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98 Bloody Sundays
power would make a battle between the Slav and Germanic peoples inevitable. In this,
he reflected an attitude held by a broad section of educated and non-educated German
middle classes, and also sounded an underlying tone which would then be formulated
in a very similar way by Bethmann Hollweg and Kaiser Wilhelm : the war, which al-
ready appeared to be unavoidable, would be a conflict between Slavs and the Germanic
peoples ; in other words, a race war. Regional successes by Germany and Austria in a
war of limited scope would only delay the Russian triumph. Proxy wars of this nature
would ultimately only benefit Russia. For this reason, Austria-Hungary no longer had
the option of staging a conflict in the Balkans as a proxy war. Now, everything was
at stake. And here, an opportunity had presented itself : a war in the Balkans would
ultimately only affect Russia’s interests, and not those of the west. With this in mind,
why not also wage war against Russia ? If, however, the interests of a western European
power became involved, then it could only be France, which would then have to be
forced to the ground. The war, according to German calculations, would not bring about
hegemony for Germany, but would elevate the German Empire to the degree of power
held by England and Russia, while at the same time consolidating the situation in the
Habsburg Monarchy both domestically and with regard to the Balkans.210 Was this
racial fanaticism ? Dreams based on real possibilities ? Flagrant militarism and impe-
rialism ? Wishful thinking, wanton irresponsibility, political incompetence, the logical
continuation of a path already embarked upon, inflexibility ? What was it that was being
expressed ? In any case, a new direction was being taken in world history.
However the message brought back by Hoyos from Berlin is interpreted, it certainly
provided sufficient encouragement for taking further steps – as indeed was the case.
Since it had been made so clear to Vienna that the German Kaiser and the imperial
government wished not only for a targeted policy, but also to see it implemented un-
swervingly, and also that they were by all means prepared to enter the risk of a Euro-
pean war, the policymakers in the Ballhausplatz felt not only supported, but also some-
what pressurised. Now, they must also be seen by their alliance partner to act decisively.
Immediately after Hoyos’ return from Berlin, the next round in the decision-making
process began. On 7 July, the Joint Council of Ministers convened. Before the meeting,
Berchtold had one further conversation with the German ambassador in Vienna, von
Tschirschky. The ambassador had originally been very cautious, and had by no means
sought to inflame the mood for war. Indeed, some of his comments had indicated the
need for deceleration and calm. However, in this he had incurred the displeasure of his
Kaiser. He was issued with a warning, and had in the interim received new instructions
from Berlin. In short : now von Tschirschky, too, argued in no uncertain terms for a ‘now
or never’ approach.
In the Joint Council of Ministers, which Chief of the General Staff Conrad also
attended for a certain period of time, there was only one person who still spoke out
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
- Title
- THE FIRST WORLD WAR
- Subtitle
- and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
- Author
- Manfried Rauchensteiner
- Publisher
- Böhlau Verlag
- Location
- Wien
- Date
- 2014
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-205-79588-9
- Size
- 17.0 x 24.0 cm
- Pages
- 1192
- Categories
- Geschichte Vor 1918
Table of contents
- 1 On the Eve 11
- 2 Two Million Men for the War 49
- 3 Bloody Sundays 81
- 4 Unleashing the War 117
- 5 ‘Thank God, this is the Great War!’ 157
- 6 Adjusting to a Longer War 197
- 7 The End of the Euphoria 239
- 8 The First Winter of the War 283
- 9 Under Surveillance 317
- 10 ‘The King of Italy has declared war on Me’ 355
- 11 The Third Front 383
- 12 Factory War and Domestic Front, 1915 413
- 13 Summer Battle and ‘Autumn Swine’ 441
- 14 War Aims and Central Europe 469
- 15 South Tyrol : The End of an Illusion (I) 497
- 16 Lutsk :The End of an Illusion (II) 521
- 17 How is a War Financed ? 555
- 18 The Nameless 583
- 19 The Death of the Old Emperor 607
- 20 Emperor Karl 641
- 21 The Writing on the Wall 657
- 22 The Consequences of the Russian February Revolution 691
- 23 Summer 1917 713
- 24 Kerensky Offensive and Peace Efforts 743
- 25 The Pyrrhic Victory : The Breakthrough Battle of Flitsch-Tolmein 769
- 26 Camps 803
- 27 Peace Feelers in the Shadow of Brest-Litovsk 845
- 28 The Inner Front 869
- 29 The June Battle in Veneto 895
- 30 An Empire Resigns 927
- 31 The Twilight Empire 955
- 32 The War becomes History 983
- Epilogue 1011
- Afterword 1013
- Acknowledgements and Dedication 1019
- Notes 1023
- Selected Printed Sources and Literature 1115
- Index of People and Places 1155