needless to say, Tuesday ended badly. Vienna with its declaration of war, had convinced Sazonov in St. Petersburg that it was mobilizing, not merely to underscore its grievances but to destroy Serbia.
The Russians had accelerated their preparations for war, Sazonov had been told that talks with Vienna where impossible and he took this as further evidence that war had become inevitable. He was also being told by France's Ambassador Paleologue that Paris wanted him to stand firm, by Germany's Ambassador Friedrich von Pourtales that if Russia proceeded with its mitlitary preparations, Germany would have to mobilize as well, by Serbia's Ambassador that the Austrians were bombarding Belgrade, and by Russian's Generals that Germany was preparing for war and they must do the same. In so many important ways, Sazonov was being deceived.
Now the French Prime Minister Rene Viviani, and President Poincare who where on a ship returning from St. Petersburg, sent a telegram urging Paleologue to do everything possible to resolve the crisis without war. But Paleologue was so determined to encourage Russian belligerence that he was in effect creating his own foreign policy, he told Sazonov of the complete readiness of France to fulfill her obligations as an ally.
Paleologue's motivation in all this was clear. He warned everyone that there would be a war by years end, and now that war was coming. He was afraid if France failed to demonstrate a willingness to support Russia, St Petersburg would abandon the Entente and ally itself with Berlin. So in his decision, he saw himself as preventing the collapse of France's entire Foreign policy, and therefore of France's security.
Tuesday July 28th
Wilhelm II was back in his office seated in his saddle chair. (Wanting no doubt to be the perfect Hohenzollen Warrior-King, and proud no doubt of the agonies he had endured in boyhood to become a skillful horseman in spite of his crippled arm, he claimed to be more comfortable in a saddle then in a chair.)
He had an lot of work to catch up on. 1st he read the most recent wire from Lichnowsky in London; Grey stated that an Austrian attack on Serbia would have disastrous consequences, but the Serbian response to Austria appeared to provide a basis for negotiations. He then read Serbia's response, and his reaction was much the same as Grey's. "This was more than one could have expected" he declared. "A great victory for Vienna; but with this every reason for war drops away, and Giesl might have remained quietly in Belgrade."
Seeing an opportunity and eager to seize it, Wilhelm sent a handwritten note to Jagow declaring the Serbia response " a capitulation of the humiliating kind' so that " every cause for war falls to the ground." He instructed the Foreign Ministry to send a message to Vienna in his name, informing them that a basis now existed in resolving the crisis through mediation, and that he was prepared to help. He added that the Serbs where nothing but liars, tricksters, and masters of evasion and that Austria should send its army across the border and occupy Belgrade, but then go no further. In possession of the Serbia capital, the Austrians would be in a position of strength as mediation proceeded.
This would be called the Stop-in-Belgrade. It offered a solution much like the one that ended the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. The Germans remained in France until Berlin's terms where met.
Bethmann and Jagow still had not told the Kaiser that Austria declared war and would announce it in just a few hours. They prepared the Kaiser's note, but held it, so it would arrive to late. Even though Bethmann and Jagow had deceived the Kaiser, depriving him of any chance of intervening before Austria declared war, their motives may well have been good. As clumsy as their behavior had been at a crucial juncture where nothing less than brilliance was required, they knew Wilhelm all to well-his childish arrogance, his unpredictability, his history of reversing himself and even breaking down in the midst of a crisis. (Like he had done so in 1908, 1911, and again in early 1914, sinking so low that he had to be talked out of abdicating.) So they felt they had a better grasp of the situation then the Kaiser. Considering they where in Berlin and had been more informed of what was going on, and they only done this so they could keep the Kaiser uninformed. Plus they thought by giving their support to Austria, they had been carrying out the Kaiser's wishes. They also felt that involving the Kaiser this late would only complicate an already confusing situation.
