25:
45:
327:) believed the telegram was very important. Paléologue, Beck, and some other authors accused Wilhelm in that he had not supported the proposal of Nicholas to submit the Austro-Serbian problem to the Hague Tribunal for adjustment, and thus abandoned the chance for a peaceful resolution to this problem.
371:
The second telegram was actually written first (by
Wilhelm) and dated 28 July, but it was not sent until 1:45 a.m. on the 29th, 45 minutes after Nicholas sent the first telegram. The two messages crossed one another in transmission. (A similar crossing occurred in the transmission of the seventh and
251:
I foresee that very soon I shall be overwhelmed by the pressure forced upon me and be forced to take extreme measures which will lead to war. To try and avoid such a calamity as a
European war I beg you in the name of our old friendship to do what you can to stop your allies from going too far.
330:
A "flurry of telegrams" between
Wilhelm and Nicholas led to the cancellation of Russian general mobilisation by the latter on 29 July, but under pressure from Sazonov this was resumed two days later, and on 1 August 1914, both Germany and Russia found themselves at war.
261:
Immediate affirmative clear and unmistakable answer from your government is the only way to avoid endless misery. Until I have received this answer alas, I am unable to discuss the subject of your telegram. As a matter of fact I must request you to immediatly
256:
Ultimately, the correspondence changes tone and the two leaders warn each other of impending mobilisation due to factors out of their control, while retaining the notion that mobilisation does not mean war. An excerpt of the last telegram (1 August 1914):
280:
Thanks for your telegram conciliatory and friendly. Whereas official message presented today by your ambassador to my minister was conveyed in a very different tone. Beg you to explain this divergency! It would be right to give over the Austro-servian
303:, the German Foreign Office omitted this telegram in publishing the correspondence between Wilhelm and Nicholas. After the publication of this telegram by the Russian government on 31 January 1915 in the Official Gazette
276:, and on into the interwar years, and beyond. In recent years academic historians have reassessed the exchange. They paid special attention to the telegram of Nicholas dated July 29, 1914, 8:20 p.m.:
764:
The
Evidence in the Case. A Discussion of the Moral Responsibility for the War of 1914, as Disclosed by the Diplomatic Records of England, Germany, Russia, France, Austria, Italy and Belgium
512:
The
Evidence in the Case. A Discussion of the Moral Responsibility for the War of 1914, as Disclosed by the Diplomatic Records of England, Germany, Russia, France, Austria, Italy and Belgium
312:
1478:
236:, a pamphlet of official documents published to justify the German government's position after the outbreak of war. The term "Willy-Nicky Telegrams" is derived from
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875:
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The telegrams start with a plea from
Nicholas to Wilhelm to try to stop the serious developments that led up to World War I. An excerpt (29 July 1914, 1 a.m.):
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published in 1918 which revealed the personal telegraphic correspondence between the two emperors during the period of June 1904 to August 1907.
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consist of 75 messages
Wilhelm sent to Nicholas between 8 November 1894 (Letter I) and 26 March 1914 (Letter LXXV). The majority were sent from
1483:
1224:
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James Oliver
Murdock, Harold J. Tobin, Henry S. Fraser, Francis O. Wilcox and Willard B. Cowles. "International Judicial Settlement Trends"
124:
104:
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and were accustomed to calling each other "Willy" and "Nicky" but would use their counterparts' formal names in formal communications.
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consist of a series of ten messages wired between
Wilhelm and Nicholas on 29, 30 and 31 July and 1 August 1914. Their source is
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The Willy-Nicky
Correspondence: Being the Secret and Intimate Telegrams Exchanged between the Kaiser and the Tsar.
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268:] order your troops on no account to commit the slightest act of trespassing over our frontiers. Willy
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Letters from the Kaiser to the Czar: Copied from government archives in Petrograd unpublished before 1920
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In this telegram, on 29 July 1914, Nicholas suggested submitting the Austro-Serbian problem to the
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287:] problem to the Hague conference. Trust in your wisdom and friendship. Your loving Nicky
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Proceedings of the American Society of International Law at Its Annual Meeting (1921-1969)
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Representatives of belligerent nations discussed the telegrams during the war, during the
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Das Deutsche Weißbuch über den Ausbruch des deutsch-russisch-französischen Krieges
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explained that they regarded this telegram as too "unimportant". In contrast, the
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Wilhelm II and Nicholas II were third cousins (both were great-great-grandsons of
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99:) as well as being second cousins once removed (both were descended from
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Series of letters and telegrams between the German and Russian emperors
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The German White Book on the Outbreak of the German-Russian-French War
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And which, therefore, does not include the telegrams discussed here.
