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cover of episode 470. The Road to The Great War: The Kaiser’s Blank Cheque (Part 2)

470. The Road to The Great War: The Kaiser’s Blank Cheque (Part 2)

2024/7/17
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The Rest Is History
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多米尼克
弗
弗朗茨·约瑟夫一世
汤
汤姆
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弗朗茨·约瑟夫一世：在给威廉二世的信中，弗朗茨·约瑟夫一世表达了对塞尔维亚的强烈不满和担忧，认为塞尔维亚的煽动活动威胁到了奥匈帝国的稳定和安全，并认为萨拉热窝事件是一场有组织的阴谋，其根源在于贝尔格莱德。他敦促威廉二世支持奥匈帝国对塞尔维亚采取行动，以惩罚塞尔维亚的敌对行为，维护欧洲君主制的安全。 多米尼克：多米尼克分析了德国在萨拉热窝事件后的反应，指出德国最初对奥匈帝国的要求持谨慎态度，但随后在威廉二世的主导下，改变了立场，向奥匈帝国提供了完全的支持，并敦促其迅速采取行动。多米尼克认为，威廉二世的支持并非源于对英国的敌意或世界征服的野心，而是出于对遇害朋友的个人情感和对局势的判断。多米尼克还分析了德国军方对战争的看法，指出他们虽然认为与俄罗斯的战争是不可避免的，但他们对战争的结果并不乐观，普遍存在悲观情绪。多米尼克还分析了奥匈帝国的行动迟缓，指出奥匈帝国的政治体制复杂，决策过程缓慢，这导致了对塞尔维亚问题的处理迟缓，并缺乏明确的战略目标和退出策略。 汤姆：汤姆对德国的“空白支票”进行了分析，指出德国对奥匈帝国的支持并非意味着德国渴望一场世界大战，而是基于对局势的误判和对盟友的责任感。汤姆还分析了奥匈帝国的军事动员准备不足，指出铁路网络和农业收割季节对军事行动造成影响，奥匈帝国的行动迟缓错过了迅速解决问题的最佳时机。 多米尼克：多米尼克详细分析了奥匈帝国和德国在做出对塞尔维亚采取行动的决定过程中的各种因素，包括奥匈帝国内部的分歧、对俄罗斯反应的低估、对自身处境的悲观以及对德国军事实力的依赖。他指出，奥匈帝国的决策过程缓慢而复杂，缺乏明确的战略目标和退出策略，最终导致了灾难性的后果。 汤姆：汤姆补充了多米尼克的观点，强调了奥匈帝国的内部矛盾和行动迟缓，以及他们对俄罗斯反应的低估。他指出，奥匈帝国的决策者们并没有充分认识到他们行动的严重性和潜在后果。 多米尼克和汤姆：多米尼克和汤姆共同探讨了德国和奥匈帝国在萨拉热窝事件后一系列决策背后的复杂动机和误判，以及这些决策如何将欧洲推向战争的边缘。他们分析了各种因素，包括个人情感、政治考量、军事战略和对国际局势的误判，并指出这些因素共同导致了第一次世界大战的爆发。

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In the wake of the cataclysmic assassination of Franz Ferdinand on the 28th of June 1914, in Austria, the long percolating question of what to do about Serbia, reached a climax. At last, they had been handed an opportunity to take decisive action. On Sunday 5th of July an emissary of the the old and embattled emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, arrived in a deserted Berlin with letters for Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. Their contents would change the course of world history forever. Originally received with uncharacteristic sanguinity and caution, the Kaiser returned from a hearty lunch that afternoon with a response to the emperor’s call for war against Serbia: Germany would back Austria absolutely, on top of which Wilhelm urged his ally to act with haste. What, then, were his motives? Was the Kaiser driven by a hunger for world domination, was it his hostility towards the British or was he spurred on by his personal sense of loss over the brutal assassination of his friend, and his wife? Whatever the case, Germany then issued Austria with the notorious Blank Cheque that would definitively set Europe upon the road to war.

Join Dominic and Tom as they plot out the events that followed from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and the first momentous steps towards a world war that even after the Austrian Ultimatum was finally handed to Serbia; none of the major players in that ruinous game, had any sense would take place…

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Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor

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