Leaders of the first six Allies: King Peter of Serbia, King George V of Great Britain, President Poincaré of France, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, King Albert of Belgium, and Nicholas of Montenegro.

1914 Conflit Europeen 1914



S. M. Pierre I, Roi de Serbie; S. M. George V, Roi d'Angleterre; M. Poincaré, President de la République Français; S. M. Nicolas, Roi de Montenegro; S. M. Nicholas II, Empereur de Russie, S. M. Albert I, Roi des Belges

E. LE Delev, Imp. Edit. 127, Boul. de Sebastopol, Paris

Logo: ELD



His Majesty Peter I, King of Serbia; His Majesty George V, King of England; Monsieur Poincaré, President of the French Republic; His Majesty Nicolas, King of Montenegro; His Majesty Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia, His Majesty Albert I, King of the Belgians

Other views: Larger, Larger

Tuesday, July 21, 1914

"'With a little good will this Serbian business is easy to settle. But it can just as easily become acute. Serbia has some very warm friends in the Russian people. And Russia has an ally, France. There are plenty of complications to be feared!' Then he thanked the Ambassador for his call. Szápáry bowed and went out without a word.

When we three were alone again Poincaré said:

'I'm not satisfied with this conversation. The ambassador had obviously been instructed to say nothing. . . . Austria has a coup de théatre in store us. Sazonov must be firm and we must back him up.'"

Quotation Context

The speaker is French President Poincaré who was in Russia on a state visit on July 21, 1914. He was hosting a reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps at the Winter Palace when he had an exchange with Austrian Ambassador Szápáry. Earlier in their exchange Poincaré had asked if the Ambassador had news of Serbia, to which Szápáry replied, 'The judicial inquiry is proceeding.' Szápáry found the French president's attitude 'threatening.'

Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador to St. Petersburg, was one of the two who were left alone with Poincaré.

Source

The Origins of the War of 1914, Volume Two: The Crisis of July 1914 from the Sarajevo outrage to the Austro-Hungarian general mobilization by Luigi Albertini, 193, 194, publisher: Oxford University Press, publication date: 1952

Tags

Raymond Poincaré, Poincaré, Poincare, Nicholas II