Seite - 90 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
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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Once the shock had subsided and emotions were superseded by rational thinking,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-
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
- Titel
- THE FIRST WORLD WAR
- Untertitel
- and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918
- Autor
- Manfried Rauchensteiner
- Verlag
- Böhlau Verlag
- Ort
- Wien
- Datum
- 2014
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-205-79588-9
- Abmessungen
- 17.0 x 24.0 cm
- Seiten
- 1192
- Kategorien
- Geschichte Vor 1918
Inhaltsverzeichnis
- 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