Germany's responsibility for starting the First World War

¶ … Germany's role in starting the First World War?

With reference to numerous speeches and declarations made during the time period of the First World War by various leaders from Europe, this study shall understand as to who among all the parties involved and what the catalyst or the actual causative factor was that set off tensions and culminated into a full fledged First World War between several powerful nations..

What exactly was the role that Germany played in the starting of the First World War and how was it responsible for the war? Let us first examine a set of dispatches sent out by the German Ambassador at Vienna, sent out in 1914, and the answers and annotations given by the Kaiser in response. In one such dispatch, the German Ambassador states that he and his people are desirous of 'settling accounts with the Serbs' once and for all, and that accordingly, a series of conditions must be sent to them, which, if they did not accept, warned that adequate measures would be taken against them. However, the Kaiser replies that the Austrians must do what they want to do, and that no one else can interfere in their affairs.

However, the next dispatch states that some decision must be taken to put an end to the quite intolerable state of affairs in Serbia, and the next states that the Monarchy has now finally decided to prove its vitality, and therefore, deliver to Serbia the news that things have to come to a head. It was hoped that if Austria were to succeed in proving their point by teaching Serbia a lesson, then perhaps Bulgaria, Romania, and also Turkey would range themselves on the side of the Triple Alliance being formed. At the same time, wondered the German Ambassadors, would it actually be possible for the Russian government to advise the Serbian government to meekly accept the demands that were being put forth by the Austrians, because it would then become a truth that when a state accepts such terms, then it would no longer be counted as an independent state; rather, according to the Kaiser, it would be a literal 'band of brigands'.

The Dispatch from the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs to the Emperor, from the German Documents, No. 168 states that the basic text of the Austrian document was so very aggressive that public opinion in Europe and in Italy would soon turn against Austria, and therefore, the best way to ensure that Italy remains within the Triple Alliance would be to promise adequate compensations. However, when it was found that the situation had become extremely tense indeed, then the Kaiser sent a note: "the terrible situation slowly and surely engineered by Edward VII, continued and systematically developed by conversations, afterward denied, of England with Paris and St. Petersburg, and finally brought to its conclusion by George V, and now to be made a reality," wherein the "stupidity and the awkwardness" of the ally was bringing the Austrians more trouble than anything else.

There is a letter sent by the Emperor Franz Joseph, Vienna and delivered to Kaiser in Berlin on 5 July 1914 by the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador, Count de Szogyeny-Marich, in which the 'terrible catastrophe of Sarajevo' is mentioned. According to the Emperor Franz Joseph, the attack that was launched against his nephew was in fact a direct result of the campaign and agitation brought about by the Russian and Serbian Pan-Slavists whose sole aim at that point, was to try to weaken and perhaps cripple the Triple Alliance and thereby successfully bring about the destruction of the Empire. Even the so called 'good intentions of his old and trusted friend and ally, Charles of Romania was suspect according to him, and therefore, Romania could not possibly be retained in the ripple Alliance, unless the creation of the Balkan League under the leadership of Russia could be effectively prevented, using any method possible. It is also vital to, he stated, make it clear at Bucharest that the friends of Serbia could not possibly be the friends of Austria and Vienna, and Romania could not possibly consider Austria and Vienna as her allies unless and until "she detaches herself from Serbia and represses with all her force the agitation directed in Roumania against the existence of my Empire."

This was the direct consequence of the above mentioned letter that was sent to the Kaiser Wilhelm II: on July 6th, that is, the very next day, Wilhelm II and his Imperial Chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg sent a telegram to Berchtold stating that Austria-Hungary could rely on the fact that Germany would support whatever action was necessary to deal with Serbia. In short, what happened was that it was almost like offering von Berchtold a 'blank check'. The Austro-Hungarian point-of-view became apparent to the German Kaiser, and so did the truth that the Russian and Serbian Pan-Slavic agitation was threatening both the Triple Alliance, as well as the Austrian-Hungarian relationship. The Emperor re-stated his long ago forged alliance with Austria-Hungary, and vowed that he would stand by them no matter what, even though it was true that he would not make attempts to interfere with the present situation where the Serbs were agitating against Austria and Hungary.

This was the letter sent on July 22, 1914, by Austro-Hungary, to Serbia, in the form of an ultimatum. Reported in the letter was the declaration that was made in the year 1909, by the Royal Serbian Minister at the Court of Vienna, wherein the minister reportedly stated that she would be willing to accommodate herself to the decisions that were made by the Powers, in which, in Article 25 of the Treaty of Berlin-Serbia, she accepted the fact that she would be bound by the Powers, and that she would desist from the oppositions that she was displaying at the present time in relation to Austria-Hungary. In fact, there was growing evidence of the presence of a sort of subversive movement in Serbia at the present time, and that the intention was most probably to effectively separate certain portions of its territory from the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and the Royal Serbian Government has done absolutely nothing to suppress or to foil the movement.

