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CHATTERING

'I once calculated
that the Foreign Office

'receives 250 telegrams
every hour.

'That is 6,000 telegrams per day.

'Or 42,000 each week...'

You thought I was Persia,
didn't you? I've been promoted!

'..which comes to 2,190,000
telegrams every year.

'Britannia rules the waves,
I suppose.

'And for that reason, we must
welcome these tides of information.

'Political crisis in Argentina.

'The abolition of slavery
in Siam, I love it.

'It means that I am working
at the centre of the world

'and get to find out what is
happening, as soon as it happens.

'Well, within a few hours, anyway.

'But, my word, it is
an awful lot of telegrams!'

Could you do these promptly, Muriel?
Please? Please!

'This particular one though,

received in London from
His Britannic Majesty's Consul

'in Sarajevo, on June 28, 1914.
Well, I should be honest with you,

'the Archduke Franz Ferdinand,
murdered in Sarajevo.

'Interesting, for sure, over
breakfast,

'but forgotten by tea-time.'

Thank you.

'Or so I thought.
As did everyone else I spoke to.

'But it was not forgotten.
And I think it never will be.'

'You know, it is a magical place,

'and I have to pinch myself
sometimes that I'm here.

'Just two years on from Kings,

'a second division clerk in the
great, and, as some would have it,

'independent kingdom
of the Foreign Office.'

What's in the box, Henry,
lead piping?

'Not much of a player, not yet,
but a ringside seat

'if you like your boxing.'

Shoulders back.
Doubtless that is for me, Alec.

It is, sir.
Well, let's take it into my office.

'That's my boss, Sir Eyre Crowe.'

So, what do we have?

'The Assistant Undersecretary
at the Foreign Office.

'German born,
educated in Berlin, but now,

'he is more British than
any one of us.'

Well, well.

'I have learned to watch Sir Eyre
closely

'because everyone knows he is
a brilliant man. Including himself.'

Do you know, I was about to
predict something like this?

'This man had come to Britain at 17,
a German speaker still,

'and sailed through his
civil service examinations.'

I thought so. Rash, rash, rash.

'I think he likes me too.

'I am a scholarship boy,
you see.

'A bit of an outsider myself.'

Look at this.
The 28th was the Serb holy day.

What a time for an Austrian archduke
to go to Sarajevo. It is rash, sir.

Yes. Rash.

So...
Is this important or not? It is.

But important enough to disturb
the Foreign Secretary? Right now?

Right now.

No.

CLOCK CHIMES

I believe you may want to think about
that one again.

KNOCK ON DOOR
Come.

I am leaving, Crowe, Is it urgent?
It's Bosnia, Foreign Secretary.

I think that might wait.

Really? Come and walk me out then.

'That is Sir Edward Grey,
the Liberal Foreign Secretary.

'As a statesman he was,
we believed, trusted and admired.'

The Mesopotamia minute.

And I shall need the Persian text
first thing tomorrow. Sir.

So who would want him dead?
Many people.

Franz Ferdinand was an unpopular man
and made enemies easily.

What does your stomach say? Croat?
Muslim? I doubt it. Hungarian?

Hmm...possibly.
More likely to be a Serb, then?

That is where I would place my money.
Me too.

The question is,
how will the Austrians take it?

You are going to give me
a very brief

but wonderfully incisive answer.

The same way they take all
their disappointments.

Hysterical condemnation,
a baroque display of official grief

and a demand for financial
compensation. From?

Oh, from whomever they can find
to blame.

We don't want it to be Serbia,
do we?

No. It would be messy.
It would... Yes?

Austria does have rather too many
unruly Serbs within its own borders

to go picking a fight with
a whole lot more outside.

So do we need to worry?
We always need to do that.

But I should enjoy my supper?
Mm-hmm.

BELL CHIMES

'You know,
Sir Edward might also have been

'the unluckiest man in Britain.

'His wife had recently died after
being thrown by a horse.'

How is your boy doing?
Very well, sir.

I hope to see him
back here before long.

'His elder brother
had been eaten by a lion

'and his younger brother would be
mauled to death by a buffalo.

'That is enough personal tragedy
to finish a man,

'but Grey bore it, somehow.'

That dreadful man, Eyre Crowe,
I'll wager he sees this

as an opportunity
to have a go at the Germans.

Now, now, dear, Sir Edward has come
here to relax, not to talk shop.

Oh, nonsense, he loves talking shop,
you all do. Look at David over there.

Do you want him to recite Welsh
poetry? No, you don't.

You want him to relate some
tittle-tattle from the Treasury!

