0:01:34 > 0:01:36CHATTERING
0:01:55 > 0:01:58'I once calculated that the Foreign Office
0:01:58 > 0:02:01'receives 250 telegrams every hour.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07'That is 6,000 telegrams per day.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10'Or 42,000 each week...'
0:02:14 > 0:02:18You thought I was Persia, didn't you? I've been promoted!
0:02:18 > 0:02:23'..which comes to 2,190,000 telegrams every year.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26'Britannia rules the waves, I suppose.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30'And for that reason, we must welcome these tides of information.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34'Political crisis in Argentina.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37'The abolition of slavery in Siam, I love it.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39'It means that I am working at the centre of the world
0:02:39 > 0:02:43'and get to find out what is happening, as soon as it happens.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45'Well, within a few hours, anyway.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49'But, my word, it is an awful lot of telegrams!'
0:02:55 > 0:02:59- Could you do these promptly, Muriel? - Please?- Please!
0:02:59 > 0:03:01'This particular one though,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04received in London from His Britannic Majesty's Consul
0:03:04 > 0:03:09'in Sarajevo, on June 28, 1914. Well, I should be honest with you,
0:03:09 > 0:03:13'the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, murdered in Sarajevo.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17'Interesting, for sure, over breakfast,
0:03:17 > 0:03:19'but forgotten by tea-time.'
0:03:19 > 0:03:20Thank you.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23'Or so I thought. As did everyone else I spoke to.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29'But it was not forgotten. And I think it never will be.'
0:03:39 > 0:03:41'You know, it is a magical place,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44'and I have to pinch myself sometimes that I'm here.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46'Just two years on from Kings,
0:03:46 > 0:03:50'a second division clerk in the great, and, as some would have it,
0:03:50 > 0:03:52'independent kingdom of the Foreign Office.'
0:03:52 > 0:03:55What's in the box, Henry, lead piping?
0:03:55 > 0:03:58'Not much of a player, not yet, but a ringside seat
0:03:58 > 0:04:00'if you like your boxing.'
0:04:00 > 0:04:04Shoulders back. Doubtless that is for me, Alec.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06- It is, sir. - Well, let's take it into my office.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09'That's my boss, Sir Eyre Crowe.'
0:04:09 > 0:04:10So, what do we have?
0:04:10 > 0:04:14'The Assistant Undersecretary at the Foreign Office.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17'German born, educated in Berlin, but now,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20'he is more British than any one of us.'
0:04:20 > 0:04:21Well, well.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24'I have learned to watch Sir Eyre closely
0:04:24 > 0:04:28'because everyone knows he is a brilliant man. Including himself.'
0:04:28 > 0:04:32Do you know, I was about to predict something like this?
0:04:32 > 0:04:37'This man had come to Britain at 17, a German speaker still,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40'and sailed through his civil service examinations.'
0:04:40 > 0:04:43I thought so. Rash, rash, rash.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45'I think he likes me too.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47'I am a scholarship boy, you see.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50'A bit of an outsider myself.'
0:04:50 > 0:04:54Look at this. The 28th was the Serb holy day.
0:04:54 > 0:05:00- What a time for an Austrian archduke to go to Sarajevo.- It is rash, sir.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01Yes. Rash.
0:05:01 > 0:05:07- So... Is this important or not?- It is.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11- But important enough to disturb the Foreign Secretary?- Right now?
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Right now.
0:05:14 > 0:05:15No.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19CLOCK CHIMES
0:05:21 > 0:05:23I believe you may want to think about that one again.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25- KNOCK ON DOOR - Come.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30- I am leaving, Crowe, Is it urgent? - It's Bosnia, Foreign Secretary.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32I think that might wait.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Really? Come and walk me out then.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40'That is Sir Edward Grey, the Liberal Foreign Secretary.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43'As a statesman he was, we believed, trusted and admired.'
0:05:43 > 0:05:45The Mesopotamia minute.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49- And I shall need the Persian text first thing tomorrow.- Sir.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52- So who would want him dead? - Many people.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56Franz Ferdinand was an unpopular man and made enemies easily.
0:05:56 > 0:06:02- What does your stomach say? Croat? Muslim?- I doubt it.- Hungarian?
0:06:02 > 0:06:04- Hmm...possibly. - More likely to be a Serb, then?
0:06:04 > 0:06:08- That is where I would place my money. - Me too.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11The question is, how will the Austrians take it?
0:06:11 > 0:06:13You are going to give me a very brief
0:06:13 > 0:06:14but wonderfully incisive answer.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18The same way they take all their disappointments.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Hysterical condemnation, a baroque display of official grief
0:06:21 > 0:06:24- and a demand for financial compensation.- From?
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Oh, from whomever they can find to blame.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28We don't want it to be Serbia, do we?
0:06:28 > 0:06:32- No.- It would be messy. - It would...- Yes?
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Austria does have rather too many unruly Serbs within its own borders
0:06:36 > 0:06:38to go picking a fight with a whole lot more outside.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41- So do we need to worry? - We always need to do that.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43- But I should enjoy my supper? - Mm-hmm.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48BELL CHIMES
0:06:48 > 0:06:51'You know, Sir Edward might also have been
0:06:51 > 0:06:53'the unluckiest man in Britain.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57'His wife had recently died after being thrown by a horse.'
0:06:57 > 0:07:00- How is your boy doing? - Very well, sir.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02I hope to see him back here before long.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04'His elder brother had been eaten by a lion
0:07:04 > 0:07:08'and his younger brother would be mauled to death by a buffalo.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12'That is enough personal tragedy to finish a man,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16'but Grey bore it, somehow.'
0:07:16 > 0:07:20That dreadful man, Eyre Crowe, I'll wager he sees this
0:07:20 > 0:07:22as an opportunity to have a go at the Germans.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26Now, now, dear, Sir Edward has come here to relax, not to talk shop.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Oh, nonsense, he loves talking shop, you all do. Look at David over there.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Do you want him to recite Welsh poetry? No, you don't.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36You want him to relate some tittle-tattle from the Treasury!
0:07:36 > 0:07:40You can never distinguish between a dinner party and a cabinet meeting
0:07:40 > 0:07:42and much as we would all welcome
0:07:42 > 0:07:45your feminine wisdom in Cabinet, Margot, there is a difference!
0:07:45 > 0:07:47More's the pity!
