A report from the Exchange Telegraphy Company in Vienna put it succinctly: "Hope of localizing the Austra-Serbian war has been given up in all quarters."
On July 31, Russia ordered total mobilization of its armed forces in the event of war against Austria-Hungary. Russia, seeking to protect Serbia and maintain its influence in the Balkans, wanted to be ready to attack.
That same day, an alarmed Germany warned Russia to stop its mobilization. German militarists wanted Russia to stay out of the war so it could devote all of its military forces to conquering France. An intricate German war plan called for destruction of the French army on the 39th day of war. If Russia were to assist France, Germany would have to shift some of its troops to the Eastern Front, which could present the horrible catastrophe of not meeting that 39-day timetable. Germans have always been big on precision.
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From left, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, King George V of Britain, Czar Nicholas II of Russia and Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria |
Germany stepped in, seeking to quell possible opposition. If it couldn't deter Russia, maybe it could mollify France. With a tin ear and a failure to see the facts from the other person's perspective, Germany asked France to remain neutral in the event it went to war against Russia. France was to honor its pledge of neutrality by surrendering its fortresses of Verdun and Toul.
Pure chutzpah.
When France refused, Germany on August 3 declared war.
But the worst of Germany's behavior would come in August. First it issued war declarations against almost everybody. On August 4 it invaded Belgium, whose neutrality had been respected by treaty for 75 years. The German High Command's war plan was to outflank and decimate the French army. That required a broad sweep through Belgium so the German army could pounce from behind on the French. From the German perspective, the "military necessity" of invading Belgium outweighed the treaty obligations, which, as the German foreign minister put it, was "a scrap of paper." Later in August, came the Germans'"the rape of Belgium." More about that later.