You can never distinguish between a
dinner party and a cabinet meeting

and much as we would all welcome

your feminine wisdom in Cabinet,
Margot, there is a difference!

More's the pity!

But at least tell me this, Sir
Edward, is it Serbia or Servia? Oh!

B for "Barbarian",
or V for "Villain"? I am at a loss.

Some of our clerks type it up as B,
others V. The Times favours V.

Never.
In the Manchester Guardian, it is B.

And the News of the World says,
"Who the hell cares?"

About the spelling? About anything!

I have no firm allegiance to either,
Margot.

Well, you should get these
things straight.

A misspelt name is like a
forgotten face. A grave insult.

Just the sort of thing men will
go to war over. Quite so!

Those Serbs do appear to enjoy
killing royalty, though.

We don't know it is the Serbs yet.
Yes, but Margot is quite correct.

They are thrilled by violence,
by the reality, not just the idea.

Winston's kind of people!
LAUGHTER

Their own King Alexander

stripped and butchered in the
Royal bedchamber. His wife, too.

Both of them thrown
from open windows.

It is the land of the blood feud.
A contested will, pistols are drawn.

An argument over a worthless
plot of land, out come the knives.

And the embittered past,
always there -

threatening to engorge the present.

Dear God,
it sounds just like Ireland.

Please, can we NOT talk
about that?! Here, here.

Of course, my dear,
except to say,

that if I were Prime Minister
instead of you,

I'd have had the leaders of the
Ulster Volunteer Force shot by now.

I do believe she would!

And anyone else bent on using
guns to overturn the decisions

of the British House of
Commons. Ah, bloodshed.

The perfect solution to the Irish
problem(!) But there will be blood.

You've all let it slide too far.
The only question is, whose?

Thank you, Margot.

You have been keeping your cards
close to your chest tonight,

Sir Edward.

So, please,
give me something to take away.

Ireland is not my department,
Margot.

Oh, I am not talking about that.

Home rule will be resisted by Ulster,
and the Tory leadership,

and there will be a horrible
civil war, that is obvious.

Now, I want to know about
the Sarajevo assassination.

Should I be worried?
Well, I don't see why.

You see, now I am worried.
I can read you like a book.

Well, I do hope I am not so
transparent to foreign diplomats.

So...what is the Foreign Office
plotting? "Plotting"?

We all know you sit
on a mountain of secrets.

Nobody is plotting anything, Margot,
but you have my assurance,

if this country has
anything to worry about

you will be the first to be told.

Edward. Thank you.
Good night, Winston.

Yes. Edward.

Good night, David.

Thank the Lord
I am not married to her.

If I had been, I'd be
a widower by now. Sorry, Edward.

Damn careless of me.

But I must say,
I do hope it's not the Serbs.

Because if it is
Austria won't be happy

until their army has been billeted
in Belgrade. I am not sure.

And then we will have the
Russians rattling their sabres.

We don't want a Slav common front
developing over this.

I can't imagine Austria would be
stupid enough to provoke that.

CLANKING

Good night, Edward. Good night.

I am certain you will make us proud
if you are called upon.

You are still up, William.
That wasn't necessary.

It's me. Crowe?

I was let in by your men.
What is it?

I was right, it was a Serb.

A young student, a fanatic, clearly,
possibly an anarchist, I forget.

Principo, I think. The details
all are here, such as they are.

I thought you would want to know
before the morning papers.

Thank you, Crowe.

'The Archduke's assassin was
Gavrilo Princip,

'a Bosnian Serb, and a nonentity,

'but a nonentity
with a very powerful idea.

'Princip believed that Bosnia should
be part of the Kingdom of Serbia

'and that it would take violence

'to get rid of the province's
Austrian overlords,

'violence that he and his
friends were willing to inflict.

'And the victim
they chose was this man.

'The Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

'The heir to the Habsburg throne
and the symbol of everything Princip

'hated about Austrian rule -

'its arrogance, its bullying, and...

'Well, the sheer fact that it
regarded the Serbs in the province

'as an inferior race.

'And it was madness for
a Habsburg to visit Sarajevo

'on this day of all days,

'for the 28th was the most important
date in the Serb calendar.

'A day of holy mourning.

'It would be like an English king
going, in battle dress,

'to Dublin on St Patrick's Day.

'An act of self destruction.

'Yet this fool might
still have escaped.

'The young assassins had lost their
nerve and all Princip had seen

'of the Archduke's car
was a blur as it raced by.

'He had retreated to a little cafe

'and was no doubt contemplating
what might have been.

'But then...

'by some perverse roll of the dice,
the boy got a second chance.'

