July 1914: Countdown to War Read online

  JULY

  1914

  ALSO BY SEAN MCMEEKIN:

  The Russian Origins of the First World War

  The Berlin-Baghdad Express

  History’s Greatest Heist

  The Red Millionaire

  JULY

  1914

  COUNTDOWN to WAR

  Sean McMeekin

  BASIC

  BOOKS

  A Member of the Perseus Books Group

  New York

  Copyright © 2013 by Sean McMeekin

  Published by Basic Books,

  A Member of the Perseus Books Group

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address Basic Books, 250 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10107.

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  Designed by Pauline Brown

  Typeset in 10.5 point Palatino LT by the Perseus Books Group

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  McMeekin, Sean, 1974–

  July 1914 : countdown to war / Sean McMeekin.

  p. cm.

  Includes bibliographical references and index.

  ISBN 978-0-465-05699-6 (e-book)

  1. World War, 1914–1918—Causes. 2. Europe—History—July Crisis, 1914.

  I. Title.

  D511.M33 2013

  940.3'11—dc23

  2012049777

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  For the fallen

  CONTENTS

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  DRAMATIS PERSONAE

  CHRONOLOGY

  PROLOGUE: SARAJEVO, SUNDAY, 28 JUNE 1914

  I.REACTIONS

  1Vienna: Anger, Not Sympathy

  2St. Petersburg: No Quarter Given

  3Paris and London: Unwelcome Interruption

  4Berlin: Sympathy and Impatience

  II.COUNTDOWN

  5The Count Hoyos Mission to Berlin

  Sunday–Monday, 5–6 July

  6War Council in Vienna (I)

  Tuesday, 7 July

  7Radio Silence

  8–17 July

  8Enter Sazonov

  Saturday, 18 July

  9War Council in Vienna (II)

  Sunday, 19 July

  10Poincaré Meets the Tsar

  Monday, 20 July

  11Sazonov’s Threat

  Tuesday, 21 July

  12Champagne Summit

  Wednesday–Thursday, 22–23 July

  13Anti-Ultimatum and Ultimatum

  Thursday, 23 July

  14Sazonov Strikes

  Friday, 24 July

  15Russia, France, and Serbia Stand Firm

  Saturday, 25 July

  16Russia Prepares for War

  Sunday, 26 July

  17The Kaiser Returns

  Monday, 27 July

  18“You Have Got Me into a Fine Mess”

  Tuesday, 28 July

  19“I Will Not Be Responsible for a Monstrous Slaughter!”

  Wednesday, 29 July

  20Slaughter It Is

  Thursday, 30 July

  21Last Chance Saloon

  Friday, 31 July

  22“Now You Can Do What You Want”

  Saturday, 1 August

  23Britain Wakes Up to the Danger

  Sunday, 2 August

  24Sir Edward Grey’s Big Moment

  Monday, 3 August

  25World War: No Going Back

  Tuesday, 4 August

  EPILOGUE: THE QUESTION OF RESPONSIBILITY

  NOTES

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Frequently Cited Sources

  Other Works Cited

  INDEX

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  I WOULD LIKE TO THANK MY AGENT, Andrew Lownie, for taking on this project and sharpening it with his suggestions. Likewise, I am indebted to Lara Heimert of Basic Books for believing in the book and to Roger Labrie and Beth Wright for sharpening my prose. It is always a pleasure to find editors who share one’s enthusiasm for a subject. I am also indebted to the archivists without whom I could not have told my story. I have spent many happy months in the Foreign Office archives of Germany, Austria, Russia, France, and England. While it is impossible to thank everyone, I would like to single out Joachim Tepperberg of the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv in Vienna and Mareike Fossenberg of the Politisches Archiv des Auswärtigen Amtes in Berlin, both of whom performed wonders on my behalf.

  I have drawn inspiration from secondary works. Like many other historians (particularly Americans, for whom the First World War is not quite as central to our own national story as it is for Europeans), I first fell in love with the subject when I devoured Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August (1962). I still have my tattered old paperback edition, with its cover price (75 cents) reminding me that it comes from another era. While not all of her conclusions have stood up over time, Tuchman’s perfectly wrought character sketches and incomparable scene settings ensure that her book will always find an audience among history lovers. The best thing about The Guns of August, for my purposes, is that she left the July crisis alone, picking up her narrative only on 1 August.