When the Austrians declared war in the middle of the afternoon, it changed everything. It had been one of the two or three blunders committed by any of the great powers during the days leading up to the war. As with the delivery of the not to Serbia 5 days earlier. Since Serbia had moved its government, Berchtold didnt know where to send the note. So he took it upon himself to send a telegram coded in French, informing Prime Minister Pasic, that a state of was now existed between the two countries. Shortly thereafter, in an abundance of caution, he sent a 2nd identical telegram via the Serbian Foreign Ministry.
The 1st telegram enraged Pasic. But when got the 2nd telegram, he thought it was or could be a hoax. He never heard of one nation declaring war on another in such a manner. When they asked the German Ambassador about the declaration of war, he had no idea what they were talking about and he was being truthful; not even the Kaiser, as we have seen, was informed in advance of Austrians declaration of war. But the authenticity of the telegrams were confirmed soon enough. This sparked anti-Serbian demonstrations in Vienna and Berlin, but there was no movement of Austrian troops, only Conrad merely shelling Belgrade from the Bosnian side of the border.
After learning the truth, the Kaiser met with Chancellor Bethmann, who became visibly unhappy man. After his meeting with Kaiser, he sent a telegram to Tschirschky in Vienna, complaining that the Austro-Hungarian government left them in the dark concerning its intentions, despite repeated interrogations, and because of this, they left Germany to be the ones to take the blame for starting the war. He urge Tschirschky to have the Austrians respond positively to what was now Grey's not just the Kaiser's, Stop-in-Belgrade proposal. Berchtold was completely taken aback. For 3 weeks the Germans had been prodding him to act. Now that he was taking action-they suddenly wanted him to stop.
But the day brought one additional misfortune, and a serious one. Russia's Ambassador to Austria, having been kept waiting since Monday, finally got to meet with Berchtold. He wanted to discuss a number of ideas that were being passed around among various capitals; a suggestion by Saznov that he and Vienna's Ambassador to St. Petersburg should review the original Austrian note to see if it might be modified enough for Serbia to accept it, and that the Serbian reply should be used as a starting point for negotiations, rather than a reason to go to war. Everyone was so distracted by the rush of events, that Berchtold and the Ambassador lost track of exactly which idea they were discussing at various points. The results were misunderstood.
Berchtold thought he made it clear that he would not negotiate with Serbia, but he would with Russia. But the Ambassador came away with the impression that Berchtold didn't want to negotiate with anyone, and this was do to that both parties had to much on their minds and were approaching exhaustion, and an important door had been inadvertently closed. So needless to say, Tuesday ended badly. Vienna with its declaration of war, had convinced Sazonov in St. Petersburg that it was mobilizing, not merely to underscore its grievances but to destroy Serbia.
The Russians had accelerated their preparations for war, Sazonov had been told that talks with Vienna where impossible and he took this as further evidence that war had become inevitable. He was also being told by France's Ambassador Paleologue that Paris wanted him to stand firm, by Germany's Ambassador Friedrich von Pourtales that if Russia proceeded with its mitlitary preparations, Germany would have to mobilize as well, by Serbia's Ambassador that the Austrians were bombarding Belgrade, and by Russian's Generals that Germany was preparing for war and they must do the same. In so many important ways, Sazonov was being deceived.
Now the French Prime Minister Rene Viviani, and President Poincare who where on a ship returning from St. Petersburg, sent a telegram urging Paleologue to do everything possible to resolve the crisis without war. But Paleologue was so determined to encourage Russian belligerence that he was in effect creating his own foreign policy, he told Sazonov of the complete readiness of France to fulfill her obligations as an ally.
Paleologue's motivation in all this was clear. He warned everyone that there would be a war by years end, and now that war was coming. He was afraid if France failed to demonstrate a willingness to support Russia, St Petersburg would abandon the Entente and ally itself with Berlin. So in his decision, he saw himself as preventing the collapse of France's entire Foreign policy, and therefore of France's security.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Secrets and Lies
Monday July 27th
This was yet another day, when, so far as the public knew, nothing much of importance was happening. But the fact was, the Austro-Hungarian Council of Ministers met in secret and voted to declare war on Serbia. This was a totally stupid and unnecessary decision. Even Conrad, who was eager for action question it. He couldn't understand why the council was declaring war two weeks before the completion of them mobilizing their troops. But Berchtold's determination to commit the dual monarchy to military action before Germany's position softened or the mediation proposals coming out of Britain could have any effect, brought Conrad around.