Back, back! It is fine!

'The Archduke's driver had got lost
in the city's old town

'and the car... Well, this makes
me laugh and cry even now,

'the car was stuck right outside
Princip's coffee house.'

DOGS BARK

ENGINE REVS

SHE GASPS

'These shots, from this boy,
they were loud in Sarajevo.

'I promise you,
they were even louder in Berlin.

'For Austria was our ally
and Franz Ferdinand was our friend.'

Good morning.

'For most of my colleagues in the
Chancellery of the German Reich,

'it was as if we ourselves
had been shot.

'There were very few like me
in the Imperial Government.

'I count myself a liberal

'and liberalism is understood to be
a kind of poison here.

'I favour making the Fatherland
a true democracy, too.

'And that, should it
ever become known,

'would be enough
to see me cashiered.

'For this is a Prussian institution,
still, not a German one.

'And here is
the man at the head of it -

'the Imperial Chancellor,
Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg.'

The Kaiser needs to know
the title of the book,

not the chapter and verse.
This one.

'Bethmann-Hollweg
had spent a lifetime

'in the Prussian civil service.

'He was extremely competent

'and he knew that the murder
in Sarajevo

'would affect our Kaiser personally.'

They were friends.
They were more than friends.

They were hunting partners.

What became of the antelope
population of Bohemia?

One day, perhaps, there are children
who'll want to know the answer.

You can tell them it was eliminated

in the course of
one glorious weekend

by the Archduke and our Kaiser.

They achieved that?

It is impossible to kill
so many living things

and not effect a bond of some kind.

'But Bethmann-Hollweg's special
gift was for obedience.

'Obedience to the right man.

'Obedience to this man...

'..Kaiser Wilhelm II.

'You all know him.

'The eldest grandson
of Queen Victoria.

'The withered left arm with which

'he was yanked into life
by a panic-stricken midwife.

'The moustache pointing to heaven.

'He was often a puzzle
to us, though.'

No crime greater.

There is no crime greater.

Regicide attacks
the apex of civilised life.

When you kill a king

you kill the order
in which people find all meaning.

Your Majesty...
And these Serbs! I hate them!

We all do.

I know it's a sin to hate anybody
and we ought not to do it.

But we cannot help hating THEM!

Tell them about the Browning.

The gun that was shot in Sarajevo.
Yes.

Well.

We don't know for certain,
but it might appear...

Ah! We know!

The bullet displays markings
of the Royal Serbian arsenal.

That's what Vienna is telling us.

It wasn't a deluded boy
who fired the gun,

it was the Serbian Government.

It is possible the gun was stolen.

It is fairly well known, I think,

that practically every
farm in Serbia has become

a dump for pilfered weapons
since the last Balkan war.

Good, Prince Lichnowsky.

That is what they will want us
to think.

What does my Chancellor say?

In terms of Imperial policy, sir,

we first ought to see what line
of thinking emerges from Vienna.

In the meantime,
we might sound out the Russians,

for the obvious reason that
they continue to see themselves

as the "protectors
of the Serbian nation".

We know from experience
that Russia gets nervous

whenever there is a disturbance
in the Balkans...

Do you think that is
an appropriate German response,

to wait and see how Russia reacts?

I didn't quite say that, Your
Majesty. It's what you meant!

The Austrians! They're our problem.
Isn't that so?

As soon as the corpse is buried,
their courage will fail.

And if it fails this time,
she is finished.

Every Serb, Croat, Polack,
Transylvanian-Romanian-Negro-Gypsy

in the Habsburg Empire,
any race with a grievance,

will pick up the gun
and point it to the Austrian heart!

We all know this, don't we?

Well, don't we?

That is why, this time,
we must give Vienna some backbone.

Serbia must learn to fear
the Habsburgs again. Hear, hear.

We should let Austria know that

whatever she intends to do to
the Serbs, we shall support her.

Won't they still procrastinate?

Not if Bethmann here tells them
that our support is conditional

on their taking immediate and
decisive action against the Serbs.

Military action?

Of course, military action!
But it must be swift!

None of their usual
coming and going.

Look at you!

You're all worried about Russia.

Where the hell is Moltke
when you need him?

That was not a rhetorical question.

Well, General Moltke is still on
vacation in Carlsbad, Your Majesty.

Oh. My Chief of Staff
didn't think it worthwhile

to break his holiday over
this, like the rest of us?

I have an appointment with him
in two days' time, Your Majesty.

And for the rest of you.

Stop worrying about Russia.

If there's one man in the world

who detests regicide more
than I do, it's the Tsar.