  The historical literature on the July crisis of 1914 is vast, although not quite so vast as that on the First World War, which resulted from it. Anyone who tackles the July crisis realizes that, on almost any issue of scholarly dispute, Sidney Fay, Bernadotte Schmitt, or Luigi Albertini got there first. It is impossible to write about July 1914 without developing an intimate relationship with Albertini’s three-volume history. This is also true of the great documentary collections compiled by the major powers after the war. While the odd document slipped through the cracks, and revelations continue to emerge from former Soviet or Eastern Bloc archives opened in 1991 (of which I can claim credit for some), for the most part the basic documentation on the July crisis has remained unchanged since the 1930s. Like Albertini’s, like that of nearly all historians, my narrative draws primarily on these great documentary collections. I am grateful to their editors, particularly those behind the famous Kautsky-Montgelas-Schückert series of German documents, which reproduces not only the full text of most key telegrams but also marginalia scribbled on them, with precise time-dating, down to the minute, for dispatch, decoding, and even when they were read by the chancellor or kaiser.

  It has always been my preference to go back to the sources directly, rather than to filter my interpretation through those of others. For this reason, while acknowledging my debts to the historians in the bibliography, I have kept my narrative as clean as possible, eschewing scholarly disputation in the main text. Those wishing to read further may consult the bibliography; those interested in sources and the fine points of debate will find them in the endnotes.

  For readers, I can offer a note on 1914-era diplomatic terminology.

  “Chorister’s Bridge” is shorthand for the Imperial Russian Foreign Ministry. “Whitehall” stands for the British Foreign Office (and/or government), the “Wilhelmstrasse” for the German Foreign Office (and/or the Chancellery), the “Ballhausplatz” (or “Ballplatz”) for the Austro-Hungarian government, and “Quai d’Orsay” for the French Foreign Ministry.

  DRAMATIS PERSONAE

  Austria-Hungary

  Berchtold, Leopold von, Count. Foreign minister of Austria-Hu
ngary, 1912–1915.

  Bienerth, Karl von, Count, Lieutenant-Colonel. Austrian military attaché in Berlin, 1910–1914.

  Biliński, Leon von. Austrian minister for Bosnia-Herzegovina and common imperial finance minister.

  Conrad von Hötzendorf, Franz. Austria-Hungary’s army chief of staff, 1912–1916.

  Czernin, Otto. Austrian legation secretary in St. Petersburg, and interim ambassador there in absence of Count Friedrich Szapáry.

  Franz Ferdinand, Archduke. Heir to the Habsburg throne of Austria-Hungary.

  Franz Josef I. Emperor of Austria and king of Hungary, 1848–1916.

  Friedrich, Archduke, Duke of Teschen. Appointed supreme commander of the Common Imperial Army in July 1914.

  Giesl von Gieslingen, Baron. Austrian minister in Serbia, 1913–1914.

  Hoyos, Alexander, Count. Berchtold’s secretary and special envoy to Berlin, July 1914.

  Krobatin, Alexander, General. Common imperial war minister.

  Mensdorff, Albert, Count. Austria-Hungary’s ambassador to England, 1904–1914.

  Potiorek, Oskar. Austrian military governor of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

  Ritter von Storck, Wilhelm. Austrian chargé d’affaires in Belgrade.

  Stürgkh, Karl, Count. Austrian minister-president.

  Szapáry, Friedrich, Count. Austria-Hungary’s ambassador to Russia, 1913–1914.

  Szögyény, Ladislaus, Count. Austria-Hungary’s ambassador to Germany, 1892–1914.

  Tisza, Stefan, Count. Minister-president of Hungary, 1903–1905, 1913–1917.

  Belgium

  Albert I. King of Belgium, 1909–1934.

  France

  Barrère, Camille. France’s ambassador to Italy, 1897–1924.

  Bienvenu-Martin, Jean-Baptiste. French Minister of Justice and acting director of foreign affairs at the Quai d’Orsay in July 1914.

