The crisis was caused not by the assassination but rather by the decision in Vienna to use it as a pretext for a war with Serbia that many in the Austrian and Hungarian governments had long advocated. In 1495, the Venetian Aldus Manutius began using the newly invented printing press to produce small, inexpensive, pocket editions of Greek, Latin, and vernacular literature, making knowledge in all disciplines available for the first time to a wide audience. Britain had an understanding and military and naval planning agreements with France, but no formal treaty obligations. Taking up a strong defensive position at Stradella, he confidently awaited an attempt by the Austrian army to fight its way out.

Only the socialists were holdouts, warning that war was a capitalist ploy and should be avoided by the working class.They worked hard to defeat the conscription proposal, often in cooperation with middle-class pacifists and women's groups, but were outvoted. The first of these color books to appear, was the German White Book [38] which appeared on 4 August 1914, the same day as Britain's war declaration [39] but France held back for months, only releasing the French Yellow Book in response on 1 December 1914. There was a false assumption that if France were kept in the dark, it would still have a moderating influence and thus localise the war.

Further, the Prussians, finding that the campaign had been longer and more costly than predicted, decided that the cost and risk of continued fighting was too great and, with winter approaching, they decided to retreat from France to preserve their army. a b There's A Riot Going On: Revolutionaries, Rock Stars, and the Rise and Fall of '60s Counter-Culture, 2007. Again the Austrians divided their effort, sending Davidovich's corps from the north while Alvinczi's main body attacked from the east. D. A History of the Commencement, Progress, and Termination of the Late War between Great Britain and France which continued from the first day of February 1793 to the first of October 1801.

The War of the Second Coalition began in 1798 with the French invasion of Egypt, headed by Napoleon. German Foreign Minister Gottlieb von Jagow noted that "there is certain to be some blustering in St Petersburg".