Essay On Blank Cheque

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28 July 1914 marked the first day of The First World War, which was in no way inevitable. It was the first major war of the industrial age, and the first ever war to be fought on a worldwide scale. A war that killed over thirty-seven million people1 and involving over 100 countries1 could have been avoided in various ways. Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Edward Grey, had the power to stop The First World War but made significant diplomatic mistakes that resulted in the British declaration of war on Germany on August 4 1914. Furthermore, the “Blank Cheque” that Germany offered to Austria-Hungary is what caused Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia in the first place, which means a withholding of the unconditional German support …show more content…
Austria-Hungary was willing to go to war with Serbia after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as long as they could be provided with Germany’s support of the situation. Germany, terrified of being encircled by the Triple Entente and confident that Russia would not intervene, offered unconditional support for Austria-Hungary in the event of a war with Serbia through a telegram, now known as the “Blank Cheque,” to Emperor Franz Joseph II. This guarantee from Germany is what prompted Austria-Hungary to officially declare war on Serbia, because the support would mean an immediate upper-hand over Serbia in the event of a war. If the “Blank Cheque” telegram was never sent to Franz Joseph II, Austria-Hungary would never have issued an ultimatum to Serbia, thus never causing Serbia to reject the ultimatum. The withholding of German support would have prevented Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war on Serbia, Russian mobilization which led to German declaration of war on Russia, and German declaration of war on France on 3 August. Furthermore, the German troops would have never crossed through Belgium to invade France, causing Britain to finally declare war on Germany on 4

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