Austria-Hungary already hated Serbia – nationalism threatened its empire.
Austrian Gen. called for ‘surprise’ war vs Serbia >25× since 1906 → assassination an excuse to attack.
• 5 July: Austria got ‘’ from Germany (= full support).
• 23 July: Austria sent Serbia
w. 10 tough demands, expecting rejection & war.
• 25 July: Serbia accepted all but part of demand 6 → Kaiser Wilhelm: Serbia had ‘capitulated’ = no reason for war.
• 28 July: Austria declared war anyway.
2. Russia mobilises
At first, Austria had global support, but after Serbia’s response, Austria looked unfair,
and ‘war-mad’. Serbia called up army & asked Russia for help.
• 24 July: Russia’s Grand Council decided to seek a peace conference if Serbia was invaded. Even Rasputin warned war = disaster.
• 29 July: Tsar Nicholas didn’t want to abandon Serbia again (as in 1908 Bosnian Crisis) → ordered mobilisation.
• 31 July: Initially only vs Austria-Hungary, but generals said this was impossible →
mobilisation incl. vs Germany. Tsar sent Kaiser a
: NOT aimed at Germany.
3. Plan – Germany’s response
Germany saw Russian mobilisation as a threat (like ‘a
to your head’). It had a pre-planned response: the Schlieffen Plan:
• Assumed war = Germany vs France & Russia.
• France weak (defeated in 10 weeks in 1870), Russia strong but slow (thought 6 wks to mobilise).
• Plan = 90% of German army attack France first, then switch to fight Russia.
Plan ≠ flexible: Germany’s ‘mobilisation’ =
. But in 1914, France ≠ mobilising while Russia was. Every day gave Russia time to prepare.
• 1 Aug: Germany declared war on Russia.
• 3 Aug: Germany claimed French planes bombed Nuremberg → declared war on France.
• 4 Aug: Germany invaded France → France declared war.
4. Britain declares war
Britain’s Foreign Sec. Edward Grey tried to negotiate.
• 1 Aug: Grey proposed if didn’t attack France Britain would stay
. Kaiser wanted to agree, but generals unable to halt invasion.
• 2 Aug: Schlieffen Plan had an error – Germany planned invasion of France via Belgium. Asked for permission, Belgium refused.
• 3 Aug: Germany invaded Belgium.
• 4 Aug: Britain had to protect Belgium (1839
). Sent ultimatum: withdraw by midnight. Germany refused.
At 11 pm in London, crowds chanted ‘War! War! War!’
Grey: ‘The all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.’
1. Austria declares war
Austria-Hungary already hated Serbia – nationalism threatened its empire.
Austrian Gen. HOTZENDORF called for ‘surprise’ war vs Serbia >25× since 1906 → assassination an excuse to attack.
• 5 July: Austria got ‘BLANK CHEQUE’ from Germany (= full support).
• 23 July: Austria sent Serbia ULTIMATUM w. 10 tough demands, expecting rejection & war.
• 25 July: Serbia accepted all but part of demand 6 → Kaiser Wilhelm: Serbia had ‘capitulated’ = no reason for war.
• 28 July: Austria declared war anyway.
2. Russia mobilises
At first, Austria had global support, but after Serbia’s response, Austria looked unfair, UNREASONABLE and ‘war-mad’. Serbia called up army & asked Russia for help.
• 24 July: Russia’s Grand Council decided to seek a peace conference if Serbia was invaded. Even Rasputin warned war = disaster.
• 29 July: Tsar Nicholas didn’t want to abandon Serbia again (as in 1908 Bosnian Crisis) → ordered mobilisation.
• 31 July: Initially only vs Austria-Hungary, but generals said this was impossible → GENERAL mobilisation incl. vs Germany. Tsar sent Kaiser a TELEGRAM: NOT aimed at Germany.
3. SCHLIEFFEN Plan – Germany’s response
Germany saw Russian mobilisation as a threat (like ‘a LOADED GUN to your head’). It had a pre-planned response: the Schlieffen Plan:
• Assumed war = Germany vs France & Russia.
• France weak (defeated in 10 weeks in 1870), Russia strong but slow (thought 6 wks to mobilise).
• Plan = 90% of German army attack France first, then switch to fight Russia.
Plan ≠ flexible: Germany’s ‘mobilisation’ = ATTACK. But in 1914, France ≠ mobilising while Russia was. Every day gave Russia time to prepare.
• 1 Aug: Germany declared war on Russia.
• 3 Aug: Germany claimed French planes bombed Nuremberg → declared war on France.
• 4 Aug: Germany invaded France → France declared war.
4. Britain declares war
Britain’s Foreign Sec. Edward Grey tried to negotiate.
• 1 Aug: Grey proposed if didn’t attack France Britain would stay NEUTRAL. Kaiser wanted to agree, but generals unable to halt invasion.
• 2 Aug: Schlieffen Plan had an error – Germany planned invasion of France via Belgium. Asked for permission, Belgium refused.
• 3 Aug: Germany invaded Belgium.
• 4 Aug: Britain had to protect Belgium (1839 TREATY OF LONDON). Sent ultimatum: withdraw by midnight. Germany refused.
At 11 pm in London, crowds chanted ‘War! War! War!’
Grey: ‘The LIGHTS ARE GOING OUT all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.’