0:07:47 > 0:07:52- But at least tell me this, Sir Edward, is it Serbia or Servia?- Oh!
0:07:52 > 0:07:56- B for "Barbarian", or V for "Villain"?- I am at a loss.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01- Some of our clerks type it up as B, others V.- The Times favours V.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Never. In the Manchester Guardian, it is B.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06And the News of the World says, "Who the hell cares?"
0:08:06 > 0:08:08- About the spelling?- About anything!
0:08:09 > 0:08:12I have no firm allegiance to either, Margot.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Well, you should get these things straight.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17A misspelt name is like a forgotten face. A grave insult.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21- Just the sort of thing men will go to war over.- Quite so!
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Those Serbs do appear to enjoy killing royalty, though.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28- We don't know it is the Serbs yet. - Yes, but Margot is quite correct.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31They are thrilled by violence, by the reality, not just the idea.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34- Winston's kind of people! - LAUGHTER
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Their own King Alexander
0:08:36 > 0:08:40stripped and butchered in the Royal bedchamber. His wife, too.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43Both of them thrown from open windows.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47It is the land of the blood feud. A contested will, pistols are drawn.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51An argument over a worthless plot of land, out come the knives.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54And the embittered past, always there -
0:08:54 > 0:08:56threatening to engorge the present.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Dear God, it sounds just like Ireland.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01- Please, can we NOT talk about that?!- Here, here.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Of course, my dear, except to say,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06that if I were Prime Minister instead of you,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09I'd have had the leaders of the Ulster Volunteer Force shot by now.
0:09:09 > 0:09:10I do believe she would!
0:09:10 > 0:09:14And anyone else bent on using guns to overturn the decisions
0:09:14 > 0:09:17- of the British House of Commons.- Ah, bloodshed.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21- The perfect solution to the Irish problem(!)- But there will be blood.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26You've all let it slide too far. The only question is, whose?
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Thank you, Margot.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33You have been keeping your cards close to your chest tonight,
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Sir Edward.
0:09:35 > 0:09:41So, please, give me something to take away.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43Ireland is not my department, Margot.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Oh, I am not talking about that.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Home rule will be resisted by Ulster, and the Tory leadership,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52and there will be a horrible civil war, that is obvious.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57Now, I want to know about the Sarajevo assassination.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01- Should I be worried? - Well, I don't see why.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06You see, now I am worried. I can read you like a book.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12Well, I do hope I am not so transparent to foreign diplomats.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17- So...what is the Foreign Office plotting?- "Plotting"?
0:10:17 > 0:10:21We all know you sit on a mountain of secrets.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25Nobody is plotting anything, Margot, but you have my assurance,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28if this country has anything to worry about
0:10:28 > 0:10:30you will be the first to be told.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33- Edward.- Thank you. - Good night, Winston.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35- Yes.- Edward.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37Good night, David.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Thank the Lord I am not married to her.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53If I had been, I'd be a widower by now. Sorry, Edward.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Damn careless of me.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00But I must say, I do hope it's not the Serbs.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Because if it is Austria won't be happy
0:11:03 > 0:11:08- until their army has been billeted in Belgrade.- I am not sure.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12And then we will have the Russians rattling their sabres.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15We don't want a Slav common front developing over this.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19I can't imagine Austria would be stupid enough to provoke that.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22CLANKING
0:11:23 > 0:11:26- Good night, Edward.- Good night.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29I am certain you will make us proud if you are called upon.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41You are still up, William. That wasn't necessary.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- It's me.- Crowe?
0:11:44 > 0:11:49- I was let in by your men. - What is it?
0:11:49 > 0:11:51I was right, it was a Serb.
0:11:55 > 0:12:01A young student, a fanatic, clearly, possibly an anarchist, I forget.
0:12:01 > 0:12:07Principo, I think. The details all are here, such as they are.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12I thought you would want to know before the morning papers.
0:12:12 > 0:12:13Thank you, Crowe.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22'The Archduke's assassin was Gavrilo Princip,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25'a Bosnian Serb, and a nonentity,
0:12:25 > 0:12:30'but a nonentity with a very powerful idea.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33'Princip believed that Bosnia should be part of the Kingdom of Serbia
0:12:33 > 0:12:35'and that it would take violence
0:12:35 > 0:12:38'to get rid of the province's Austrian overlords,
0:12:38 > 0:12:42'violence that he and his friends were willing to inflict.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47'And the victim they chose was this man.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49'The Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53'The heir to the Habsburg throne and the symbol of everything Princip
0:12:53 > 0:12:56'hated about Austrian rule -
0:12:56 > 0:13:00'its arrogance, its bullying, and...
0:13:00 > 0:13:04'Well, the sheer fact that it regarded the Serbs in the province
0:13:04 > 0:13:05'as an inferior race.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09'And it was madness for a Habsburg to visit Sarajevo
0:13:09 > 0:13:10'on this day of all days,
0:13:10 > 0:13:14'for the 28th was the most important date in the Serb calendar.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16'A day of holy mourning.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20'It would be like an English king going, in battle dress,
0:13:20 > 0:13:22'to Dublin on St Patrick's Day.
0:13:22 > 0:13:23'An act of self destruction.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28'Yet this fool might still have escaped.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31'The young assassins had lost their nerve and all Princip had seen
0:13:31 > 0:13:35'of the Archduke's car was a blur as it raced by.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39'He had retreated to a little cafe
0:13:39 > 0:13:44'and was no doubt contemplating what might have been.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47'But then...
0:13:47 > 0:13:51'by some perverse roll of the dice, the boy got a second chance.'
0:13:52 > 0:13:54- Back, back!- It is fine!
0:13:54 > 0:13:57'The Archduke's driver had got lost in the city's old town
0:13:57 > 0:14:02'and the car... Well, this makes me laugh and cry even now,
0:14:02 > 0:14:07'the car was stuck right outside Princip's coffee house.'
0:14:14 > 0:14:17DOGS BARK
0:14:17 > 0:14:19ENGINE REVS
0:14:19 > 0:14:21SHE GASPS
0:14:25 > 0:14:29'These shots, from this boy, they were loud in Sarajevo.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32'I promise you, they were even louder in Berlin.
0:14:43 > 0:14:49'For Austria was our ally and Franz Ferdinand was our friend.'
