Berchtold had delayed its delivery for as long as possible, but a bombshell of this kind was hard to suppress once it went off. Sazonov was too wrapped up in the diplomatic niceties of sending off Poincaré to be bothered with the news while still on board the France, but he was informed of the Italian attaché’s report about the delivery of an ultimatum to Serbia, and of the Austro-Hungarian ambassador’s demand for an urgent audience, before he turned in Thursday night. At seven AM, Schilling, Sazonov’s chief of staff, received further confirmation about the ultimatum in a telegram from the Russian consulate in Belgrade.1 By the time Sazonov arrived at the Foreign Ministry around ten AM on Friday, 24 July, he was primed and ready. “C’est la guerre Européenne!”—This means European war!—Sazonov exclaimed to Schilling as soon as he saw him. While his remark has become justly famous, it is usually mistaken for a spontaneous interjection, in reaction to shocking news (that is, his receipt of the Austrian ultimatum).
What do You think about July 1914: Countdown To War?