The declaration of war was to be announced Tuesday, but required the approval of Franz Joseph. But when Berchtold and Conrad went to see him, he was very reluctant about declaring war. Berchtold and Conrad told him lies about Serbian attacks. Nothing really happened except for a little gunfire at a border town. But believing Berchtold and Conrad, the Emperor signed to go to war. In preparing to sign, he trembled so badly that he could hardly put on his glasses.
Back in London, Grey read the text of Serbia's response to the ultimatum and found it promising. He met with Lichnowsky and repeated his suggestion of a conference of the powers. Lichnowsky again relayed this message to Berlin, urging them to pursue it. But Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg, who hated the proposal, but didn't want to offend the British, responded by telling them he was forwarding the message to Vienna. But the Chancellor made it clear to Austria's Ambassador to Berlin, that the German government wanted nothing to do with Grey's ideas. He tells them to disregard them, but they have to pass the message on to Austria to satisfy the English.
Germany and Austria had reason to be skeptical of this conference, because at least 2 of the 4 countries that would participate, France and Italy would have little reason to be sympathetically on Austria's grievances. And 3rd, Britain seemed unlikely to do anything to damage its relations with France or Russia. The Germans and Austrians believed a conference would just be a substitute talk for action, degenerating into a sterile debate over the wording of the Austrian not and Serbia's response. In the end they feared that Serbia would walk away scot-free, with Austria-Hungary looking on helplessly as in 1912-1913. This would only encourage the Serb activists both in and outside the Hapsburg Empire to continue to make trouble. This would also cause Austria-Hungary's other minorities to do the same.
The Austrian's also had financial reasons to for resisting mediation. Conrad had never been given enough money to keep their armies of Vienna competitive with the other great powers in size, equipment or technology and the mobilizations during the 2 Balkan Wars had been very costly as they where fruitless. By 1914 all the great powers, but Austria-Hungary especially, were creaking under the weight of an arms race that was becoming constantly more onerous as the machinery of war grew more massive and complex. Vienna could not afford to keep mobilizing year after year. So when they mobilized this time, they wanted to make sure they got something for its money.
Kaiser Wilhelm arrived home this same afternoon all this was going on. Chancellor Bethman and Gottieb von Jagow, the head of German Foreign Ministry, were not delighted by this at all. They feared that Kaiser would interfere in their handling of the crisis. Now with or without the presence of the Kaiser around. Berthman and Jagow were not an ideal pair to be steering the most powerful state in Europe through such difficult straits.
Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg
Bethmann was a tall, dour career civil servant who five years earlier had been raised to Chancellorship despite having no experience in foreign affairs and despite being disliked by the Kaiser. Like many Germans in high places, he was terrified by the presence of unfriendly powers to the east and west. He was convinced that Germany could only grow more vulnerable with the passage of time.
Gottlieb von Jagow
Jagow was a frail hypochondriac who had used an elder brother's connections to get into the Foreign Service and had then successfully leveraged those same connections to get a series of plush and undemanding assignments in Rome and elsewhere. When summoned home to head the Foreign Ministry, he had pulled every string he could reach in a futile effort to escape. But nothing worked. He was appointed.
Late that night, Vienna sent went to Berlin of its decision to declare war. When Bethmann and Jagow got the message, they were not astonished. This is what Berlin had been pushing and hoping for. No one told the Kaiser, after all its what he had wanted to.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Secrets and Lies
Sunday July 26th
On this day no headlines were printed, and supposedly little was being done. But things where happening particularly in Austria and Russia where leaders were now putting their military machines in motion and hoped all the other powers would understand.
Austria mobilized and hoped by doing so this would make France and Britain realize how serious this was and if they wanted to avoid something worse than just a Balkan problem, they needed to restrain Russia. And France mattered more than anyone. They were Russia's biggest Ally. And without France, Russia would not even attempt to go to war with anyone.