God knows, his family has seen
enough king-killers in its time.

Prince Lichnowsky, if you will.

You will be returning
to London soon?

Tomorrow night, Your Majesty.

Yes, yes, tomorrow, that's right.

You know, Max,

what really matters is what
our English cousins will say.

They don't understand that,
but we do.

Look at this.

Do you know where
this oak comes from?

I suppose it... You're going
to tell me it's from England.

Oh, better than that Max.
Much better than that.

It's from the quarterdeck
of Nelson's Victory.

It's a gift from my grandmother.

HE INHALES

You can still smell the salt.

Do you know that Lord Nelson
used to get sea-sick?

I can get sea-sick, too.
It's a damn shame for us sailors.

Do you think Sir Edward Grey will be
in a flap over what has happened?

Oh, I have always found him
to be very calm.

Easy to be, of course,

when you have the deck of cards
arranged just as you want it.

That is true, sir.

It is.

And I'm pleased you think
Edward Grey will be calm.

Austria needs to be
loved by the other great powers.

She's gravely ill. We all know that.

BELL CHIMES

The best medicine is
to get their soldiers

in some foreign capital,
just for a short while.

The Serbs are wild animals.

But you can tame them,
and then you can order them around.

They have a special
talent for servility.

You're my friend, Max.

I picked you for London myself

because I wanted somebody there
who would tell me the truth.

Not just what I want to hear.

Well, I believe Grey
will look sympathetically

on any Austrian effort
to punish the assassins.

But we should be aware that
there is still something

in the British mind that revolts
against overweening force.

Against the bully, if you will.

Especially in the Balkans.

It is still the land
of Lord Byron, in that respect.

Yes, yes, of course.

They see a large nation oppress
a small one and it raises a...

protective instinct, I suppose.

Unless Britain herself
is the oppressor.

And then they call it paternalism!

There is some truth in that, sir.

The hypocrisy of the English, Max!

I don't know how you endure it.

'Two days later, the Kaiser's
belligerent thoughts about Serbia,

'now written up into smooth prose,

'were handed to the Austrian
ambassador in Berlin.

'Look at him. So smug.'

Our respects to Vienna.

'Why?

'Because he's Hungarian nobility
and that's their style?

'Or maybe it's the Kaiser's
astonishing document in his hand.

' "We will back you", it said,
"in whatever you choose to do".

'We would all come to know
the Kaiser's memorandum to Austria

'as "the blank cheque".

'But that phrase doesn't really do
it justice. It implies a choice.

'Whereas we were expecting,
even requiring the Austrians

'to open hostilities with Serbia.

'Of course, the old Emperor
in Vienna, Franz Joseph,

'worked to his own stroke.

'66 years he had sat on his throne.

'What was urgency to a man like that?

'Our blank cheque was meant to be
cashed straightaway.

'There was little chance of that.

'Nothing happened.

'It was as if the Balkans
went back to sleep.

'No guns were raised,
no cannons were wheeled out.

'No armies moved.'

In my opinion, war's a certainty.
Too many guns in circulation now

to bring politics back
into the equation.

Winston?

Yeah, here's our problem.

About 30,000 German rifles
have been landed at Larne,

County Antrim,
in the past few months.

Now, we can get no help
from the local authorities there,

once those weapons are in the hands
of the Ulster Volunteers.

Because the Ulster Volunteers
ARE the local authorities?

There's no greater opponent of Irish
home rule than the Irish policeman.

The ROYAL Irish Constabulary.

Unswervingly loyal to Westminster,

until the moment they don't
want to be.

Our fairest chance is for me
to put more ships into the Irish Sea

to try and intercept the gun running.

But, of course, it's
the Nationalists, too, who...

What is it, Edward?

Ah, well, perhaps it's nothing.

Ah, well, it transpires
that the assassins -

the Sarajevo assassins -
were trained in Belgrade.

The Black Hand?

Well, that's what
they call themselves.

It's a pantomime name.

Not pantomime blood, unfortunately.
Quite.

Evidently the Black Hand has
warrened the Serbian secret service,

whose leading officers seem
to be terrorists in all but name.

I don't think the Serbian
Prime Minister or his Cabinet

knew anything of Princip

or indeed how far this
Black Hand stretches. Mm-hm.

The Austrians know all this,
presumably?

According to our intercepts,
they do.

Oh, well. That's good.
Means they've absorbed the shock.

But still no official
reaction from Vienna? Nothing.

So what do you think is happening?

Well, I imagine that
the Austrian and Serb governments

have opened a private channel
of communication

and are sorting the problem
out between themselves.