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Good morning.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54'For most of my colleagues in the Chancellery of the German Reich,
0:14:54 > 0:14:59'it was as if we ourselves had been shot.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05'There were very few like me in the Imperial Government.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10'I count myself a liberal
0:15:10 > 0:15:14'and liberalism is understood to be a kind of poison here.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25'I favour making the Fatherland a true democracy, too.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27'And that, should it ever become known,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30'would be enough to see me cashiered.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36'For this is a Prussian institution, still, not a German one.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43'And here is the man at the head of it -
0:15:43 > 0:15:47'the Imperial Chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg.'
0:15:47 > 0:15:50The Kaiser needs to know the title of the book,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53not the chapter and verse. This one.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56'Bethmann-Hollweg had spent a lifetime
0:15:56 > 0:15:58'in the Prussian civil service.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00'He was extremely competent
0:16:00 > 0:16:02'and he knew that the murder in Sarajevo
0:16:02 > 0:16:05'would affect our Kaiser personally.'
0:16:05 > 0:16:08- They were friends. - They were more than friends.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10They were hunting partners.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13What became of the antelope population of Bohemia?
0:16:13 > 0:16:17One day, perhaps, there are children who'll want to know the answer.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19You can tell them it was eliminated
0:16:19 > 0:16:21in the course of one glorious weekend
0:16:21 > 0:16:24by the Archduke and our Kaiser.
0:16:24 > 0:16:25They achieved that?
0:16:25 > 0:16:27It is impossible to kill so many living things
0:16:27 > 0:16:30and not effect a bond of some kind.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36'But Bethmann-Hollweg's special gift was for obedience.
0:16:38 > 0:16:39'Obedience to the right man.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43'Obedience to this man...
0:16:44 > 0:16:46'..Kaiser Wilhelm II.
0:16:48 > 0:16:49'You all know him.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53'The eldest grandson of Queen Victoria.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56'The withered left arm with which
0:16:56 > 0:16:59'he was yanked into life by a panic-stricken midwife.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03'The moustache pointing to heaven.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09'He was often a puzzle to us, though.'
0:17:11 > 0:17:14No crime greater.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18There is no crime greater.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Regicide attacks the apex of civilised life.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26When you kill a king
0:17:26 > 0:17:29you kill the order in which people find all meaning.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31- Your Majesty... - And these Serbs! I hate them!
0:17:33 > 0:17:34We all do.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39I know it's a sin to hate anybody and we ought not to do it.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42But we cannot help hating THEM!
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Tell them about the Browning.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55- The gun that was shot in Sarajevo. - Yes.
0:17:56 > 0:17:57Well.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01We don't know for certain, but it might appear...
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Ah! We know!
0:18:06 > 0:18:10The bullet displays markings of the Royal Serbian arsenal.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12That's what Vienna is telling us.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15It wasn't a deluded boy who fired the gun,
0:18:15 > 0:18:16it was the Serbian Government.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21It is possible the gun was stolen.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23It is fairly well known, I think,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26that practically every farm in Serbia has become
0:18:26 > 0:18:29a dump for pilfered weapons since the last Balkan war.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Good, Prince Lichnowsky.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39That is what they will want us to think.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43What does my Chancellor say?
0:18:43 > 0:18:47In terms of Imperial policy, sir,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50we first ought to see what line of thinking emerges from Vienna.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54In the meantime, we might sound out the Russians,
0:18:54 > 0:18:57for the obvious reason that they continue to see themselves
0:18:57 > 0:18:59as the "protectors of the Serbian nation".
0:18:59 > 0:19:02We know from experience that Russia gets nervous
0:19:02 > 0:19:05whenever there is a disturbance in the Balkans...
0:19:05 > 0:19:08Do you think that is an appropriate German response,
0:19:08 > 0:19:10to wait and see how Russia reacts?
0:19:12 > 0:19:14- I didn't quite say that, Your Majesty.- It's what you meant!
0:19:26 > 0:19:30The Austrians! They're our problem. Isn't that so?
0:19:30 > 0:19:33As soon as the corpse is buried, their courage will fail.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35And if it fails this time, she is finished.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39Every Serb, Croat, Polack, Transylvanian-Romanian-Negro-Gypsy
0:19:39 > 0:19:42in the Habsburg Empire, any race with a grievance,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45will pick up the gun and point it to the Austrian heart!
0:19:45 > 0:19:47We all know this, don't we?
0:19:50 > 0:19:51Well, don't we?
0:19:53 > 0:19:57That is why, this time, we must give Vienna some backbone.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02- Serbia must learn to fear the Habsburgs again.- Hear, hear.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05We should let Austria know that
0:20:05 > 0:20:08whatever she intends to do to the Serbs, we shall support her.
0:20:10 > 0:20:11Won't they still procrastinate?
0:20:11 > 0:20:15Not if Bethmann here tells them that our support is conditional
0:20:15 > 0:20:19on their taking immediate and decisive action against the Serbs.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Military action?
0:20:24 > 0:20:28Of course, military action! But it must be swift!
0:20:28 > 0:20:30None of their usual coming and going.
0:20:34 > 0:20:35Look at you!
0:20:36 > 0:20:38You're all worried about Russia.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Where the hell is Moltke when you need him?
0:20:47 > 0:20:50That was not a rhetorical question.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Well, General Moltke is still on vacation in Carlsbad, Your Majesty.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Oh. My Chief of Staff didn't think it worthwhile
0:20:57 > 0:21:00to break his holiday over this, like the rest of us?
0:21:01 > 0:21:04I have an appointment with him in two days' time, Your Majesty.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08And for the rest of you.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12Stop worrying about Russia.
0:21:15 > 0:21:16If there's one man in the world
0:21:16 > 0:21:19who detests regicide more than I do, it's the Tsar.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24God knows, his family has seen enough king-killers in its time.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Prince Lichnowsky, if you will.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38You will be returning to London soon?
0:21:38 > 0:21:39Tomorrow night, Your Majesty.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Yes, yes, tomorrow, that's right.
0:21:42 > 0:21:43You know, Max,
0:21:43 > 0:21:48what really matters is what our English cousins will say.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50They don't understand that, but we do.
0:21:52 > 0:21:53Look at this.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Do you know where this oak comes from?
