Page:The guilt of William Hohenzollern.djvu/192

188 with their ally, and their initial support of the sabotage of peace. They are, however, guiltless of this final sin, which made war inevitable. Their debit account is heavy enough without that.

After the 29th they sought to preserve peace. The first obstacle that they found was, we have seen, the Austrian Government.

But they found another, more powerful and nearer at hand.

The last message of the Chancellor to Tschirschky, the demand that Austria should be pressed to yield, of which we have already spoken, was not delivered. On July 3oth, at 9 p.m., the message was sent off, and at 11.20 a second was hurried after it, saying:

""Please do not carry out instructions No. 200 for the present.""

What had happened in the meanwhile? The answer is given in the following telegram of the Chancellor to the Ambassador in Vienna:

""I have suspended the execution of instructions No. 200, because the General Staff has just informed me that military preparations by our neighbours in the East force us to a more rapid decision if we are not to expose ourselves to be taken by surprise. The General Staff urgently wishes to be definitely informed with as little delay as possible regarding decisions in Vienna, especially of a military nature. Please make inquiries at once, so that we may receive an answer to-morrow.""

This telegram also was not sent, but replaced by another, in which the suspension of the instructions was