On this day in the July Crisis, July 19,1914: The Austrian Ministerial Council meets in secret in Vienna. It was decided that Serbia would be beaten to death and that a portion of it would be given to Bulgaria.. The Austrian Foreign Ministry completes the list of demands against Serbia and delivers the finished product to Foreign Minister Count Leopold von Berchtold. Berchtold sits on the document as he ensures that the Armys mobilization plans are finalized. He will not deliver the document to the Serbian government for four more days. Berchtolds ambassador in Berlin does not inform the Germans of their intention to mobilize against Serbia. Nevertheless, German intelligence determines this fact and passes it on to Berlin. This upsets the Germans as they have guaranteed unconditional support to Austria-Hungary with the so-called blank check. German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg complains, The duplicity of Austria is intolerable, but Germany remains committed to Austria-Hungary. Both French President Raymond Poincare and German Kaiser Wilhelm are at sea. Poincare will arrive in St. Petersburg, Russia the next afternoon.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 03:10:36 +0000