0:21:58 > 0:22:02I suppose it... You're going to tell me it's from England.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05Oh, better than that Max. Much better than that.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09It's from the quarterdeck of Nelson's Victory.
0:22:09 > 0:22:10It's a gift from my grandmother.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14HE INHALES
0:22:14 > 0:22:16You can still smell the salt.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Do you know that Lord Nelson used to get sea-sick?
0:22:21 > 0:22:25I can get sea-sick, too. It's a damn shame for us sailors.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32Do you think Sir Edward Grey will be in a flap over what has happened?
0:22:32 > 0:22:35Oh, I have always found him to be very calm.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Easy to be, of course,
0:22:39 > 0:22:43when you have the deck of cards arranged just as you want it.
0:22:43 > 0:22:44That is true, sir.
0:22:46 > 0:22:47It is.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56And I'm pleased you think Edward Grey will be calm.
0:23:01 > 0:23:07Austria needs to be loved by the other great powers.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10She's gravely ill. We all know that.
0:23:10 > 0:23:11BELL CHIMES
0:23:11 > 0:23:14The best medicine is to get their soldiers
0:23:14 > 0:23:17in some foreign capital, just for a short while.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20The Serbs are wild animals.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23But you can tame them, and then you can order them around.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25They have a special talent for servility.
0:23:30 > 0:23:31You're my friend, Max.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35I picked you for London myself
0:23:35 > 0:23:37because I wanted somebody there who would tell me the truth.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Not just what I want to hear.
0:23:41 > 0:23:46Well, I believe Grey will look sympathetically
0:23:46 > 0:23:49on any Austrian effort to punish the assassins.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53But we should be aware that there is still something
0:23:53 > 0:23:58in the British mind that revolts against overweening force.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02Against the bully, if you will.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Especially in the Balkans.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08It is still the land of Lord Byron, in that respect.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14Yes, yes, of course.
0:24:14 > 0:24:20They see a large nation oppress a small one and it raises a...
0:24:20 > 0:24:22protective instinct, I suppose.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Unless Britain herself is the oppressor.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29And then they call it paternalism!
0:24:32 > 0:24:34There is some truth in that, sir.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37The hypocrisy of the English, Max!
0:24:37 > 0:24:39I don't know how you endure it.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53'Two days later, the Kaiser's belligerent thoughts about Serbia,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56'now written up into smooth prose,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59'were handed to the Austrian ambassador in Berlin.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03'Look at him. So smug.'
0:25:03 > 0:25:05Our respects to Vienna.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07'Why?
0:25:07 > 0:25:10'Because he's Hungarian nobility and that's their style?
0:25:12 > 0:25:15'Or maybe it's the Kaiser's astonishing document in his hand.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21' "We will back you", it said, "in whatever you choose to do".
0:25:23 > 0:25:26'We would all come to know the Kaiser's memorandum to Austria
0:25:26 > 0:25:27'as "the blank cheque".
0:25:29 > 0:25:33'But that phrase doesn't really do it justice. It implies a choice.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41'Whereas we were expecting, even requiring the Austrians
0:25:41 > 0:25:43'to open hostilities with Serbia.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50'Of course, the old Emperor in Vienna, Franz Joseph,
0:25:50 > 0:25:52'worked to his own stroke.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58'66 years he had sat on his throne.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04'What was urgency to a man like that?
0:26:06 > 0:26:09'Our blank cheque was meant to be cashed straightaway.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13'There was little chance of that.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15'Nothing happened.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19'It was as if the Balkans went back to sleep.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24'No guns were raised, no cannons were wheeled out.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26'No armies moved.'
0:26:30 > 0:26:34In my opinion, war's a certainty. Too many guns in circulation now
0:26:34 > 0:26:36to bring politics back into the equation.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Winston?
0:26:39 > 0:26:40Yeah, here's our problem.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44About 30,000 German rifles have been landed at Larne,
0:26:44 > 0:26:47County Antrim, in the past few months.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Now, we can get no help from the local authorities there,
0:26:49 > 0:26:53once those weapons are in the hands of the Ulster Volunteers.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Because the Ulster Volunteers ARE the local authorities?
0:26:56 > 0:27:00There's no greater opponent of Irish home rule than the Irish policeman.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03The ROYAL Irish Constabulary.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Unswervingly loyal to Westminster,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08until the moment they don't want to be.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12Our fairest chance is for me to put more ships into the Irish Sea
0:27:12 > 0:27:14to try and intercept the gun running.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16But, of course, it's the Nationalists, too, who...
0:27:19 > 0:27:21What is it, Edward?
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Ah, well, perhaps it's nothing.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Ah, well, it transpires that the assassins -
0:27:26 > 0:27:32the Sarajevo assassins - were trained in Belgrade.
0:27:32 > 0:27:33The Black Hand?
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Well, that's what they call themselves.
0:27:35 > 0:27:36It's a pantomime name.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39- Not pantomime blood, unfortunately. - Quite.
0:27:40 > 0:27:46Evidently the Black Hand has warrened the Serbian secret service,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50whose leading officers seem to be terrorists in all but name.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54I don't think the Serbian Prime Minister or his Cabinet
0:27:54 > 0:27:56knew anything of Princip
0:27:56 > 0:28:00- or indeed how far this Black Hand stretches.- Mm-hm.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02The Austrians know all this, presumably?
0:28:02 > 0:28:04According to our intercepts, they do.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Oh, well. That's good. Means they've absorbed the shock.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11- But still no official reaction from Vienna?- Nothing.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13So what do you think is happening?
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Well, I imagine that the Austrian and Serb governments
0:28:16 > 0:28:18have opened a private channel of communication
0:28:18 > 0:28:22and are sorting the problem out between themselves.
0:28:22 > 0:28:23But?
0:28:23 > 0:28:25But?
0:28:26 > 0:28:29I'm expecting you to say what you always say at this moment.
0:28:29 > 0:28:30Yes, yes?
0:28:32 > 0:28:33What do I always say?
0:28:33 > 0:28:37You wear what you imagine is your guileless face
0:28:37 > 0:28:42and you tell me that where central Europe is concerned,
0:28:42 > 0:28:46it is better to listen to what Berlin is saying than Vienna.
0:28:50 > 0:28:51- I do that? - Mm. And then you say...
0:28:51 > 0:28:55In fact, why don't you say it now while I get my things together?
