DANCE OF THE FURIES D A N C E O F T HE F UR IE S EUROPE AND THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR I Michael S. Neiberg the belknap press of harvard university press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, En gland 2011 Copyright © 2011 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Neiberg, Michael S. Dance of the furies : Europe and the outbreak of World War I / Michael S. Neiberg. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-674-04954-3 (alk. paper) 1. World War, 1914–1918—Causes. 2. World War, 1914–1918—Diplomatic history. I. Title. D511.N347 2011 940.3′11—dc22 2011001209 For my parents, Larry and Phyllis Neiberg, with love CONTENTS Introduction 1 1 A Clap of Thunder in the Summer Sky 10 2 Background to Sarajevo, 1905–1914 36 3 The Delivery of the Austro- Hungarian Ultimatum 66 4 Drifting into War against Her Will 93 5 The Coming of a Great Storm 121 6 Our Families Will Be Their Victims 150 7 Hardening Attitudes 180 8 An Evil Dance of the Furies 208 Conclusion 234 Notes 239 Acknowledgments 285 Index 287 (Illustrations follow page 120) ` DANCE OF THE FURIES