  Boppe, Jules August. French minister to Belgrade, 1914.

  Caillaux, Joseph. French prime minister (1911–1912) and finance minister, 1899–1902, 1906–1909, 1913–1914.

  Cambon, Jules. France’s ambassador to Germany, 1907–1914.

  Cambon, Paul. France’s ambassador to Britain, 1898–1920.

  Dumaine, Alfred. France’s ambassador to Austria-Hungary, 1912–1914.

  Joffre, Joseph. Chief of staff of the French army, 1911–1916.

  Laguiche, Pierre de, General. French military attaché in St. Petersburg.

  Messimy, Adolphe. France’s minister of war, 1911–1912 and June–August 1914.

  Paléologue, Maurice. France’s ambassador to Russia, 1914–1917.

  Poincaré, Raymond. President of France, 1913–1920.

  Robien, Louis de. French embassy attaché in St. Petersburg.

  Viviani, René. France’s premier and foreign minister at various points in 1914 and 1915, including both offices in June–July 1914.

  Germany

  Below-Selaske, Klaus von. German minister at Brussels, 1913–1914.

  Bethmann Hollweg, Theobald von. Chancellor of Imperial Germany, 1909–1917.

  Bülow, Bernhard von, Prince. Chancellor of Imperial Germany, 1900–1909.

  Chelius, Oskar von, General. German military attaché in St. Petersburg and aide-de-camp to Tsar Nicholas II, 1914.

  Falkenhayn, Erich von. Prussian minister of war, 1913–1915.

  Griesinger, Julius Adolph, Baron. Germany minister to Belgrade, 1911–1914.

  Jagow, Gottlieb von. State secretary of Imperial Germany, 1913–1916.

  Lichnowsky, Prince Karl Max von. Germany’s ambassador to Britain, 1912–1914.

  Moltke “the Younger,” Helmuth von. Chief of staff of the German army, 1906–1914.

  Müller, Georg Alexander von, Admiral. Chief of German naval cabinet, 1906–1918.

  Plessen, Hans G. H. von, General, adjutant to Kaiser Wilhelm II.

  Pourtalès, Friedrich. Germany’s ambassador to Russia, 1907–1914.

  Riezler, Kurt. Private secretary to Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg, 1909–1914.

  Schlieffen, Alfred von, Count, Field Marshal. Chief of German General Staff, 1891–1906.

  Schoen, Wilhelm von, Baron. Germany’s ambassador to France, 1910–1914.

  Stumm, Wilhelm von. Political director of the German Foreign Office, 1911–1916.

  Tirpitz, Alfred von. Secretary of state of the German Imperial Naval Office, 1897–1916.

  Tschirschky, Heinrich von, Count. German ambassador to Austria-Hungary, 1907–1914.

  Wilhelm II. Emperor (“Kaiser”) of Imperial Germany, 1888–1918.

  Zimmermann, Arthur. Undersecretary of state of Imperial Germany, 1911–1916.

  Great Britain

  Asquith, Herbert Henry. Liberal British prime minister, 1908–1916.

  Bertie, Sir Francis. Britain’s ambassador to France, 1905–1918.

  Buchanan, Sir George. Britain’s ambassador to Russia, 1910–1918.

  Churchill, Winston. Britain’s first lord of the Admiralty, 1911–1915.

  Crackanthorpe, Dayrell. British chargé d’affaires in Belgrade, 1912–1915.

  Crowe, Sir Eyre. Senior clerk in the British Foreign Office.

  De Bunsen, Sir Maurice. Britain’s ambassador to Austria, 1913–1914.

  George V. King of England, 1910–1936.

  Goschen, Sir W. Edward. Britain’s ambassador to Germany, 1908–1914.

  Grey, Sir Edward. His Majesty’s foreign secretary, 1905–1916.

  Morley, Lord John. Lord President of the Council, 1910–1914.

  Nicolson, Sir Arthur. Permanent undersecretary in the British Foreign Office, 1910–1916.

  Wilson, Sir Henry, General. Director of military operations in British War Office, 1910–1914.

  Russia

  Artamonov, Viktor A., General. Russian military attaché in Belgrade, 1912–1914.

