Quote:
Originally Posted by ThorHammer
When it comes to the summer of 1914, I do not believe any country can escape the label of "aggressor".
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And I believe, or reasons which I have elaborated
in detail, Germany was so much the foremost aggressor
that the others are immaterial.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThorHammer
Viking, you say that Germany could have forced Austria to back down. This is correct. However, would they have been right to? I think not. The heir to the Austrian throne was killed by Serbian nationalist who was funded, and supplied by, Serbian military intelliegence.
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You are trying to limit the case to Austria-Serbia,
and that is unsupportable.
The system of alliances guarenteed an Austro-Serbian
war could not be confined to Austria and Serbia.
Furthermore, Germany had had its sights on France
for decades. France was the real target for Germany,
and the Austro-Serbian conflict was merely an excuse
to break France.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThorHammer
Another point I would like to point out is that Germany had no real choice but to be the first to strike. Given its location, and the strategic realities facing it, it could not afford to let France and Russia fully mobilize and strike first. Moltke, the younger, knew this as did the German general staff.
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Baloney.
Germany could have repulsed any attack by Russia
and France combined and done so easlily.
I have read of the concerns of the German military.
I find it hard to believe they could have so greatly
underestimated their own power short of serious delusion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThorHammer
Finally, Viking, you claim that Germany made no attempts at diplomacy during the summer of 1914. This claim is totally false. I recommend the book Dreadnought. In it, Robert Massie details all their attempts quite thoroughly.
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Now that is really odd because I have the book,
I have read it twice, and I missed the parts about
Germany's sincere diplomacy.
Of course they passed diplomatic notes back and forth.
But the fact is Germany had been bullying France
for decades, Germany was spoiling for a fight with
France, and Germany decided in 1914 that the time
was ripe to go ahead and start the fight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThorHammer
In fact, he also details that most of the great powers at the time, believed Austria was totally in the right.
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Well, Austria's centuries-long expansion in the Balkans
was not totally right. It would have done best to leave
Bosnia-Herzegovena to some fate other than annexation.
Serbia's support of terror was totally wrong, but not
wrong enough to justify the risk extension of war to
Germany, France and Russia.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThorHammer
I will give more details when I get home and have the book in front of me.
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Go for it.