Britain matter only because it was powerful, even though their army was small. And they had allied themselves with France and Russia in a loose and informed way, and because it was certain to want to avoid a general war.
Now the 2nd of Vienna's purposes could not possibly be achieved. France's President Poincare was still at sea. With wireless communication still primitive and Germany attempting to jam radio transmissions, he was nearly incommunicado. And Britain's Foreign Secretary was paralyzed by his government. No one in Paris or London was going to be pressuring St. Petersburg, Berlin, or Vienna for that matter-to do anything.
Grey's biggest concern was the threat from Germany. He believed if war broke out between Austria and Russia, this would lead to war between Germany and France, and Britain would then have to choose sides and they would side with France. On July 26th, Grey felt the only thing he could do was to communicate his concerns to the German Ambassador in London, Prince Karl Lichnowsky, and suggest a conference of Britain, France, Germany and Italy as a means of resolving the crisis.
Lichnowsky seized this opportunity, He knew Grey and other British leaders were likely to oppose Germany in a showdown. Lichnowsky sent a telegram to Berlin stating "I would like to call your attention to the significance of Grey's proposal of mediation "a quatre" between Austria and Russia. For I see that this is the only possibility to avoid a World War, in which for us there would be everything to lose and nothing to gain."
Russia at this point was hoping that their declaration of a Period Preparatory to War, would make Austria reconsider going to war. Even St. Petersburg was eager to make Berlin to believe that it was not being threatened. But the German intelligence soon learned that Russia was doing much more then it would admit to anyone. Russia not only feared the dispute over Serbia, but they desperately feared that the balance of power in Europe would be called into question.
Now the German Military attache in St. Petersburg kept making inquiries to Russia about their plans and what they were doing, and kept getting met with lies as a response from Russia. This made Berlin increasingly nervous, for intel kept coming in that Russia was mobilizing. Berlin became progressively less willing to accept the assurance of goodwill coming from St. Petersburg.
Now France's Ambassador in St. Peterburg, Maurice Paleologue was able to keep himself informed of the extent of Russia's preparations. Russia was under an entente with France, and was supposed to tell Paris in advance of any mobilization plans, but Paleologue didn't enforce this, it appeared that he didn't want to discourage the Russians from proceeding. Paleologue didn't even tell his own government that Russia was mobilizing, he wanted no one in Paris to restrain Russia.
But now a similar game was also being played in Vienna by Germany's Ambassador Tschirschky, he thought it was his duty to encourage Austrian aggressiveness without doing so openly.
But is so happened that on this Sunday, Kaiser Wilhelm's younger brother, Prince Heinrich of Prussia was in England visiting King George V. Heinrich sent a message to Berlin telling them that London wanted to stay neutral, even though the king had nothing to do with foreign policy. The only problem with this was, Prince Heinrich had earned a bad reputation at not being a reliable reporter, and his message contradicted warnings from Ambassador Lichnowsky, who no one took seriously. Everyone felt he was gullible and only had his position because of his long friendship with the Kaiser, so they took the word of the Prince.
So now the final week of peace had begun with Austria mobilizing while sending signals that no one was available to receive. And Russia in their first stages of mobilizing while pretending not to be; with Germany beginning to feel directly threatened; and with France's Ambassador urging the Russians as well as the Serbians on. Britain was sending signals that the continental powers where free to interpret as they wished. Berlin and Paris were both for the time being, effectively leaderless. Nothing had happened, but there was no one in control.
Sunday July 26th
On this day no headlines were printed, and supposedly little was being done. But things where happening particularly in Austria and Russia where leaders were now putting their military machines in motion and hoped all the other powers would understand.
Austria mobilized and hoped by doing so this would make France and Britain realize how serious this was and if they wanted to avoid something worse than just a Balkan problem, they needed to restrain Russia. And France mattered more than anyone. They were Russia's biggest Ally. And without France, Russia would not even attempt to go to war with anyone.
Britain matter only because it was powerful, even though their army was small. And they had allied themselves with France and Russia in a loose and informed way, and because it was certain to want to avoid a general war.
