Page - 26 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

26 On the Eve peace […] and the stupid Austrians, who never know exactly what they want and who unsettle the whole world’ would have to manage on their own.34 For Russia, however, the matter was by no means brought to a close by the fact that no further action was taken following the replenishment of Imperial and Royal troops in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Just as Russia had already begun mobilisation manoeu- vres along the military districts bordering Austria-Hungary, so during the following months it also continued its measures to replenish its units, ensuring that troops in the western military districts were present in sufficient numbers to enable it to wage war. In short : Russia made full use of its repertoire of threatening gestures. Although the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Sazonov, claimed in an official statement that no military movement was occurring in Russia, and even denied that there had been an increase in troop numbers in the western military districts, the Evidenzbüro (military intelligence service) of the Imperial and Royal General Staff reported otherwise, and saw itself vindicated in its suspicions.35 Sazonov  – and this was not known until later  – had a tendency to lie unashamedly when matters came to a head, and this statement should also have been treated with caution. In St. Petersburg, an anti-Austrian mood was propagated which was only diminished in January 1913 when Emperor Franz Joseph sent the former Austro-Hungarian military attaché in St. Petersburg, Prince Gottfried Hohenlohe-Schillingfürst, with a personal letter to the Tsar. The danger once again appeared to have passed  – and yet on the Balkan Peninsula, there was no end in sight. Now, Montenegro also made preparations to improve its war balance and occupy Scutari. Montenegrin control of Scutari would make the Austro-Hungarian Albania project, in other words, the creation of an independent Albanian state, impossible to achieve. Montenegro also had the support of Serbia, which Austria-Hungary wanted to prevent from gaining access to the Adriatic. In the end, the conflicting parties agreed to arrange a conference of ambassadors in London designed to reinstate peace between the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan states. At this conference, it was agreed on 11 March 1913 that in terms of their ethnic population, some of the territories claimed by Montenegro and Serbia belonged without doubt to Albania, and should therefore be surrendered to the newly created principality. The key territories in question were Scutari and Prizren, as well as parts of Kosovo, which was occupied by the Serbs. The Russian Foreign Minister nevertheless attempted to win some benefit for Serbia. Through acts of extreme violence in the claimed territories, Serbs and Montenegrins, the latter in Scutari, also sought to swing developments in their favour and create a fait accompli. To put an end to the bloodbath, Berchtold consented to allow the Serbs control of Gjakova on condition that the fighting and slaughter cease immediately. The offer failed to achieve any improvement in the situation. Even so, in April 1913, Serbia withdrew its troops from Albania, since it feared a war with its former League associate, Bulgaria. On 23 April, Scutari, which had still been defended by the Turks, fell into the