After the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, not only Austria-Hungary was asking about Germany's attitude, but also the Entente countries were also ascertaining each other's allies.

For Austria-Hungary, it was a suitable pretext for a declaration of war and an opportunity to provoke a war between the Central and Entente powers at any time.

Preparations were underway in Austria-Hungary, and the four major powers of the Entente had already begun preparations for war.

On July 4, 1914, six days had passed since the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.

On this day, Arthur received inquiries from Nicholas II and George V, both of whom asked if Arthur was ready for war.

Arthur's reply was that Australasia's army was ready to fight and was able to guarantee sufficient supplies at all times.

After receiving Arthur's firmer reply, Nicholas II breathed a sigh of relief.

If Austria-Hungary could not think of declaring war on Serbia, then Russia would inevitably end up in a state of war with Austria-Hungary.

At this time, the attitude of the allies of Russia and Austria-Hungary became very important. Either side, with the support of its allies, is at least able to maintain the balance of power in the war.

But there was also the less fortunate news that if the allies of both Austria-Hungary and Russia supported the military operation, a major European war would inevitably break out.

July 4 also happened to be the day of the burial of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife.

As the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and a member of the Habsburg family, Archduke Ferdinand's funeral was relatively simple.

First, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is currently busy with the investigation of the incident and preparations for war, and second, because of the hostile relationship between Britain, Russia and Australia, monarchies such as Britain, Russia and Australia do not have high-level national officials.

Kaiser Wilhelm II had planned to attend the funeral of his friend Ferdinand, but was reluctant to give up because Chancellor Batemann had reported that more than a dozen Assassins were on their way from Belgrade to Vienna to assassinate him.

Kaiser Wilhelm II was outraged by Serbia's brazen assassination of members of his royal family, and scolded: "Those assassins are damned murderers, bandits, kingkillers!" ”

Although there was no royal family and high-level government involvement, Britain, France, Russia, and Australia still sent ambassadors to Austria-Hungary to attend the funeral of Archduke Ferdinand.

The Australasian ambassador to Austria-Hungary, on Arthur's orders, conveyed Arthur's words to Germany and Austria-Hungary: "Whatever the direction of this event, Australasia will give all the assassins severe punishment at the end." ”

The unbridled assassination of members of the royal family is not good news for Arthur, who wants to continue to maintain the monarchy.

While it was not he and his family who were assassinated, how could Australasia be left alone if there were fewer monarchies like Austria-Hungary and Germany?

The trial of the assassins after the war was Arthur's promise to Germany and Austria-Hungary. First, this will allow the joint declaration of European royal families that was once signed to continue to be in force, and will not be reduced to a piece of waste paper.

Second, it can also make other countries think carefully about the consequences of such an act before planning to assassinate European royal families.

As for the British, French, and Russian sides, Arthur had already made an agreement with them. All those involved in the assassination were tried without threatening the political rights of Serbia.

While the four major powers of the Entente were in close contact, Germany also received inquiries from Austria-Hungary.

Germany first expressed its attitude towards Austria-Hungary when the German ambassador to Vienna warned Austria-Hungary against rash action.

But this is actually the view of the German Chancellor. The German Chancellor believed that war should be avoided and Serbia's concessions should be obtained by more peaceful means.

But Kaiser Wilhelm II scoffed at such views. Wilhelm II, when he learned of the warning of the German ambassador in Vienna, criticized with a little anger: "Now is the golden opportunity, who made him do this?" It's really bad, this matter has nothing to do with him, what should be done is the business of Austria-Hungary, he is not in any position to dictate. It is necessary to clarify this matter with the Serbs as soon as possible, as soon as possible, this is the simple and clear truth. ”

After criticizing his own diplomatic ambassador enough, Wilhelm II turned to the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Germany and said: "The German Empire awaits the Austro-Hungarian Empire's major action against Serbia. It would be a pity to give up such a favorable opportunity if you consider it necessary to take military action against Serbia. I know that Russia's position is hostile, and that if there is a war between Russia and Austria-Hungary, then Germany will fulfill its allied obligations and join the war between Russia and Austria. ”

As he spoke, Wilhelm II glanced around, looked at the main peace faction headed by the prime minister with a little deep meaning, and said: "Austria-Hungary wants to have a complete reckoning with Serbia once and for all, either now or never." The Serbs must be exterminated, and right now! ”

As if verbal promises were not sufficient, Wilhelm II wrote a letter to Joseph I, in which it was clearly written: "In any case, the German Empire will stand firmly and faithfully on the side of Austria-Hungary, in accordance with its obligations of alliance and traditional friendship with Austria-Hungary." ”

However, the letter was opposed by the domestic government, and at the insistence of the government, Wilhelm II was forced to delete these words in any case.