Now the 2nd of Vienna's purposes could not possibly be achieved. France's President Poincare was still at sea. With wireless communication still primitive and Germany attempting to jam radio transmissions, he was nearly incommunicado. And Britain's Foreign Secretary was paralyzed by his government. No one in Paris or London was going to be pressuring St. Petersburg, Berlin, or Vienna for that matter-to do anything.
Grey's biggest concern was the threat from Germany. He believed if war broke out between Austria and Russia, this would lead to war between Germany and France, and Britain would then have to choose sides and they would side with France. On July 26th, Grey felt the only thing he could do was to communicate his concerns to the German Ambassador in London, Prince Karl Lichnowsky, and suggest a conference of Britain, France, Germany and Italy as a means of resolving the crisis.
Lichnowsky seized this opportunity, He knew Grey and other British leaders were likely to oppose Germany in a showdown. Lichnowsky sent a telegram to Berlin stating "I would like to call your attention to the significance of Grey's proposal of mediation "a quatre" between Austria and Russia. For I see that this is the only possibility to avoid a World War, in which for us there would be everything to lose and nothing to gain."
Russia at this point was hoping that their declaration of a Period Preparatory to War, would make Austria reconsider going to war. Even St. Petersburg was eager to make Berlin to believe that it was not being threatened. But the German intelligence soon learned that Russia was doing much more then it would admit to anyone. Russia not only feared the dispute over Serbia, but they desperately feared that the balance of power in Europe would be called into question.
Now the German Military attache in St. Petersburg kept making inquiries to Russia about their plans and what they were doing, and kept getting met with lies as a response from Russia. This made Berlin increasingly nervous, for intel kept coming in that Russia was mobilizing. Berlin became progressively less willing to accept the assurance of goodwill coming from St. Petersburg.
Now France's Ambassador in St. Peterburg, Maurice Paleologue was able to keep himself informed of the extent of Russia's preparations. Russia was under an entente with France, and was supposed to tell Paris in advance of any mobilization plans, but Paleologue didn't enforce this, it appeared that he didn't want to discourage the Russians from proceeding. Paleologue didn't even tell his own government that Russia was mobilizing, he wanted no one in Paris to restrain Russia.
But now a similar game was also being played in Vienna by Germany's Ambassador Tschirschky, he thought it was his duty to encourage Austrian aggressiveness without doing so openly.
But is so happened that on this Sunday, Kaiser Wilhelm's younger brother, Prince Heinrich of Prussia was in England visiting King George V. Heinrich sent a message to Berlin telling them that London wanted to stay neutral, even though the king had nothing to do with foreign policy. The only problem with this was, Prince Heinrich had earned a bad reputation at not being a reliable reporter, and his message contradicted warnings from Ambassador Lichnowsky, who no one took seriously. Everyone felt he was gullible and only had his position because of his long friendship with the Kaiser, so they took the word of the Prince.
So now the final week of peace had begun with Austria mobilizing while sending signals that no one was available to receive. And Russia in their first stages of mobilizing while pretending not to be; with Germany beginning to feel directly threatened; and with France's Ambassador urging the Russians as well as the Serbians on. Britain was sending signals that the continental powers where free to interpret as they wished. Berlin and Paris were both for the time being, effectively leaderless. Nothing had happened, but there was no one in control.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Secrets and Lies
As the details of Austria's demand became known 3 1/2 weeks of drift came abruptly to an end. The possibility of war became increasingly real. Not only in Vienna, Berlin, and St. Petersburgh, but also in London, Rome, and Pairs. Awareness dawned that this was a genuinely dangerous crisis. Men with power where deciding the fate of Europe, the same men who brought war on and failed to do anything to keep war from happening. They told lies, made mistakes, and missed opportunities. With a few if any exceptions they were decent, well-intended men, and almost always they acted for what they thought were the best of reasons. But little of what they did produced the results they intended.
