Page - 90 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

90 Bloody Sundays the community of European states would initially have fully understood any immediate action taken by Austria against Serbia. However, these simple sentiments, which were founded on a sense of solidarity, were not to be held for long. Once the shock had subsided and emotions were superseded by rational thinking, in other words, when reactions were once again based on deliberation, everything was brought to bear that had been locked away over many years. As is so often the case, his- torical analogies were sought and the entire ‘Serbia file’ consulted. Perhaps this was due to the fact that a portion of the decision-makers were officials who were apt to draw on the ‘history file’ for information, or because it was simply human nature to agree with previous judgements and to replicate actions already taken. In short : in June and July 1914, the ‘Serbia history file’ for the period between 1908 and October 1913 was taken out of storage. Pressure was to be applied and war at least be threatened, although in contrast to earlier years, this time, force was to also actually be used. The ‘security’ theory also played a role. However, nothing was to be repeated from the past. Collective action was taken in the form of a range of different measures prepared by the respective groups of states that were bound together by the alliances they had created. In Vienna, where nearly all the staff at the Foreign Ministry were already working at their desks on the day after the assassination, there was almost unanimous agreement as to what should be done : the Balkan problem, specifically the problem of Serbia, should be resolved once and for all. Minister Berchtold hesitated briefly before his advisors persuaded him to opt for a military solution.186 However, in fact, this was no longer necessary, since Emperor Franz Joseph, with whom Berchtold had an audience on the afternoon of 30 July, had already more or less decided. Subsequently, what later became known as the July Crisis unfolded, during which actions that had been long deliber- ated over were put to the test, and long-prepared decisions were taken. The war was precipitated. Not only that : it was deliberately unleashed. And it was Austria-Hungary that loosened the fetters. The German Empire offered a guiding hand whenever Aus- tria-Hungary lost its nerve. However, Russia also bore no small share of responsibility for unleashing the war, and all other countries either took certain steps or omitted to take others that would later lead observers to claim ‘if only….’ The July Crisis Within the space of 48 hours, the whole picture had changed. From that point onwards, the slow, almost sedate approach taken by the Habsburg Monarchy can be followed that led to the outbreak of the Great War. However, Austria-Hungary by no means acted in isolation, since the other European states that then entered into the war neither stood and watched nor were they even surprised. They set about taking coordinated ac-