0:28:55 > 0:28:57No, I know the face. You don't have to do that.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Just give me the words.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04I probably say something like, "Austria's reached the point
0:29:04 > 0:29:07"where she can do nothing in her foreign policy
0:29:07 > 0:29:09- "without consulting Germany first." - Mm-hm.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14But sometimes I go further than that
0:29:14 > 0:29:17and say, "Austrian policy is made in Berlin."
0:29:18 > 0:29:20- As you know.- Good.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22I'm glad you've got that off your chest.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25And you know I have an appointment
0:29:25 > 0:29:28on this beautiful summer's afternoon
0:29:28 > 0:29:31with the Invincibles,
0:29:31 > 0:29:35which not even the appearance of the German Navy in the Channel
0:29:35 > 0:29:37would stop me from attending.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40Very Francis Drake, Foreign Secretary.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43You know, Crowe, you should really take up cricket.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45It teaches one an awful lot about life.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48Prince Lichnowsky loves it.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58The cover drive! Ha-ha!
0:29:58 > 0:30:01You know, that's the finest sight in cricket.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03Oh, and in the whole field of sport, Edward?
0:30:03 > 0:30:06Quite so. Good to see you back, Max.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08I was sorry to miss your innings.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11- You mean you blinked?- Oh, it was over that quickly?
0:30:11 > 0:30:13Clean bowled, I'm afraid.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15Hardly saw it.
0:30:15 > 0:30:16Your eyes?
0:30:18 > 0:30:20No! It was just a very fast ball.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24Let's take a walk around the rope.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29I've been reassured by the Austrian silence.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32- I think that's a good sign, don't you?- I do.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34It suggests a very responsible approach,
0:30:34 > 0:30:36the Balkans being such a tinderbox.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38I agree.
0:30:40 > 0:30:41Ah! There's two there!
0:30:41 > 0:30:45Let's just speculate for a moment, if you don't mind.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50What do you think would happen if Austria decided to punish Serbia?
0:30:50 > 0:30:52- To punish her?- Teach her a lesson.
0:30:52 > 0:30:57Do you believe that Russia would come to the aid of the Serbs?
0:30:57 > 0:31:00Well, she might.
0:31:00 > 0:31:05And if that happened, would France have to follow Russia and...
0:31:05 > 0:31:10- Would Britain be bound to follow France?- Yes.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13- Would Britain be bound to follow France?- Yes, ah...
0:31:15 > 0:31:19You're trying to get me to say that if Russia cries help,
0:31:19 > 0:31:23a French gendarme and a British bobby will turn up on the doorstep.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25You're teasing me, Edward.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30I fear you are almost trying to tell me something, Max.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33But you do have an understanding with France.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36You know we do, just as we have one with Russia.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40But nothing that binds you in a crisis? We are still speculating.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42Yes, well, I have nothing to hide.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46His Majesty's Government has an obligation to Parliament
0:31:46 > 0:31:49not to incur secret liabilities abroad, you know that.
0:31:51 > 0:31:56I often think we are a little more open on that score than you are.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59I sometimes wonder what your Reichstag doesn't know.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01I'll tell you this, no speculation now.
0:32:01 > 0:32:06What happened last week much depends on Austria maintaining
0:32:06 > 0:32:08its sense of proportion.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11It's important that Serb sentiment isn't raised to a point where
0:32:11 > 0:32:16Russia finds it impossible to stand aside.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19APPLAUSE
0:32:19 > 0:32:21Good shot.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23- Edward?- Hm?- About your eyes?
0:32:23 > 0:32:25I told you, it was a very quick ball.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27Yes, of course.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32But the physician I mentioned in Nuremberg, the oculist,
0:32:32 > 0:32:34he can see you in August when you take your vacation.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38The whole thing would be very discreet.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45- Thank you, Max.- There are some secrets we have to keep.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49You know, Edward, we can take this to Parliament, share the load.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53No, I wouldn't want to do that. At least not yet.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57- The Commons has a right to know.- Of course.- And she will want to know.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01For the moment, I would like to keep it within the charmed circle.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05"Charmed circle"? I wonder who that might be.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07You've sacked the butler, have you, dear?
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Foreign Office? Crowe's cabal in the Foreign Office?
0:33:11 > 0:33:12Just you and Crowe?
0:33:12 > 0:33:17- Please, Margot. - One sugar or two.- Ah, oh... Two.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Diplomacy, all those silken phrases.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23Why don't you just come out and say what you mean for once?
0:33:23 > 0:33:28Why don't you say what you mean when you see a friend wearing a dress you don't like?
0:33:28 > 0:33:34- She does.- Well, some things are better not said.- Not even the truth?
0:33:34 > 0:33:37- Especially the truth. You never know who will misunderstand it.- Openness.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41We hear it from our backbenchers all the time, together with that
0:33:41 > 0:33:45other shibboleth, Democratic Foreign Policy.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50It wasn't so very long ago that democracy itself sounded risible.
0:33:50 > 0:33:56Can you imagine trying to conduct diplomacy under such conditions -
0:33:56 > 0:33:59for the clamour of popular passions?
0:33:59 > 0:34:02There would be dead bodies everywhere.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04We are the surgeons.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07We've seen most things, and I'm sorry if this sounds arrogant,
0:34:07 > 0:34:09we know how to use the knives.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11Oh.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Oh.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16KNOCK AT DOOR
0:34:18 > 0:34:19Oh!
0:34:19 > 0:34:21Do you have any chalk with you?
0:34:21 > 0:34:23This stuff doesn't seem to work properly.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25- I... I...- Of course you don't.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29It would be too strange if you did. Thank you for coming, Crowe.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33I've taken the liberty of ordering up a rather superb Elbling.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41He's odd, isn't he? Your boss.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47He's never been to Germany in all his time as Foreign Secretary.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51Not really. He hasn't been to Austria or Russia either.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54He says it allows him to keep an open mind
0:34:54 > 0:34:59and to play the ball, not the man, whatever that means.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02Sporting metaphors will be the death of us one day.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05I must confess I have never understood the British
0:35:05 > 0:35:07obsession with sport.
0:35:07 > 0:35:12Pursuing a rolling ball teaches you nothing apart from
0:35:12 > 0:35:14how to pursue a rolling ball.