Saturday July 25th
The kingdom of Serbia, 48 hours almost to the minute after receiving Austria-Hungary's demands, presented its response. They agreed to only half of the 10 demands. The Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Serbia, Baron Giesl, followed his instructions to find this unacceptable and broke off diplomatic relations immediately, a 1/2 hour later he was on a train and crossing the Hungarian border.
Both countries announced that they were mobilizing. (Serbia had started mobilizing hour before delivering its response). Russia was not mobilizing, but they where doing what they call a Period Preparatory to War, in which they were calling all officers back to duty, and all army units who were on summer maneuvers had been called back. The military districts of Kazan, Kiev, Moscow, and Odessa were ordered to make ready. More secretly, preparations also began in the Warsaw, Vilna, and St. Petersburg districts. This last was particularly dangerous, as those 3 districts threatened Germany directly. But there was even more to July 25th then that.
The Serbian response to Austria's demands, far from being defiant, was actually conciliatory, respectful, and at times almost submissive in tone. It explained that while Serbia could agree unconditionally to a number of the demands, it had questions about several others-not objections, just questions-and could not accept one. The Royal Government said they couldn't accept the demand for Austria to be directly involved in Belgrade's search for and prosecution of the assassination plotters. They said it would be a violation of the constitution and the law of criminal procedure.
As positive as it was in many ways, and as clever as they thought it was to cooperate and hold off the Austrians, while impressing the rest of the world, was one of the mistakes that led to war. By declining to yield, the Serbs gave Berchtold, Conrad, and their cohorts the one thing they wanted: an excuse for military action. Worse, they did this unnecessarily. They might have responded differently-not more shrewdly, their document being nothing but shrewed, but more effectively-had they not been receiving reports about how Russia wanted them to stand firm. But these reports were wishful thinking on the part of Serbia's combative ambassador to Russia, who being manipulated by France's ambassador in St. Petersburg, Maurice Paleologue. They certainly were not in accord with the thinking of Russian officialdom. Tsar Nicholas was leery of a major war because he was fearful of its likely consequences-social and economic strains so severe that they could spark revolution. So was Foreign Minister Sazonov. Both men believed that Russia was years from being ready to fight a war with Germany. Even though Russia was greatly expanding its already huge army and they were also getting help from France in building new networks of railroads to help improve its ability to wage war, but none of this would be done until 1917.
But Sazonov believed that Austria-Hungary was not acting independently but as a tool of Berlin, he felt the Germans were determined to precipitate a preventive war, and that Russia could only protect itself be reacting forcefully and quickly.
The Serbian response might have also been different if someone other than Nikola Pasic had been responsible for preparing it. He had known of the Black Hand's plot to kill the Archduke and even tried to stop it. For this reason he did not want Austria-Hungary to become involved in any investigation dealing with the Archduke's death. He knew it would be bad for not only Serbia, but also for him, especially if Austria found out how much he knew about the Archduke's death, they would start asking questions and then the Black Hand would learn he knew about their plot and tried to stop it. He wanted nothing to get in the way of his re-election.
Now the Austria mobilization that followed, put into motion a plan for assembling 20,000 divisions-some 300,000 troops-just a few miles from Belgrade. In doing this Conrad left himself with only 28 divisions for Galicia to the North, where Austria-Hungary would have to face much larger numbers if Russia went to war. This alarmed the German General Staff. It meant Conrad was leaving the German army without any help in the east if Russia attacked. This showed Conrad's blind determination that Russia would not get involved and he could therefore give the Serbs the thrashing that he had been wanting to give them for years.
With Russia declaring Period Preparatory to War, was taking the necessary steps that would enable them to be able to mobilize their troops quickly. This involved the mustering of 1.1 million troops in the 4 districts nearest to Austria-Hungary.
The Serb's mobilization, which was very small, was based on the assumption that Austria was planning to attack within a few days. This same assumption prompted the Serbs to move their government out of Belgrade and away from the border.