Therefore, by the Austro-Hungarian alliance, it was very clear and evident that the plot to murder at Sarajevo was in fact conceived at Belgrade, that the murderers reportedly received the weapons and the bombs with which they were equipped from Serbian officers and officials who belonged to the Narodna Odbrana, and, also that the dispatch of the criminals and of their weapons to Bosnia was arranged and brought about under the conduct of Serbian frontier authorities. The Royal Serbian Government must, therefore, pledge itself to suppress any such revolutionary movement launched against the Monarchy, if such a thing were brought to its attention, and also state that it would stand by its earlier pledge of fully supporting the Austrian-Hungarian alliance. It must be remembered that The plan of murdering Archduke Franz Ferdinand during his stay in Sarajevo had in fact been concocted in Belgrade by Gavrilo Princip, Nedeljko Cabrinovic, a certain Milan Ciganovic, and Trifko Grabesch with the assistance of Major Voija Takosic, and the bombs found were found to have originated from the weapons depot at the Serbian army in Kragujevatz.

In a letter sent by the Imperial Chancellor, the Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, to Emperor Wilhelm II, on July 26, 1914, from Berlin, he requests the Emperor Wilhelm II to order the High Seas Fleet to remain in Norway, so that the burden of England's 'proposed mediation action' at Petersburg, which was in fact a little bit shaky at the moment, would be lightened and lessened. The answer that Wilhelm gave was that, "My fleet has orders to sail for Kiel, and to Kiel it is going to go," and anyway, he reiterated, the mediation action at Petersburg was not all that shaky. Wilhelm wonders where the Imperial Chancellor got his information from!

This is a telegram from the Imperial Chancellor, von Bethmann-Hollweg, sent to the German Ambassador at Vienna, Tschirschky, on July 28, 1914, labeled 'Urgent', and the important matter of the telegram was that The Austro-Hungarian government had at that point of time informed Russia that it was not considering any territorial acquisitions in Serbia. It must be remembered that at an earlier date, the German Ambassador had stated that the Slavic element in both Austria and Hungary was on the increase, and this was an undesirable fact. Serbia had replied to the Austrian ultimatum, wherein it had agreed completely to the numerous demands put across by Austria, and this could be taken to imply that if the Austria-Hungary government were to be uncompromising, then it would become essential to reckon upon the slow but steady defection from its cause of public opinion, all through the entire Europe.

Kaiser wrote some letters to Tsar, and the Tsar replied, and these are some of them. On July 29, the Tsar of Russia appealed to the Kaiser to help him because an 'ignoble war' had been declared to a weak country, and the indignation that he felt was indeed shared by all the Russians, he stated. Therefore, he felt that very soon in the future, he would feel overwhelmed by the escalating situation, and thereby be forced to undertake certain measures, which would most definitely lead to war. If a European war were to be prevented from taking place, then the Kaiser must help him, and the Kaiser must also stop the allies from going too far.

Kaiser replied to the telegram immediately, and stated that he too was gravely concerned about the tensions in Russia, and that the actions of Austria in Serbia, in which the Archduke Francis Ferdinand had fallen victim to the atrocious crime of murder, were responsible for the mounting pressures and tensions within Serbia. At the same time, Kaiser said: "I cannot consider Austria's action against Serbia an ignoble war" and this was because of the fact that Austria knew very well that whatever promises Serbia managed to make on paper were usually completely unreliable. Austria did not demonstrate any willingness to make any type of territorial conquests at the cost of harm to Serbia, and therefore, it would even become possible that Russia could stand to the side and stay as a mute spectator of the Austro-Serbian conflict, without managing to involve the entirety of Europe in any way. If Russia were to exercise its military powers, despite being asked not to do so by Austria, then, the Kaiser said, he would have no other option than to regard it as a calamity, in which his basic role as an unprejudiced mediator would have to be jeopardized, and his ages old friendship and trust with the Russian Tsar would have to be compromised. The tsar replied to this telegram by stating that he felt that it would be "right to give over the Austro-Serbian problem to the Hague conference."

In reply, Kaiser said that until that time, Austria had only mobilized a small part of her army against a small part of Serbia, and if Russia were to decide to mobilize her forces against Austria, then they would have to face the grave danger of losing Kaiser's favor and his friendship, and he would have to declare that the entire responsibility of opting for either 'peace' or for 'war' now lay with Russia and her Tsar. In his reply, the Tsar stated that he was greatly thankful for the Kaiser's mediation and gestures of help, and therefore, it could still be possible that peace would prevail, and war could be avoided. However, he said, "It is technically impossible to stop our military preparations which were obligatory owing to Austria's mobilization," but, he promised, he would be able to vouch for the fact that his troops would not make any sort of 'provocative action' against Austria-Hungary. Kaiser attempted reconciliation one last time, and said that although he understood that the Tsar would not be able to stop his military operations, he must be able to offer his guarantee and assurance that there would not be 'war' eventually, and that he would make serious and concerted attempts to ensure that there would be peace at all times, in the entirety of Europe. Soon however, Kaiser sent a telegram to the Russian Tsar stating that alas, it was too late, he had already given the order to mobilize his troops in the region, and that Russia had not taken the necessary measures that he had pointed out to them, in order to avert and avoid war. Therefore, be warned, he said, that Russian troops not trespass over to Berlin, at any cost, or they would have to face the penalty.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned in his memorandum, that the various measures taken by the Austro-Hungarian Government against Serbia, in which the Austro-Hungarian Government had turned upon the Serbian Government with certain demands that he felt were completely unacceptable by the Serbian government. Anticipating in advance the fact that Serbia would turn to him for advice on how to proceed, he had prepared an answer, he said. Accordingly, the Foreign Minister stated that he would make serious and concerted attempts to get the Great Powers to agree to investigate the various documents related to the tragedy at Sarajevo, and wherein he would also advise Serbia that in the case of the eventuality of an armed invasion by Austria-Hungary, he would make sure that Serbia would yield to force and that she would try to entrust her fate to the judgment of the Great Powers.

