The events leading up to WWI were like a perfect storm of screw ups, miscommunications, misjudgments and ironies.
In one of the bitter ironies, Austria's waffling for 3 weeks before the war probably ensured that a global war was inevitable. Most leaders and public opinion at the time saw Austria as the victim and they had a lot of goodwill built up that they pissed away over 3 weeks of trying to negotiate. The peace process practically ensured that a global war would happen.
The Kaiser went on vacation in the middle of the July Crisis leaving Austria hanging. Had he been working, there is a good chance that Austria would have either moved faster, convinced Russia to stay out, or that Serbia would have given in to the complete ultimatum.
But nope, he just had to go on his Norwegian cruise in the middle of everything.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
Last edited by FlamesAddiction; 04-28-2020 at 09:13 PM.
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