Heres the link to the July 1914 installment of my Centennial Countdown blog. Comments are welcome. July 1914 will become known to history as the month of the July Crisis. Looking back from the vantage point of the Twenty-first Century, it is hard to find a more consequential month, in the Twentieth, than this one. The month begins with the reaction to the June 28 assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo; it ends with ultimatums and mobilizations that plunge Europe into a catastrophic conflict that will continue for over four years and change the world forever. After the assassination, Austria-Hungary quickly determines that Serbia is to blame. Like Russia in another July crisis a century later, Serbia denies responsibility for the outrage and calls for an investigation. An Austrian ultimatum and an unsatisfactory Serbian response are followed by a declaration of war against Serbia. By months end, Russia, Serbias patron, and Germany, Austria-Hungarys ally, have mobilized, and in England First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill has ordered the Royal Navys First Fleet (soon to be redesignated the Grand Fleet) to its war station in the Orkney Islands, where it will command the North Sea. As preparations for war continue, much of the publics attention is elsewhere. In London, the King makes an unsuccessful personal attempt to resolve the Irish Home Rule question. In Paris, Mme. Caillaux is acquitted and M. Jaures is slain. In Mexico, General Huerta resigns the presidency and leaves for Jamaica. In the United States, President Wilsons emissary Colonel House returns home after two months in Europe. But as the month comes to an end, a sudden realization that war is imminent causes markets to collapse in London, New York, and other financial capitals.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 15:30:36 +0000
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