Even though Russia was taking the steps to get their troops together, was not an easy task. They had to call up reserves which was hard because railways were few and far between and the men who reported for duty would have to travel hundreds of miles and then had to be assigned positions before preparing to face an enemy. Plus an invasion into enemy territory was not integral to Russia's mobilization arrangements; this was to be decided according to circumstances. Even after they mobilized, the Russian leadership would continue to have options. Russia would keep its armies on Russian soil without disruption of their ability to act.
Now the Austro-Hungarian Empire faced transport problems similar to, but not as serious as what Russia faced. And like St. Petersburg's, Vienna's mobilization plans gave it a measure of flexibility, Conrad divided his forces into 3 groups; for the use against Serbia, one for Galicia and engagement of the Russians, and the 3rd was to be deployed to either front depending on need. In his decision to send his 3rd division to the South, Conrad was able to assemble 20 divisions for an attack on Serbia.
Germany in 1914 the most modern and efficient of Europe's industrial giants, could mobilize with a speed that was dazzling by comparison with either Russia or Austria-Hungary. The survival of Germany depended on the speed. Ever since 1894, when France and Russia first became allies, Germany knew that going to war with one, meant going to war with both. Knowing that they could not win the war against both. Their mobilization objective was to knock France out of action before Russia could launch their attack. With this plan their first stop would be Paris. They knew once they started they couldn't stop. Just for Germany alone, mobilization equaled war.
But any kind of mobilization was dangerous. It was inherently threatening, and was certain to draw attention.
Austria-Hungary's mobilization, help to capture the Chief of the Serbian Army, the aged Field Marshall Radomir Putnik, he was on his way home from a summer vacation in the Austria Province of Bohemia. But Emperor Franz Joseph demanded that Putnik be allowed to proceed and return to Belgrade. An Old World Courtliness, that Conrad and his troops would have reason to regret their Emperor's chivalry.
As the details of Austria's demand became known 3 1/2 weeks of drift came abruptly to an end. The possibility of war became increasingly real. Not only in Vienna, Berlin, and St. Petersburgh, but also in London, Rome, and Pairs. Awareness dawned that this was a genuinely dangerous crisis. Men with power where deciding the fate of Europe, the same men who brought war on and failed to do anything to keep war from happening. They told lies, made mistakes, and missed opportunities. With a few if any exceptions they were decent, well-intended men, and almost always they acted for what they thought were the best of reasons. But little of what they did produced the results they intended.
Saturday July 25th
The kingdom of Serbia, 48 hours almost to the minute after receiving Austria-Hungary's demands, presented its response. They agreed to only half of the 10 demands. The Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Serbia, Baron Giesl, followed his instructions to find this unacceptable and broke off diplomatic relations immediately, a 1/2 hour later he was on a train and crossing the Hungarian border.
Both countries announced that they were mobilizing. (Serbia had started mobilizing hour before delivering its response). Russia was not mobilizing, but they where doing what they call a Period Preparatory to War, in which they were calling all officers back to duty, and all army units who were on summer maneuvers had been called back. The military districts of Kazan, Kiev, Moscow, and Odessa were ordered to make ready. More secretly, preparations also began in the Warsaw, Vilna, and St. Petersburg districts. This last was particularly dangerous, as those 3 districts threatened Germany directly. But there was even more to July 25th then that.
The Serbian response to Austria's demands, far from being defiant, was actually conciliatory, respectful, and at times almost submissive in tone. It explained that while Serbia could agree unconditionally to a number of the demands, it had questions about several others-not objections, just questions-and could not accept one. The Royal Government said they couldn't accept the demand for Austria to be directly involved in Belgrade's search for and prosecution of the assassination plotters. They said it would be a violation of the constitution and the law of criminal procedure.