  Bark, Peter. Russian minister of finance, 1914–1917.

  Benckendorff, Alexander K., Count. Russian ambassador to England, 1903–1917.

  Dobrorolskii, Sergei, General. Chief of Russian army’s mobilization section, 1914.

  Goremykin, Ivan L. Chairman of Russian Council of Ministers, 1914–1916.

  Grigorevich, Ivan K., Admiral. Russian naval minister, 1911–1916.

  Hartwig, Nikolai. Russia’s minister in Serbia, 1909–1914.

  Izvolsky, Alexander. Russia’s ambassador to France, 1910–1917.

  Krivoshein, A. V. Russian minister of agriculture, 1906–1915.

  Nicholas II (Romanov). Tsar of Russia, 1894–1917.

  Nicholas Nikolaevich (Romanov). Grand Duke and commander in chief of the Russian Imperial Army, 1914–1915.

  Sazonov, Sergei. Foreign minister of Russia, 1910–1916.

  Schilling, Moritz F., Baron. Head of Chancery (i.e., chief of staff) of the Russian Foreign Ministry, 1912–1914.

  Shebeko, Nikolai. Russia’s ambassador to Austria-Hungary, 1913–1914.

  Stolypin, Peter. Chairman of Russian Council of Ministers, 1906–1911.

  Sukhomlinov, V. A. Chief of Russian Army General Staff, 1908–1909, and Russian war minister, 1909–1915.

  Yanushkevitch, N. N. General, chief of Russian Army General Staff.

  Serbia

  Chabrinovitch, Nedjelko. Bosnian Serb terrorist and co-conspirator of Gavrilo Princip, trained in Belgrade.

  Ciganovitch, Milan. Bosnian-born Serb; liaison between Black Hand leaders and Gavrilo Princip in Belgrade. Furnished arms to the terrorists plotting to assassinate Franz Ferdinand.

  Dimitrijevitch, Dragutin (“Apis”), Colonel. Head of Serbian Military Intelligence and the Black Hand.

  Grabezh, Trifko. Bosnian Serb terrorist and co-conspirator of Gavrilo Princip, trained in Belgrade.

  Ilitch, Danilo. Recruiter of local terrorists in Sarajevo, in order to camouflage Serbian involvement in the assassination plot in Belgrade.

  Paĉu, Laza, Dr. Serbian Minister of Finance, 1912–1915.

  Pašić, Nikola. Prime minister of Serbia, 1912–1918.

  Princip, Gavrilo
. Bosnian Serb terrorist, trained in Belgrade.

  Spalaiković, M. Serbia’s ambassador to Russia, 1914.

  Tankositch, Voja, Major. Co-founder of Black Hand.

  CHRONOLOGY

  28 June 1914

  assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo

  5–6 July 1914

  Count Hoyos mission to Berlin leads to the “blank check”

  10 July 1914

  Berlin first learns of Austrian plans for a Serbian ultimatum

  14 July 1914

  Tisza converts to the Austrian “war party”

  18 July 1914

  Sazonov returns from vacation and learns of Austrian ultimatum plans

  19 July 1914

  the Ministerial Council in Vienna approves text of Serbian ultimatum

  20–23 July 1914

  the French presidential summit in St. Petersburg

  21 July 1914

  Sazonov threatens Berchtold: “There must be no talk of an ultimatum”

  23 July 1914

  France and Russia try to warn Vienna not to issue a Serbian ultimatum; Vienna issues its ultimatum to Serbia anyway

  24–25 July 1914

  Russia’s Council of Ministers decrees “partial mobilization”; Tsar Nicholas II ratifies this; France’s ambassador gives imprimatur

  26 July 1914

  Russia begins its “Period Preparatory to War”

  28 July 1914

  Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia

  29 July 1914

  Tsar Nicholas II orders general mobilization, then changes his mind

  30 July 1914

  Russian general mobilization is ordered

  31 July 1914

  Germany issues ultimatum to Russia to halt its mobilization

  1 August 1914

  first France and then Germany orders general mobilization; Germany declares war on Russia

  3 August 1914

  Grey gives speech to the Commons, making case for war if Germany violates Belgian neutrality; Germany declares war on France