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| 1914, June 15 |
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| An Anglo-German agreement was initialed. This settled the Baghdad Railway problem, the Germans promising not to construct the line south of Baghdad and recognizing Britain's preponderant interests in the shipping on the Euphrates. The agreement reflected a real desire on both sides to remove many outstanding colonial difficulties. | 1 |
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| June 28 |
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| ASSASSINATION OF THE ARCHDUKE FRANCIS FERDINAND at Sarajevo. The assassin was Gavrilo Princip. He and other young Bosnian revolutionaries acted as agents of the Serbian society Union or Death (The Black Hand), a terrorist organization founded in 1911 for agitation against Austria on behalf of Serbian aspirations. The Serbian government was cognizant of the plot, but did little to prevent its consummation or to warn the Austrian government. The Vienna government, though convinced of the complicity of Serbia, was intent on making a tight case and sent a legal expert to Sarajevo to collect evidence. | 2 |
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| July 5 |
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| Mission of Count Alexander Hoyos to Berlin. He took the memorandum of June 24 on the Balkan situation, to which had been added some remarks on the need for settling, once and for all, the intolerable activity of the Serbs. Both the emperor and Bethmann recognized the justice of the Austrian stand, promised support (the Blank Check) and urged that steps be taken while world opinion was favorable. The Germans evidently regarded a localized settlement as possible, and believed the Russians too unprepared to take an extreme stand. | 3 |
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| July 7 |
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| Austrian crown council. Most of the members favored war against Serbia, but this course was opposed by the Hungarian premier, Count Stefan Tisza, who insisted on diplomatic action to avoid larger European complications. | 4 |
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| July 13 |
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| Baron Friedrich von Wiesner, sent to collect evidence, reported that he had been unable to find conclusive evidence of Serbian complicity, though the part played by members of the Black Hand was clear. | 5 |
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| July 14 |
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| Austrian crown council. Tisza was won over to a policy of warlike action, on condition that no Serbian territory should be annexed by Austria. | 6 |
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| July 20–23 |
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| Visit of President Poincaré and Premier René Viviani of France to St. Petersburg. Agreement to invite Britain to join with France and Russia in pressure on Vienna, though the Austrian demands on Serbia were not yet known, except in a vague way. The French apparently disregarded the merits of the case and took the whole matter as a test of the solidarity of the entente in face of action by the Triple Alliance. | 7 |
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| July 23 |
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| Austrian ultimatum to Belgrade (48 hours). This had been ready on July 20, but had been held back until Poincaré should have left St. Petersburg. It demanded suppression of publications hostile to Austria; dissolution of patriotic organizations engaged in anti-Austrian propaganda; cessation of propaganda in the schools; dismissal of officials accused by Austria of propaganda; collaboration of Austrian with Serbian officials in the inquiry regarding responsibility for the assassination; judicial proceedings against those accessory to the plot; arrest of two Serbian officials known to be involved; explanations and apologies. | 8 |
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| July 24 |
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| First formulation of Russian policy: Serbia must not be attacked and devoured by Austria. | 9 |
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| July 25 |
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| Austrian assurances to Russia that no Serbian territory would be annexed. A Russian crown council decided on first military measures against Austria, to be followed by war if Serbia was attacked. French assurances of support were given to Russia. | 10 |
| The Serbian reply to the Austrian ultimatum, generally favorable at first sight, was actually evasive. The crucial point VI was rejected. The Serbian reply may have been due to reports from St. Petersburg of Russia's decision to support Serbia. On reception of the Serb reply, the Austrian minister at once left Belgrade. Serbia had ordered mobilization against Austria even before making the reply. Austria at once mobilized against Serbia. | 11 |
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| July 26 |
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| Grey proposed a conference to deal with the Austro-Serb issue. France accepted; Austria refused to submit a question of national honor to the decision of others; Germany also refused an international discussion of the Austrian claims, though ready for a conference to deal with the Austro-Russian tension; Russia accepted the Grey proposal in principle, though preferring direct conversations with Vienna, which had been initiated. | 12 |
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| July 27 |
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| First French preparatory measures. The British fleet was ordered not to disband after maneuvers. Grey promised Russia diplomatic support and did nothing to hold Russia back from further steps. | 13 |
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