This was the Serbian response to the Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum: the Royal Government of Serbia was in fact quite upset and also painfully surprised by the widespread assertions that it was the people and the citizens of Serbia who had had a major role in the heinous murder that had taken place in Sarajevo recently, and that the Serbian government had, at an earlier date, fully expected to be invited to take a major part in the investigations into the murder and the outrage that followed. Instead, it was not invited, and today, stated the Serbian government, the Royal Government was fully prepared to surrender to the court, disregarding rank or position, any Serbian citizen or official, who it could be proved participated in the Sarajevo crisis. The announcement also stated, "The Royal Serbian Government condemns every propaganda which should be directed against Austria-Hungary," and that any overt display of hatred or anger or any similar feelings towards the Monarchy would be dealt with severely, and the perpetrator punished. Serbia is at present ready and waiting for a peaceable solution to the entire problem, concluded the missive.

Prince Lichownowsky defended himself and his country Germany through this letter, which he wrote to Sir Edward Grey, the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs: "The impression grew continually stronger that we desired war under any circumstance," and when on July 19, 1914, he decided to give his now famous warning, stating that "If war breaks out, it will be the greatest catastrophe the world has ever seen," after which, following the instructions that he received from Berlin, the Count Berchtold went ahead with advancing the troops on Russia, after it was decided that sufficient warning had been given. All this meant, mistakenly, that it was Prince Lichownowsky who actually encouraged Count Berchtold to attack Serbia, although it was a well-known fact that Germany was in no way at all involved in the entire episode, and that Germany was also well aware of the fact that this would case the outbreak of a World War.

It was also, albeit mistakenly, alleged that during the time period between the 23rd and the 30th of July 1914, when it was declared everywhere that Serbia would not tolerate an attack that the Germans managed to reject all the numerous proposals that the British brought out for reconciliation. This happened, stated the Prince, despite the fact that Serbia had already, bowing under the intense pressure from Russia and from Britain, accepted the entire ultimatum. Furthermore, it was, also mistakenly, reported by all concerned, that on the 30th of July, when Count Berchtold demonstrated some willingness to change the course of things, the Prince managed to send over an ultimatum to St. Petersburg, merely on account of the Russian mobilization, and this despite the then acknowledged fact that Austria had not yet been attacked.

The final straw was on the 31st of July, when it was stated that Germany declared war against the Russians, although, purportedly, everyone was well aware of the fact that the Tsar had already pledged and given his solemn promise that he would not allow one single man to march forward, until such time as negotiations were going on. The entire world therefore came to the conclusion that it was Germany that single-handedly managed to destroy the very real possibility of a peaceful settlement to the whole crisis, engendered at the outset by the severe crisis at Sarajevo. This is why, said Prince Lichownowsky, it is not at all surprising that the entire world mistakenly believes that it was Germany, and only Germany that was solely responsible for the starting of the World War I.

Kaiser or Wilhelm II gave a speech from the balcony of his Royal Palace in Berlin on July 31st 1914. He started with stating, "The sword has been forced into our hands," and in the event that he would not be able to successfully reason with his opponents and enemies in his efforts to preserve peace at any cost whatsoever, he would then use the sword with honor and with God's blessings, and therefore, sheathe it again, with honor. Since war will demand enormous sacrifices from German citizens, he stated, we must make up our minds to show the enemy what exactly it means to attack the Germans. Therefore, Wilhelm II implored his people, "Go forth into the churches, kneel down before God, and implore his help for our brave army."

These are some of the extracts from the prince's Memoirs, written before the beginning of the World War, and soon after the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand at Sarajevo. He talks about how he wished to visit Vienna for the funeral, but had to give it up because of security reasons, and as a matter of fact, he even gave up his intended trip to Norway, which he had planned earlier. However, he said, the Imperial Chancellor and the Foreign Office advised him to go ahead, because his visit may have a soothing effect on the rising troubles all across Europe, and therefore, against his own will and against his principle of leaving his beloved Germany alone at this time of turbulence, and according to the stern advice of Imperial Chancellor von Bethmann, Kaiser made up his mind to depart form his country.