The Guns Of August

The two-page section “Outbreak,” between Chapter 5 and Chapter 6, outlines the assassination of the Austrian heir apparent, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Austria-Hungary uses the occasion to absorb Serbia, a move Russia opposes. When Austria-Hungary bombards Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, Russia mobilizes, causing Germany to issue an ultimatum for Russia to stand down. 

Chapter 6 begins with no reply from Russia. Now that the war is about to break out, Kaiser Wilhelm has second thoughts. He does not want to fight a war on two fronts, and he is worried about East Prussia. In a flurry of telegraphs and telephone calls to ambassadors in Paris and London, he attempts to halt the attack on France, deciding to send all his troops east to fight Russia. German Chief of the General Staff Helmuth von Moltke, however, says it can’t be done. Successor to Schlieffen, he has been planning this war for almost ten years, and the schedule has been laid out to the minute specific train cars will cross specific tracks.

In London, the German ambassador, Lichnowksy, also attempts to halt the war by keeping England neutral. However, Lichnowksy misinterprets Minister Edward Grey’s position that England will intervene if Belgium is invaded, and the war moves forward.