0:35:14 > 0:35:15KNOCK AT DOOR
0:35:16 > 0:35:20You should be in no doubt, Crowe, there are some very important
0:35:20 > 0:35:22people who admire what you have done at the Foreign Office.
0:35:22 > 0:35:27It can't have been easy to educate the old guard about Germany.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31- There was a terrible blind spot there.- I am not popular.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34I'll bet you're not.
0:35:34 > 0:35:40No mandarin likes to be told they've been hoodwinked by a rogue.
0:35:40 > 0:35:45Sir Edward though, is a fair man. There is no grudge there.
0:35:45 > 0:35:46He is supremely fair.
0:35:46 > 0:35:51He truly believes in the role of honour in diplomacy.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55That's one thing a rogue can never forgive, outwit them by stealth
0:35:55 > 0:35:59or by deceit and they will grin and bear it, they might even admire you.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03But defeat them by acting honourably and they will burn for revenge.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08That's something cricket doesn't teach you.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11I think I'm correct in saying that I'm the only
0:36:11 > 0:36:15member of the entire Government who has spent some time with the Kaiser.
0:36:15 > 0:36:20- Most probably.- He looks on war as a child looks on war.
0:36:20 > 0:36:27He never got past the tin soldier stage, uniforms, naval signals,
0:36:27 > 0:36:32regimental colours, of actual warfare he knows nothing and fears the worst.
0:36:32 > 0:36:37- So we should treat him like a child? - In a manner of speaking, yes.
0:36:37 > 0:36:42The only gesture he will understand from Britain is the raised hand.
0:36:42 > 0:36:43That's what I think.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48You must have told Sir Edward this yourself?
0:36:48 > 0:36:50Hm...
0:36:50 > 0:36:53Politics is a curious business, isn't it?
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Who's strong? Who's weak and whatnot?
0:36:58 > 0:37:01I think it's better it comes from someone
0:37:01 > 0:37:04who doesn't constitute a threat...
0:37:15 > 0:37:17CHURCH BELLS RING
0:37:20 > 0:37:23'Where the hell is General Moltke when you need him?
0:37:23 > 0:37:27'That's what the Kaiser had asked his men in Berlin.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29'Well, here he was.'
0:37:29 > 0:37:31General? 'In Carlsbad.'
0:37:31 > 0:37:32Ah, a storm from Berlin!
0:37:32 > 0:37:34'Taking the cure.'
0:37:34 > 0:37:35You want a towel?
0:37:35 > 0:37:36No... Thank you.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38Someone get him one.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47'Every bit the Chief of the General Staff...
0:37:50 > 0:37:52'..even out of uniform.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57'And I will tell you something about this uniform.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04'The Chief of Staff is not a hereditary position in Germany,
0:38:04 > 0:38:08'but Moltke's uncle had worn it before him.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14'And in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the uncle had led
0:38:14 > 0:38:19'the German army that crushed France and occupied Paris...
0:38:22 > 0:38:25'What did the nephew think of that?
0:38:27 > 0:38:33'An example to follow? A burden to carry - both?'
0:38:36 > 0:38:40The Kaiser thinks the Russians will stand back and let the Austrian army
0:38:40 > 0:38:45enjoy the whore houses in Belgrade for a couple of weeks, doesn't he?
0:38:45 > 0:38:47He wants a victory without paying a price.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50Just a small victory - in a local war.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54But it can't happen. The Russians aren't that stupid.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56And let's stop pretending the Austrians are going to
0:38:56 > 0:38:58solve our problems for us.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00I agree.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03If we really wish to change the balance of power in the Balkans
0:39:03 > 0:39:08we ought to think about what kind of price we are prepared to pay.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11The German army isn't just there for decoration.
0:39:13 > 0:39:14So will you come back to Berlin?
0:39:14 > 0:39:18If I do that, everything will speed up.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20Precisely.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23But I don't want things to speed up, I want them to slow down.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25The longer things drag on with Serbia,
0:39:25 > 0:39:28the more agitated the Russians will get.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30With the Russians agitated,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33the less belligerent we shall appear in the weeks to come.
0:39:36 > 0:39:37I'm staying here for a while.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39Harder!
0:39:39 > 0:39:40Not so hard.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06You can't send your ultimatum
0:40:06 > 0:40:09because your soldiers are wanted at the harvest?
0:40:13 > 0:40:16What happened to the idea of farmers doing the harvest?
0:40:16 > 0:40:18MUFFLED LAUGHTER
0:40:18 > 0:40:21So the middle of August - five weeks?
0:40:21 > 0:40:24You will be ready in five weeks' time, brilliant!
0:40:24 > 0:40:29Do you think there's any chance the Serbs might discover
0:40:29 > 0:40:31what we're up to by then?
0:40:31 > 0:40:32And the Russians?
0:40:32 > 0:40:35Will they still be seething at the regicide in a month's time?
0:40:35 > 0:40:39Or will they be Serbia's gallant protector again?
0:40:41 > 0:40:43Do not sit down!
0:40:47 > 0:40:49This is Austria's last chance.
0:40:49 > 0:40:55So please, explain to your Emperor, using your own words, that unless
0:40:55 > 0:40:59action is taken against Belgrade in the next week it will be too late.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03Too late forever. You won't get another chance.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15It's like taking care of a pony.
0:41:15 > 0:41:16LAUGHTER
0:41:18 > 0:41:21BELLS RING
0:41:21 > 0:41:24'Quick to take offence, slow to act.
0:41:24 > 0:41:29'Isn't that always the way with people who stand on their dignity?
0:41:29 > 0:41:32'The same with nations.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36'Since the Archduke's assassination a whole three weeks
0:41:36 > 0:41:40'had passed before the Habsburg Emperor finally got round to
0:41:40 > 0:41:42'composing his ultimatum to Serbia.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50'But don't be fooled by this pathetic quadrille.
0:41:52 > 0:41:58'Austria was in no haste, but weak and decadent as she was,
0:41:58 > 0:42:02'her vindictiveness was...amazing.
0:42:04 > 0:42:05'In Berlin we waited...
0:42:09 > 0:42:11'We cursed the Austrians for their stupor.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16'And then... This!'
0:42:16 > 0:42:20It's inept. They might as well have just invaded.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22This makes them look unreasonable.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24'Unreasonable?
0:42:24 > 0:42:28'What Austria wanted from Serbia was complete humiliation!