As positive as it was in many ways, and as clever as they thought it was to cooperate and hold off the Austrians, while impressing the rest of the world, was one of the mistakes that led to war. By declining to yield, the Serbs gave Berchtold, Conrad, and their cohorts the one thing they wanted: an excuse for military action. Worse, they did this unnecessarily. They might have responded differently-not more shrewdly, their document being nothing but shrewed, but more effectively-had they not been receiving reports about how Russia wanted them to stand firm. But these reports were wishful thinking on the part of Serbia's combative ambassador to Russia, who being manipulated by France's ambassador in St. Petersburg, Maurice Paleologue. They certainly were not in accord with the thinking of Russian officialdom. Tsar Nicholas was leery of a major war because he was fearful of its likely consequences-social and economic strains so severe that they could spark revolution. So was Foreign Minister Sazonov. Both men believed that Russia was years from being ready to fight a war with Germany. Even though Russia was greatly expanding its already huge army and they were also getting help from France in building new networks of railroads to help improve its ability to wage war, but none of this would be done until 1917.
But Sazonov believed that Austria-Hungary was not acting independently but as a tool of Berlin, he felt the Germans were determined to precipitate a preventive war, and that Russia could only protect itself be reacting forcefully and quickly.
The Serbian response might have also been different if someone other than Nikola Pasic had been responsible for preparing it. He had known of the Black Hand's plot to kill the Archduke and even tried to stop it. For this reason he did not want Austria-Hungary to become involved in any investigation dealing with the Archduke's death. He knew it would be bad for not only Serbia, but also for him, especially if Austria found out how much he knew about the Archduke's death, they would start asking questions and then the Black Hand would learn he knew about their plot and tried to stop it. He wanted nothing to get in the way of his re-election.
Now the Austria mobilization that followed, put into motion a plan for assembling 20,000 divisions-some 300,000 troops-just a few miles from Belgrade. In doing this Conrad left himself with only 28 divisions for Galicia to the North, where Austria-Hungary would have to face much larger numbers if Russia went to war. This alarmed the German General Staff. It meant Conrad was leaving the German army without any help in the east if Russia attacked. This showed Conrad's blind determination that Russia would not get involved and he could therefore give the Serbs the thrashing that he had been wanting to give them for years.
With Russia declaring Period Preparatory to War, was taking the necessary steps that would enable them to be able to mobilize their troops quickly. This involved the mustering of 1.1 million troops in the 4 districts nearest to Austria-Hungary.
The Serb's mobilization, which was very small, was based on the assumption that Austria was planning to attack within a few days. This same assumption prompted the Serbs to move their government out of Belgrade and away from the border.
Even though Russia was taking the steps to get their troops together, was not an easy task. They had to call up reserves which was hard because railways were few and far between and the men who reported for duty would have to travel hundreds of miles and then had to be assigned positions before preparing to face an enemy. Plus an invasion into enemy territory was not integral to Russia's mobilization arrangements; this was to be decided according to circumstances. Even after they mobilized, the Russian leadership would continue to have options. Russia would keep its armies on Russian soil without disruption of their ability to act.
Now the Austro-Hungarian Empire faced transport problems similar to, but not as serious as what Russia faced. And like St. Petersburg's, Vienna's mobilization plans gave it a measure of flexibility, Conrad divided his forces into 3 groups; for the use against Serbia, one for Galicia and engagement of the Russians, and the 3rd was to be deployed to either front depending on need. In his decision to send his 3rd division to the South, Conrad was able to assemble 20 divisions for an attack on Serbia.
Germany in 1914 the most modern and efficient of Europe's industrial giants, could mobilize with a speed that was dazzling by comparison with either Russia or Austria-Hungary. The survival of Germany depended on the speed. Ever since 1894, when France and Russia first became allies, Germany knew that going to war with one, meant going to war with both. Knowing that they could not win the war against both. Their mobilization objective was to knock France out of action before Russia could launch their attack. With this plan their first stop would be Paris. They knew once they started they couldn't stop. Just for Germany alone, mobilization equaled war.
But any kind of mobilization was dangerous. It was inherently threatening, and was certain to draw attention.
Austria-Hungary's mobilization, help to capture the Chief of the Serbian Army, the aged Field Marshall Radomir Putnik, he was on his way home from a summer vacation in the Austria Province of Bohemia. But Emperor Franz Joseph demanded that Putnik be allowed to proceed and return to Belgrade. An Old World Courtliness, that Conrad and his troops would have reason to regret their Emperor's chivalry.
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