The attitude of Germany and the German government soon reached Vienna, greatly stimulating the warring faction in Austria-Hungary.

With the support and instigation of Germany, the Austrian Prime Minister and the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Bechtold became very tough, and asked the Chief of Staff Conrad directly at the cabinet meeting: "General Conrad, is it time to solve the Serbian danger by force?" ”

As one of the main militants, Conrad's answer was undoubted: "There are two ways to solve the Serbian problem, one is to use peace and the other is to use force." As things stand, we have no choice but to use force to solve the problem. ”

The unwavering support for the allies between the Entente and the Central Powers made the clouds of war in Europe loom over quickly.

On July 7, 1914, Russia urgently placed an order for Australasia, which included 100,000 rifles, 500 artillery pieces, 50 million rounds of ammunition and other weapons and equipment, and medical supplies worth more than 1 million pounds.

The British and French navies also began to move ahead of time to prepare for the possibility of a sudden outbreak of war at any time.

Beginning on 10 July, the Austro-Hungarian army began to move frequently, which intensified the suspicion of war in Europe.

On July 23, just as Australasia was delivering all supplies to the port of Vladivostok, Austria-Hungary also officially issued an ultimatum to the Serbian government, putting forward ten demanding demands, including:

forbidding all publications in Serbia that are hostile and contemptuous of Austria-Hungary;

the immediate dissolution of the Serbian mafia and all triad groups opposed to Austria-Hungary;

to curb arms smuggling in Serbia under the supervision of Austria-Hungary;

to ban all propaganda against Austria-Hungary in the field of education in Serbia and to remove all Serbian officials engaged in anti-Austria-Hungarian activities;

Serbia outlawed subversive activities aimed at harming Austria-Hungary and supervised their implementation by personnel from Austria-Hungary;

Austria-Hungary sent personnel to Serbia to participate in the investigation of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, and to try all the accomplices;

Immediate arrest of all suspects of Serbian military intelligence officer Jafo Donkosicki, railway clerk Milan Siganovic;

Punishment of Serbian border customs officers who assist offenders in crossing the border to Sarajevo;

Responding to the anti-Austro-Hungarian rhetoric of Serbian officials in the aftermath of the assassination;

The above items shall be implemented immediately and shall be notified to the Austro-Hungarian Government as soon as possible, and a reply shall be given within 48 hours.

It is worth mentioning that the time of the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia was at six o'clock in the afternoon of the same day.

And this time coincides with the time period when French President Poincaré and Prime Minister Viviani return from their military visit to Russia.

The reason why this time was chosen was because Bechtold did not want Russia and France to agree on this event soon.

In terms of the harshness of the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum, it was no different from a declaration of war.

You know, the implementation of this ultimatum is only 48 hours, and Serbia does not even have time to think about it, let alone successfully complete all the provisions.

This also means that at the time of this ultimatum, Bechtold was ready for a war with Serbia, a war that would most likely affect Russia and Germany, and even the entire Allies and Entente.

When Serbian Prime Minister Pašić received this ultimatum, his heart was very complicated.

Compared to the more extreme military and intelligence services, the Serbian government is actually the more rational one.

At least this time for the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Prime Minister Pašić knew very well that the Serbian government was absolutely not involved.

But the problem is that Austria-Hungary demanded that the Serbian government arrest all the accomplices involved in the murder, which also included intelligence officers Donkosiki and Siganovich.

These two are high-ranking officials in the intelligence service and core members of the mafia controlled by the intelligence service.

The Serbian government alone could not arrest the two men within 48 hours without the support of the military.

It is simply impossible for the Serbian military and intelligence services, as one of the extremists, to help the government.

This also meant that it was impossible for the Austro-Hungarian government to communicate with the Serbian government, and it meant that there was no alternative to war between Serbia and Austria-Hungary.

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(End of chapter)