General

=The July Crisis=

1 .Narrative: What were the main developments?
Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and heir to the throne was assasinated in Sarajevo in late June 1914. He was killed by Gavrillo Princip, a member of the Black Hand Gang, who were led by Colonel Apis of Serbia. The aim of the Black Hand Gand was to promote pan-slavism.

Colonel Apis
- A snapshot of Apis
 * Narrative:** Dragutin Dimitrijević, known as "The Bee", was responsible for planning and leading the assasination of the Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand. His nationalist ideas and his skills in the army led him to put together the murderous terrorist association named the "__The Black Hand Gang__". The aim of this terrorist group was to insight Austrian nationalism and to promote pan-slavism.

**Analysis:** When discussing the subject of the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand: Historians will often describe the “one bullet that changed history for ever” Whether you agree with this statement or not, there is a level of truth here. The assassination triggered a chain reaction that, through the alliance system, quickly pulled all of the major European powers into war. On one hand, Franz Ferdinand represented Austria-Hungary, allied with Germany and Italy. On the other, Gavrillo Princip represented Serbia, backed up by Russia, France and Britain. By the point Colonel Apis’s plan was put into action, there was such a level of tension between these two power blocs that a single aggressive act of nationalism was all it took to throw the world into war.


This has nothing to do with the Colonel. You were not meant to divide your Wiki into these blocks under these headings but include these keywords. On the other hand, what you're saying is true.

Blank Cheque

 * Narrative:** On the 6th of July, 1914. Austria recieved a Blank Cheque from Germany who was willing to support Austria in its actions against Austria-Hungary. The Blank Cheque was seen as a way of letting Austria act rentlessly, however, the cheque promised support to the Austrians and gave the government more confidence in acting decisively.


 * Analysis:** The main effect of the Blank Cheque was to give Austria-Hungary’s confidence a great boost – thus leading them to be far more careless and arrogant in their foreign policy. This arrogance damaged international relations already built on shaky grounds. It also highlighted Germany’s involvement in a way that was overly threatening to the nations of the Triple Entente; it was a show of brute strength. This served to move international disputes further into the realm of war, rather than negotiations.

Ultimatum

 * Narrative:** On July 23rd 1914, the Austria-Hungarian Empire sent an Ultimatum to Serbia, the aim of these demands were to weaken Serbia through a series of diplomatic demands. Serbia found the the ultimatum rather harsh and very demanding; the last demand was an invasion demand of the Austrian-Hungary. So Serbia rejected the terms from fear of being invaded.

**Analysis:** In essence, the ultimatum was an extremely poor excuse for a disguise; a disguise to cover up Austria’s ultimate plan to invade Serbia. The fact that this became clear in an ultimatum was extremely damaging to Serbian national pride and gave Serbia the moral high ground. Due to Serbia’s elevated moral position, there was a huge amount of pressure on Russia to prepare for war.

Willy-Nicky Telegrams

 * Narrative:** The Willy-Nicky telegrams was a secret correspondance between __Tsar Nicholas II__ of Russia and the __Kaiser Wilhelm II__ of the German Empire. This personal relation between both nations, was regarded as an atempt to prevent Russia and Germany to declare war on each other. The series of telegrams were sent during June 16th and August 2nd in 1914. In the first few telegrams, it is clear that both monarchs want to avoid war. Although by the last few telegrams, the communication tone changed, they adressed one another by their formal names and were threatening each others nations.

**Analysis:** The “Willy Nicky” telegrams represented a final chance to avoid war. However, in the end, the informal nature of the telegrams was ultimately a factor in aiding the outbreak of the war. After just a few exchanges, the Tsar reveals that he has mobilized his army. From this point the telegrams begin to degrade into desperation and anger – neither party can possibly back down without committing tactical suicide. Russia, due to a poor infrastructure and transport system, must mobilize early as otherwise she will be unprepared and exposed should war break out. On the other hand, Germany’s “Schlieffen plan” relied on Russia **not** being mobilized so to avoid a war on two fronts (with France), which she will surely lose.

Schlieffen Plan > AJP Taylor
**Analysis:** The Schlieffen plan was arguably the biggest immediate factor in the outbreak of WW1. Germany needed to avoid a war on two fronts at all costs, so the nature of Germany’s war plan had to be pre-emptive. Unless she threw the first punch, Germany’s losing of the war was almost guaranteed. This is where AJP Taylor’s quote “WW1 was caused by poor railway timetables” comes into play. Due to Russia’s immense size and half-baked transport system – their speed in preparing for war was sluggish at best. This in turn required Russia to act pre-emptively in preparation for war. Had both nations not been so reliant on each other being unprepared, there is a chance that negotiations such as the “Willy Nicky” telegrams could have led to war being avoided. Furthermore, the aspect of the schlieffen plan which involved entering France through Belgium would give Britain a motive for declaring war on Germany as well (due to an age old agreement between Belgium and Britain).
 * Narrative:** The Schlieffen plan was an ingenious preparation that consisted of Germany's attack upon two nations: Russia and France. Germany only had one shot in succeeding victory, so she decided to attack France by entering through neutral Belgium, followed by the attack upon Russia in its 'second blow'. All this; before Russian troops had time to invade Germany.

3. Three quotes
//"Immediate affirmative clear and unmistakable answer from your government is the only way to avoid endless misery. Until I have received this answer alas, I am unable to discuss the subject of your telegram. As a matter of fact I must request you to immediately// [sic] //order your troops on no account to commit the slightest act of trespassing over our frontiers." -// **Kaiser Wilhelm**

"//This is the most terrible document that one state ever presented to another country//." - British Foreign minister, **Sir Edward Gray** upon the Ultimatum

4. Three weblinks
http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/austrianultimatum.htm - The Ultimatum sent to Serbia from Austria-Hungary http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/ index.php/The_Willy-Nicky_Telegrams [|www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWschlieffenP.htm]