"The German Ambassador (_i.e._ in London) read me a telegram from the German Foreign Office saying that his Government had not known beforehand, and had no more than other Powers to do with the stiff terms of the Austrian note to Servia."--Sir Edward Grey to the British Ambassador in Berlin (White Paper, No. 25). (Cf. also French Yellow Book, Nos. 17, 30, 36, 41, 57, and 94.)
[4] Last paragraph of Reply of Servian Government to Austro-Hungarian note.
[8] White Paper, Nos. 43 and 71. Cf. also German White Book, Nos. 12 and 15.
[9] White Paper, No. 113; Russian Orange Book, No. 77; French Yellow Book, No. 95.
[10] These suspicions were well founded. German mobilisation began at least two days earlier (White Paper, No. 113; French Yellow Book, Nos. 60, 88, 89, and 106).
[11] White Paper, Nos. 114, 122, 123, and 125.
[12] Belgian Grey Book, No. 20; French Yellow Book, No. 141.
[13] White Paper, No. 152; French Yellow Book, No. 124.
[15] "I found the Chancellor very agitated. His Excellency at once began a harangue which lasted for about twenty minutes. He said that the step taken by His Majesty's Government was terrible to a degree: just for a word--'neutrality,' a word which in war time had so often been disregarded--just for a scrap of paper Great Britain was going to make war on a kindred nation, who desired nothing better than to be friends with her."--British Ambassador at Berlin to Sir Edward Grey (White Paper, No. 160).
Such is the chronological order of events; but on the face of it, it explains little of the underlying causes of this conflagration. Why with the single exception of Italy had all the great naval and military powers of Europe, together with several smaller nations, suddenly plunged into war? Which of the combatants wanted war? ... To the latter question the answer can be given at once and with certainty--save Germany and Austria no nation wanted war, and even Germany and Austria did not want _this_ war.
Whatever opinion we may entertain of the Servian character or of her policy in recent times, it is at all events certain that she did not desire war with Austria. That she submitted to the very depths of humiliation in order to avoid war cannot be doubted by any one who has read her reply to the demands put forward by Vienna. Only a few months since, she had emerged from two sanguinary wars--the first against Turkey and the second against Bulgaria--and although victory had crowned her arms in both of these contests, her losses in men and material had been very severe.