0:42:30 > 0:42:34'In a police cell in faraway Sarajevo, the Austrians already had
0:42:34 > 0:42:36'the Archduke's assassin Gavrilo Princip -
0:42:36 > 0:42:40'he and his wretched comrades still dreaming of a greater Serbia.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46'And the boys had confessed to receiving shooting lessons
0:42:46 > 0:42:50'and a case of revolvers in Belgrade - but now Austria blamed
0:42:50 > 0:42:54'the entire Serb nation for their operation and its list of demands
0:42:54 > 0:42:58'on the Serbian Government was so extreme that, in meeting them,
0:42:58 > 0:43:01'the Serbs would have completely surrendered their sovereignty.'
0:43:04 > 0:43:07This is an astonishing ultimatum.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10- It is. - So much for Fermanagh and Tyrone.
0:43:10 > 0:43:12I wouldn't take your eyes off Ireland, gentlemen.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15I'm happy to. Such a dreary bog.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18I'd bet on an Irish war before I would a Balkan one... Sadly.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21But the Austrian ultimatum has been purposely designed to be
0:43:21 > 0:43:23rejected surely?
0:43:23 > 0:43:25It probably has. But that doesn't mean it will be.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28So, you have cause for hope?
0:43:28 > 0:43:32I know Serbia is in no shape to fight a war.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35Nor I understand is Russia.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38- Then they have no alternative but to negotiate.- Mm.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45Just keep them supplied with tea until Sir Edward's ready.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50Oh, and don't...don't let them speak to each other.
0:43:51 > 0:43:52How...how do I do that?
0:44:01 > 0:44:05'We'd gathered the principal ambassadors at the Foreign Office.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08'Prince Lichnowsky you know.
0:44:08 > 0:44:12'Count Benckendorff - German name, but the ambassador for Russia.
0:44:12 > 0:44:18'And the Times reader is Count Mensdorff of Austria.
0:44:19 > 0:44:24'They're all cousins. That's worth saying again...'
0:44:24 > 0:44:26The three cousins are here.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28Who would you like to see first?
0:44:28 > 0:44:30Austria - I suppose.
0:44:33 > 0:44:37Count Mensdorff, if you'd like to come this way.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41What is this country - Servia?
0:44:46 > 0:44:49My government, after a thorough police
0:44:49 > 0:44:52investigation into the murder of our Archduke Franz Ferdinand
0:44:52 > 0:44:56and his consort, have sifted through the accumulated evidence...
0:44:56 > 0:45:00Yes, yes, what I want to know is what you think of this ultimatum.
0:45:01 > 0:45:06"The Serb government should suppress any newspaper which creates
0:45:06 > 0:45:08"anti-Austrian feeling.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11"It must outlaw all pan-Serbian cultural societies.
0:45:11 > 0:45:16"It must rewrite its school textbooks to eliminate any negative
0:45:16 > 0:45:18"references to the Habsburg monarchy."
0:45:18 > 0:45:22What an extraordinary thing to demand of an independent country.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24Don't you agree?
0:45:24 > 0:45:27It's as though you imagine Serbia to be a little
0:45:27 > 0:45:29province in your own empire.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32I don't think that there is that assumption.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34Do you know what I said to Crowe here
0:45:34 > 0:45:36when I read this thing two hours ago?
0:45:37 > 0:45:41Oh, you said it was the most formidable document ever
0:45:41 > 0:45:44addressed by one state to another.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46Was that before or after I fell off my chair?
0:45:48 > 0:45:51It's designed to be rejected, isn't it?
0:45:51 > 0:45:52No, it is.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55Let's not act like children today.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58No government wishing to maintain its sovereignty
0:45:58 > 0:45:59could agree to these terms.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01There would be a revolution.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04They'd be overthrown by their own people. Is that what you want?
0:46:04 > 0:46:06We have no opinion on these...
0:46:06 > 0:46:11Because if it is, you'll be dealing with someone far worse in Belgrade.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15You'll get someone in charge who actually does hate you.
0:46:18 > 0:46:19(Point five.)
0:46:19 > 0:46:23Ah. Ah, yes. Point five.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27How will that be achieved?
0:46:27 > 0:46:32You demand the right for your own state officials to take
0:46:32 > 0:46:36an active role in policing anti-Austrian feeling in Serbia.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38There are many police forces
0:46:38 > 0:46:40co-operating over national boundaries these days.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42Give me strength.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47You've also given us 48 hours -
0:46:47 > 0:46:51well, that's 18 hours now - to use our influence
0:46:51 > 0:46:55and help Serbia move towards some of these demands.
0:46:59 > 0:47:04I have been instructed to ask you what position Britain would take
0:47:04 > 0:47:08if a conflict would break out between Austria and Serbia.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11There is a strong feeling in this country that
0:47:11 > 0:47:14Serbia shouldn't be humiliated.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16There's considerable admiration for her.
0:47:16 > 0:47:17There is.
0:47:17 > 0:47:18Is there?
0:47:18 > 0:47:21But, you know, I would very happily let you
0:47:21 > 0:47:25and the Serbs sort this mess out between the two of you.
0:47:25 > 0:47:30But I can't do that because we both know there is a danger that Russia
0:47:30 > 0:47:36will be drawn in and the British interest would become involved.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39To join forces with Russia?
0:47:39 > 0:47:41To mediate, you fool!
0:47:48 > 0:47:52Diplomacy is a branch of manners. That man has none.
0:47:54 > 0:47:58- BENCKENDORFF:- Russia is outraged by this, Sir Edward.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01We have our dignity too.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04And Serbia is a friend of ours.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09We can't let her be put on the end of an Austrian chain.
0:48:09 > 0:48:13I think that's a slightly fanciful image, Count Benckendorff.
0:48:13 > 0:48:19My government hopes you will support us as our trusted ally.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21It's quite true.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25We have co-operated well in recent years, especially in Asia,
0:48:25 > 0:48:27and that has been gratifying.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29But Afghanistan is not the Balkans.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31What are you saying?
0:48:31 > 0:48:35I'm saying I'm just warning you that nobody in England
0:48:35 > 0:48:37much cares about Serbia.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40It would infuriate the British people to know that even
0:48:40 > 0:48:42a single mule of ours
0:48:42 > 0:48:44had been sacrificed for a country
0:48:44 > 0:48:47most of them cannot place on a map.