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189:
67:
was a series of messages (letters and telegrams) relayed between
432:), mistakenly cite the book edited in 1920 by Isaac Don Levine,
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669:. New York: 1967; Moscow 2003 (pp. 84, 320 in Russian edition)
600:
Paris: Plon-Nourrit, 1922. (Chapter XII); Maurice Paléologue.
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752:(Volume I, 1894-1939). Moscow: AST Publishers, 2010 (p. 291)
844:- Full text at www.gwpda.org (World War I Document Archive)
416:
The Diplomacy of the War of 1914: The beginnings of the war
816:"The Willy-Nicky Telegrams - World War I Document Archive"
551:
F. L. Paxson, E. S. Corwin, S. B. Harding and G. S. Ford.
212:, they were transcribed by Russian-American journalist
111:
of the United Kingdom. Nicholas was a grandson of King
103:). Wilhelm was also a first cousin of Nicholas's wife,
805:(Volume 1, Chapter VIII)(see Sunday, January 31, 1915)
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Volume 1, Chapter VIII (see Sunday, January 31, 1915)
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799:Chapter XII pp.309-335 Georges Maurice Paléologue.
616:My Mission to Russia and other diplomatic memories
123:of the United Kingdom, as his mother, the Empress
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562:Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific, 2004)
850:- Full text at the World War I Document Archive
542:New York: Charles Scribner's sons. (pp.132-133)
430:Some sources (e.g. World War I Document Archive
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597:La Russie des Tsars pendant la grande guerre
739:. Cambridge University Press, 2003 (p. 514)
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574:Handbook of War Facts and Peace Problems
419:. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 252.
208:. Discovered in the Russian archives in
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785:. Moscow: International Relations, 1991
735:Richard F. Hamilton, Holger H. Herwig.
686:The First World War: A Complete History
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220:(New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1920).
160:, and others from places as diverse as
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885:International relations (1814–1919)
724:The First World War, Vol I: To Arms
632:. London: Charles Scribner's Sons,
434:Letters from the Kaiser to the Czar
560:A Handy Reference on the Great War
554:A Handy Reference on the Great War
397:The World War I Document Archive:
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588:"Tsarist Russia during World War"
436:, as the source of the telegrams.
130:The two emperors corresponded in
127:, was Queen Alexandra's sister.
101:Frederick William III of Prussia
43:
23:
783:Tsarist Russia during World War
83:during the first months of the
238:The Willy-Nicky Correspondence
1:
1255:Kronstadt–Toulon naval visits
1209:1917 Franco-Russian agreement
1199:Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty
791:. Paris: Plon-Nourrit, 1922.
750:History of Russia. XX Century
372:eighth telegrams on 31 July.)
107:, and the eldest grandson of
1115:Second Industrial Revolution
989:League of the Three Emperors
1145:Treaty of Versailles (1871)
780:Georges Maurice Paléologue
648:Vol. 34, (May 13–15, 1940)
451:www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
321:French Ambassador in Russia
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628:Winston Churchill. (1931)
65:Willy–Nicky correspondence
1015:European balance of power
848:The Willy-Nicky Telegrams
470:Bernstein, Herman (1918)
348:"The Willy-Nicky Letters"
240:, the title of a book by
216:and published in 1920 as
1484:Germany–Russia relations
1306:Venezuela Naval Blockade
977:Anglo-Russian Convention
737:Origins of World War One
313:Russian Foreign Ministry
1311:Alaska boundary dispute
984:Anglo-Japanese Alliance
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842:The Willy-Nicky Letters
802:An ambassador's memoirs
602:An ambassador's memoirs
592:International Relations
571:Arthur L. Frothingham.
113:Christian IX of Denmark
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667:Nicholas and Alexandra
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196:(where Wilhelm had a
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613:G. Buchanan. (1923)
517:The War and Humanity
411:Stowell, Ellery Cory
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1110:Great Rapprochement
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705:The First World War
474:. Knopf, New York.
305:Governmental Herald
144:Willy-Nicky letters
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1162:Reinsurance Treaty
1140:Congress of Vienna
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539:Fighting for peace
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319:), as well as the
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447:"First World War"
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