German government backs Austrian ultimatum to Serbia

On 24 July 1914, the day after Austria-Hungary’s ultimatum was handed to Serbia, the German government launched a diplomatic offensive towards the other European powers. Berlin was no longer merely a silent backer of Vienna’s hard-line policy. That day German diplomacy informed the governments of the Entente states that the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia should remain a limited affair, and that the ultimatum itself should be regarded as a justified reaction by the Habsburg monarchy.

The core of the German position combined two elements. On the one hand, Berlin genuinely approved of Vienna’s hard course and had no intention of restraining its ally. On the other, it tried to present itself to London, Paris and St Petersburg as a state that had not been involved in drafting the ultimatum and had no grounds to interfere in the Austro-Serbian dispute. This double game was of enormous importance: Germany wanted to support Austria-Hungary while avoiding the impression that it was itself pushing Europe towards war.

In practice this meant spreading the thesis of so-called localisation of the conflict. German diplomats made it clear that the other powers should not meddle in the dispute and that pressure on Vienna would be unwarranted. At the same time Berlin signalled that the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum should be neither weakened nor withdrawn, since that would mean political humiliation for the monarchy and a further rise in Serbia’s importance in the Balkans.

At the same moment anxiety was growing in the European capitals. The British and the Russians saw ever more clearly that the note to Serbia had been worded in extremely harsh terms, and that the very short deadline for a reply further narrowed the room for diplomatic manoeuvre. German assurances that this was only a local crisis were therefore met with growing scepticism. To many observers it was becoming clear that without German backing Austria-Hungary would not be pursuing such an unyielding policy.

24 July 1914 was thus the day on which the crisis ceased to be solely a clash between Vienna and Belgrade. It entered a stage of open contest among the powers over whether the conflict could be contained in the Balkans or would drag in the whole European alliance system. The German notes and diplomatic instructions of that day showed that Berlin supported Austria-Hungary’s ultimatum, even if it publicly tried to conceal the extent of its own responsibility.