0:48:47 > 0:48:48That is outrageous.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52I'm not saying it's commendable, I'm just outlining our difficulty.
0:48:52 > 0:48:54- Do you think this? - He agrees with me.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56Ah, the other thing, my dear Count.
0:48:56 > 0:48:58Please.
0:48:58 > 0:49:03I would urge Russia to steady its own horses.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06I mean, Austria has put Serbia in an impossible position,
0:49:06 > 0:49:08I appreciate that.
0:49:08 > 0:49:12But it will be easier for me to play the mediator
0:49:12 > 0:49:15if you are not already locked into their quarrel.
0:49:21 > 0:49:22You do understand that?
0:49:28 > 0:49:30I'll get Prince Lichnowsky.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33I can't stay in here any longer. I need air.
0:49:33 > 0:49:34Good idea. We can use the garden.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37Actually, I'd like to see the prince alone.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48You really didn't know?
0:49:48 > 0:49:52I discovered its contents at exactly the same time as you did.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55Because I thought you were testing me at the cricket.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58No-one in Germany knew what was in the ultimatum,
0:49:58 > 0:50:02- but a few people did know there'd be one.- I see.
0:50:02 > 0:50:07And did Germany encourage Austria to be militant
0:50:07 > 0:50:10in drawing up that ultimatum?
0:50:10 > 0:50:13I can't answer that, Edward.
0:50:13 > 0:50:14Because you don't know?
0:50:14 > 0:50:16I can't answer that either.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22Ah, what do you think the Kaiser will think when he reads it?
0:50:22 > 0:50:24He's currently on holiday, isn't he?
0:50:24 > 0:50:29Yes, he is. He's definitely on holiday. I believe he gets back...
0:50:29 > 0:50:31Yeah, no matter.
0:50:31 > 0:50:35But you say you were as ignorant of the actual contents
0:50:35 > 0:50:37of the ultimatum as we were?
0:50:37 > 0:50:43So, tell me, man to man, now you've seen it, what do you think?
0:50:46 > 0:50:51What I think of it is probably what you think of it.
0:50:53 > 0:50:54DOOR OPENS
0:51:00 > 0:51:02I think the Germans are playing with us.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04I realise that.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07So why don't we send out a signal that we are not to be played with?
0:51:07 > 0:51:10I meant I realise that's what you think.
0:51:10 > 0:51:12What, I'm wrong?
0:51:12 > 0:51:17There's this curious defect somewhere, Crowe.
0:51:19 > 0:51:20In me?
0:51:20 > 0:51:22In the way you operate.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24You're always so eager to hold Germany
0:51:24 > 0:51:26to an inappropriate moral standard.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28Perhaps it comes from being an intellectual.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32- Or perhaps because I was born in Germany?- I didn't say that. - You're thinking it.- No, I'm not.
0:51:34 > 0:51:39But like all abstract thinkers, you have your idee fixe,
0:51:39 > 0:51:43your obsession. We can't afford obsessions.
0:51:43 > 0:51:48We've developed a sophisticated diplomatic machine over the years.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50It's not perfect but it keeps the peace.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53Villains get caught in its moving parts,
0:51:53 > 0:51:56those who don't abide by the rules get spat out.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58Well, you know this.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00At least you used to.
0:52:01 > 0:52:08Since this morning, we have but one task -
0:52:08 > 0:52:13to get the interested nations talking to each other.
0:52:13 > 0:52:17Those with poisonous motives will be exposed, the machine will be
0:52:17 > 0:52:24greased - by me, by others - and it will operate as it did before.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES
0:52:35 > 0:52:37BELLS RING
0:52:48 > 0:52:50- You look well, Moltke.- £20.
0:52:50 > 0:52:51Carlsbad has worked its magic.
0:52:54 > 0:52:58The Kaiser will be excited about the Austrian ultimatum.
0:52:58 > 0:52:59Mmm, yes, I think he will be.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02Because he won't know what it means.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05Well, he's finally getting his little Balkan war.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09Yes, he'll get that. He'll sit there contemplating that harmless
0:53:09 > 0:53:13little acorn of his, but acorns have a habit of growing.
0:53:14 > 0:53:18The little Balkan war will not remain a little Balkan war forever.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22The problem with our Kaiser is
0:53:22 > 0:53:26that he only ever plans one move ahead.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29Well, he's absolutely certain that the Russians will not
0:53:29 > 0:53:30come to the aid of Serbia.
0:53:30 > 0:53:35And he's right, but they will mobilise their army
0:53:35 > 0:53:36and that will be enough.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39But why on earth would they do that?
0:53:39 > 0:53:41I will leave them with no other choice.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49BICYCLE BELL RINGS
0:53:58 > 0:53:59It's not like you to sulk, Crowe.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02I am not sulking.
0:54:02 > 0:54:03And now you're offended.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05No, I'm not.
0:54:05 > 0:54:07You'll feel better tomorrow
0:54:07 > 0:54:11when the hysteria subsides and the Balkans becomes boring again.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14For that matter, oh, so will I.
0:54:16 > 0:54:17And Germany?
0:54:17 > 0:54:22Look, 20 minutes of sunshine left.
0:54:24 > 0:54:25My favourite part of the day.
0:54:28 > 0:54:29Good night.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31Good night, Foreign Secretary.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42Hm, early night for once, unlike you, I'm afraid.
0:54:42 > 0:54:43Nice to see you're fitting in.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07BELL CHIMES
0:56:14 > 0:56:15- Lovely evening.- Sir.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36Austria doesn't want to talk. She wants a war in the Balkans.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40A quick, clean war. Over before the Russians know it's even begun, yes?
0:56:40 > 0:56:41It's the Russian army.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44The Tsar appears to have ordered a section of it facing
0:56:44 > 0:56:46the Austrian Empire to mobilise.
0:56:46 > 0:56:51When you are so close together, it is difficult to avoid friction.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54Now is the time to put British power into the scales.
0:56:54 > 0:56:58If the iron dice roll, may God help us.
0:56:58 > 0:57:00You want to invade France?
0:57:00 > 0:57:02I will tell you this, Britain will not stay neutral.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04Britain is not capable of getting involved.
0:57:04 > 0:57:06The English are liars.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09Are you going to wait until France is violated before you act?
0:57:09 > 0:57:12The whole world will be thrown into chaos!