Austrian Red Book. Part I. (Allen and Unwin. 3s. CKI.
net.) --The origins of the war, from the Austrian standpoint, are unveiled in this collection of Austrian diplomatic documents, translated into indifferent English and printed at the National Printing Office, Vienna. The documents range from July 2nd to July 23rd, 1914. Count Berchtold was the chief advocate of war with Serbia. The late Count Tisza, on the other hand, strove hard to make his frivolous colleagues realize the danger of an aggressive policy, and urged them to try diplomacy, especially with a view to a Bulgarian alliance. But the German Emperor's promise of full support to Austria on July 5th, 1914, and his expressed opinion that Austria's action against Serbia " must not be delayed," were decisive. Count Tisza had to be content with a vague promise that Austria would not annex any substantial part of Serbia. The documents show in detail how the Austrian Foreign Office prepared for the issue of the ulti- inatunt of July 23rd, 1914, and how the breach with Italy dated from the moment when Austria's dastardly plot against Serbia became known in Rome.
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