#40: 30 July 1914 II - 'A Very Ticklish Thing'

When Diplomacy Fails Podcast

As Thursday 30 July progressed, one thing seemed clear to the German Chancellor and Foreign Minister - Austria had to be stopped, before the crisis deteriorated any further.

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The solution appeared to lie in drawing some commitments out of her, and perhaps preparing the ground for some kind of compromise. It was vague, but Bethmann and Jagow depended on Tschirschky, their ambassador to Vienna, to help them over the line. Could Berchtold be persuaded? Tschirschky, in fact, had gone native, but that was far from their only problem.

Having pushed matters to this point, Berchtold now feared Berlin might abandon the alliance. To get ahead of this danger, Vienna would have to raise the stakes - she would have to commit to general mobilisation. This was indeed scheduled - for 4 August! Yet in Vienna there was still little awareness of the Russian threat.

Perhaps when confronted with the mobilisation of the entire Habsburg army, Russia would back down? If she did not, then Russia would have to begin general mobilisation to defend itself, and Germany would mobilise in response. It seemed like a win-win - either the rival backs down or the ally stands resolute for your punitive war.

But the Germans were not so easily ensnared. They had begun to recognise when the Austrians suggested pointless protests or empty devices, and they pressured them for more information. The best method available was through diplomacy. In these final hours of peace, communication channels were kept open, and new proposals, each more unacceptable, emerged from Sazonov's pen.

What Sazonov neglected to tell either Vienna or Berlin as he updated his position was that Russia had upped the ante. Tsar Nicholas II had been persuaded to push the big red button after all, and the Central Powers would be forced together. Until this news leaked out though, the two allies were destined to continue their dance.

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