Chapter 187: Chapter 190
Germany got the news of the assassination of Grand Duke Ferdinand on the afternoon of the 18th.
At that time, Kaiser Wilhelm II drove his luxury yacht to participate in sailing competitions in Kiel. Admiral Muller drove a motorboat and threw the telegram containing the assassination of Grand Duke Ferdinand onto the William II yacht with a cigarette box. William II opened the cigarette box to check the telegram inside. After reading it, his face turned pale, and then the Kaiser ordered the yacht to turn back to shore.
The reason for the disappointment of the Kaiser was because Ferdinand was one of his few friends (at a royal meeting with Grand Duke Ferdinand, in order to circumvent the Austrian decree, the Kaiser allowed only 4 people to sit at the table. , In this way, only the Kaiser couple and Grand Duke Ferdinand can sit together, and the changed Sophie can only sit in the last embarrassment.), and is now the heir of Germany's most important ally, Austria-Hungary. The relationship between William II and the current Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Joseph is not harmonious, and even if Austro-Hungarian seeks Germany now, this phenomenon cannot be changed. Archduke Ferdinand is different. He and William II have a consensus on European politics and diplomacy.
If Grand Duke Ferdinand can succeed, then Austria-Hungary and Germany will have closer ties. Now that Europe is divided into two camps, Wilhelm II is very willing to see such a situation, but a gunshot from Sarajevo made the Kaiser's dream come to an end.
When William II hurried back to Berlin the next day, he realized that none of his trusted ministers were present. Prime Minister Holwig is on vacation in his country house in Hohenfano. The Chief of the General Staff, General Little Mochi, is in Carlsbad for medical treatment. Admiral Tirpitz, Secretary of the Navy, spends his summer vacation in the Black Forest. Foreign Secretary Jia Gao is on his honeymoon. This means that there is no adviser around the Kaiser, so he can only deal with this Balkan change.
At this time, the German ambassador to Austria-Hungary Kirschki sent a telegram hoping that Germany would agree to his prudent action, which made Wilhelm II furious. "Who authorized him to do this?" The Kaiser was still uneasy because of the death of his friend, and saw such a report again. He scribbled a line of comments in the blank space of the report. "This is absolutely stupid! He has no right to make irresponsible remarks about Austria. If something happens in the future, they will say: It's all Germany's fault! Please Cirshki stop doing stupid things."
The reaction of the Kaiser is also what the Austrian-Hungarian Foreign Minister Berthold would like to see. Because of this assassination, the German Emperor turned his indifference towards Serbia into hatred.
On July 4th, Berthold sent his deputy, Count Oyos, to explain to the Kaiser the response to this assassination by Austria-Hungary. In this diplomatic note to the Kaiser, Berthold made some changes without telling Hungarian Prime Minister Tisza. The biggest change was to eliminate Serbia's political influence in the Balkans, which meant war.
After Tisza knew about it, he asked to see the original diplomatic note. After seeing the greatly revised diplomatic note, he called to remove the revised content. Unfortunately, it was too late. Oyos had already arrived in Berlin with Berthold's revised diplomatic note, and he had already arrived at the Kaiser's palace with this diplomatic note.
At lunch with Kaiser Wilhelm II on July 5th, Oyos and the Austrian-Hungarian Ambassador to Germany Szoggeni gave this diplomatic note to the Kaiser and informed him that it was the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Attitude. However, to their disappointment, William II did not agree with the offensiveness of the diplomatic note. Obviously the Kaiser has recovered from the grief of losing his friend.
He calmly told them that he hoped that Austria-Hungary would take some important steps for Serbia. But in this diplomatic note, the Kaiser felt that it might cause a war in Europe. Wilhelm II's statement did not discourage the two of them. They knew the character of the emperor, so they continued to talk about the advice that the Kaiser should give to Austria. At this time, William II's reckless side appeared.
"Our action against Serbia cannot be delayed. Russia's attitude must be full of hostility, but we have been prepared to deal with this situation for several years. If the war between Austria-Hungary and Russia is inevitable, we must stand as a loyal ally. On the one hand. Russia is not yet ready for war and will definitely think twice before using force."
These are all suggestions given from the mouth of Wilhelm II, and Szoggeni recorded these remarks of the Kaiser and sent back to Vienna. The Kaiser's talk gave the Austrian-Hungarian Empire hope.
At this time, William II summoned the military advisers who remained in Berlin in the palace and asked them for their opinions.
According to the diplomatic note sent by Austria-Hungary, the military advisers believed that this was a sign that Austria-Hungary was about to start a war against Serbia. They all agreed that the earlier Austria-Hungary started a war with Serbia, the more advantageous it would be. And basically agree that although Russia is an ally of Serbia, it will not participate in the war, so Germany does not need to carry out military mobilization, the Kaiser can continue to take vacation (this is very important).
On the second day, the Kaiser and Prime Minister Holwig summoned Oyos and Szogtiny. At that time, Prime Minister Holwig was very sad because of his wife's passing, and he was very tired from traveling all the way. He did not realize how serious the situation was.
During the meeting with the Austro-Hungarian envoy, Holwig believed that the time is better now, and there may be no good time to play. So far, the Kaiser and Prime Minister gave the Austro-Hungarian Empire a blank check. When they gave the blank check, they did not know that Hungarian Prime Minister Tisza was firmly opposed to this plan.
Wilhelm II left Berlin on the same day and boarded a trip to the Baltic Sea. Prior to this, he summoned the senior army and navy to inform them that Austria and Hungary were going to war with Serbia, while Russia and France were not yet ready for war. In the evening, Prime Minister Hallwig also returned to Hohenfino.
In their view, Austria-Hungary took advantage of other major powers to take advantage of Serbia's efforts to teach Serbia. It should be a task that can be completed soon, and they don't need to worry too much. In fact, because of Tisza's opposition, the war will be delayed very late ~ www.mtlnovel.com ~ Before getting the support of Germany, the interrogation of the assassins has the first evidence. Verification of the Serbian military officer Major Tankosvić in Belgrade. Three assassins (Prinship, Chabrinovic, Grabezh) were trained. With this evidence, Tisza can hardly stop the war against Serbia.
On the afternoon of July 7, at Tisza's request, an emergency cabinet meeting was held. At the meeting, Oyos, who returned overnight, recounted the content of his conversation with the German Prime Minister. With regard to the raid on Belgrade and the partition of Serbian territory, Tisza was horrified after hearing this.
He warned that if the Austro-Hungarian government directly uses force without sufficient diplomatic efforts, the entire Balkans, except Bulgaria, will be full of hostility towards Austria-Hungary. In time Bulgaria was interested, but Bulgaria, which suffered heavy losses in the Second Balkan War, would not give much help on the battlefield. In this case, Austria-Hungary is likely to suffer on three sides in the war.
In order to avoid such a situation from happening, Tisza proposed to take cautious diplomatic steps before the war against Serbia. First of all, we must make unacceptable demands on Serbia. If we refuse, then we must threaten with force through an ultimatum. If Serbia accepts, then it can win a diplomatic victory in the Balkans. If it refuses, then the means of war can be used. However, Tisza said that Austria-Hungary's goal can only be to weaken Serbia and gain some territories, and absolutely cannot divide Serbia.
Faced with Tisza's request, Foreign Secretary Berthold gave a different opinion, but Tisza still couldn't give in. Tisza subsequently declared as the prime minister of Hungary that he himself firmly opposed the Austria-Hungary occupation of any territory in Serbia, and it would be better to benefit the smaller Balkan countries.
Facing Tisza's opposition, Conrad's hopes of preparing for a surprise attack were shattered, and he could only start with diplomacy.
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