explanation of the crisis is, however, open to the objection that the questions at issue more vitally affected Russia than did those of 1908-10, and she had nearly recovered normal strength.  Unless the politicians of Berlin and Vienna were blind, they must have foreseen that Russia would aid Servia in resisting the outrageous demands sent from Vienna to Belgrade on July 23.  Those demands were incompatible with Servia’s independence; and though she, within the stipulated forty-eight hours, acquiesced in all save two of them, the Austrian Government declared war (July 28).  In so doing it relied on the assurances of the German Ambassador, von Tchirsky, that Russia would not fight.  But by way of retort to the Austrian order for complete mobilisation (July 31, 1 A.M.), Russia quite early on that same day ordered a similar measure[551].

[Footnote 550:  Daily Telegraph, July 25, 1914.]

[Footnote 551:  J’accuse, pp. 134-5 (German edition).  The partial mobilisations of Austria and Russia earlier were intended to threaten and protect Servia.  The time of Austria’s order for complete mobilisation is shown in French Yellow Book, No. 115.  That of Russia in Austrian “Rotbuch,” No. 52, and Russian Orange Book, No. 77.]

The procedure of Austria and Germany now claims our attention.  The policy of Count Berchtold, Austria’s Foreign Minister, had generally been pacific.  On July 28 he yielded to popular clamour for war against Servia, but only, it appears, because of his belief that “Russia would have no right to intervene after receiving his assurance that Austria sought no territorial aggrandisement.”  On July 30 and 31 he consented to continue friendly discussions with Russia.  Even on August 1 the Austrian Ambassador at Petrograd expressed to the Foreign Minister, Sazonoff, the hope that things had not gone too far[552].  There was then still a hope that Sir Edward Grey’s offer of friendly mediation might be accepted by Germany, Austria, and Russia.  But on August 1 Germany declared war on Russia.

[Footnote 552:  Austrian “Rotbuch,” Nos. 50-56; British White Papers, Miscellaneous (1914), No. 6 (No. 137), and No. 10, p. 3; French Yellow Book, No. 120.]

It is well to remember that by her action in August 1913 she held back Austria from a warlike policy.  In July 1914 some of Germany’s officials knew of the tenor of the Austrian demands on the Court of Belgrade; and her Ambassador at Vienna stated on July 26 that Germany knew what she was doing in backing up Austria.  Kaiser William, who had been on a yachting cruise, hurriedly returned to Berlin on the night of July 26-27.  He must have approved of Austria’s declaration of war against Servia on July 28, for on that day his Chancellor, Bethmann-Hollweg, finally rejected Sir Edward Grey’s proposal of a Peace Conference to settle that dispute.  The Chancellor then also expressed to our Ambassador, Sir Edward Goschen, the belief that Russia had no right