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
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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.
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.
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