But?

But?

I'm expecting you to say what you
always say at this moment.

Yes, yes?

What do I always say?

You wear what you imagine
is your guileless face

and you tell me that where
central Europe is concerned,

it is better to listen to what
Berlin is saying than Vienna.

I do that?
Mm. And then you say...

In fact, why don't you say it now
while I get my things together?

No, I know the face.
You don't have to do that.

Just give me the words.

I probably say something like,
"Austria's reached the point

"where she can do nothing
in her foreign policy

"without consulting Germany first."
Mm-hm.

But sometimes
I go further than that

and say, "Austrian policy
is made in Berlin."

As you know. Good.

I'm glad you've got
that off your chest.

And you know I have an appointment

on this beautiful
summer's afternoon

with the Invincibles,

which not even the appearance
of the German Navy in the Channel

would stop me from attending.

Very Francis Drake,
Foreign Secretary.

You know, Crowe,
you should really take up cricket.

It teaches one an awful lot
about life.

Prince Lichnowsky loves it.

The cover drive! Ha-ha!

You know, that's the finest sight
in cricket.

Oh, and in the whole field of
sport, Edward?

Quite so. Good to see you back, Max.

I was sorry to miss your innings.

You mean you blinked? Oh, it was over
that quickly?

Clean bowled, I'm afraid.

Hardly saw it.

Your eyes?

No! It was just a very fast ball.

Let's take a walk around the rope.

I've been reassured
by the Austrian silence.

I think that's a good sign,
don't you? I do.

It suggests a very responsible
approach,

the Balkans being such a tinderbox.

I agree.

Ah! There's two there!

Let's just speculate for a moment,
if you don't mind.

What do you think would happen
if Austria decided to punish Serbia?

To punish her? Teach her a lesson.

Do you believe that Russia would
come to the aid of the Serbs?

Well, she might.

And if that happened, would France
have to follow Russia and...

Would Britain be bound to
follow France? Yes.

Would Britain be bound to follow
France? Yes, ah...

You're trying to get me to say that
if Russia cries help,

a French gendarme and a British
bobby will turn up on the doorstep.

You're teasing me, Edward.

I fear you are almost trying
to tell me something, Max.

But you do have an
understanding with France.

You know we do,
just as we have one with Russia.

But nothing that binds you in a
crisis? We are still speculating.

Yes, well, I have nothing to hide.

His Majesty's Government has
an obligation to Parliament

not to incur secret liabilities
abroad, you know that.

I often think we are a little more
open on that score than you are.

I sometimes wonder what
your Reichstag doesn't know.

I'll tell you this,
no speculation now.

What happened last week much
depends on Austria maintaining

its sense of proportion.

It's important that Serb sentiment
isn't raised to a point where

Russia finds it impossible
to stand aside.

APPLAUSE

Good shot.

Edward? Hm? About your eyes?

I told you,
it was a very quick ball.

Yes, of course.

But the physician I mentioned
in Nuremberg, the oculist,

he can see you in August
when you take your vacation.

The whole thing would be
very discreet.

Thank you, Max. There are some
secrets we have to keep.

You know, Edward, we can take this
to Parliament, share the load.

No, I wouldn't want to do that.
At least not yet.

The Commons has a right to know. Of
course. And she will want to know.

For the moment, I would like to keep
it within the charmed circle.

"Charmed circle"?
I wonder who that might be.

You've sacked the butler,
have you, dear?

Foreign Office? Crowe's cabal in the
Foreign Office?

Just you and Crowe?

Please, Margot.
One sugar or two. Ah, oh... Two.

Diplomacy, all those silken phrases.

Why don't you just come out
and say what you mean for once?

Why don't you say what you mean
when you see a friend wearing
a dress you don't like?

She does. Well, some things are
better not said. Not even the truth?

Especially the truth. You never know
who will misunderstand it. Openness.

We hear it from our backbenchers
all the time, together with that

other shibboleth,
Democratic Foreign Policy.

It wasn't so very long ago
that democracy itself sounded
risible.

Can you imagine trying to conduct
diplomacy under such conditions -

for the clamour of popular passions?

There would be dead bodies
everywhere.

We are the surgeons.

We've seen most things, and I'm sorry
if this sounds arrogant,

we know how to use the knives.

Oh.

Oh.

KNOCK AT DOOR

Oh!

Do you have any chalk with you?

This stuff doesn't seem
to work properly.

I... I... Of course you don't.

It would be too strange if you did.
Thank you for coming, Crowe.

I've taken the liberty of ordering up
a rather superb Elbling.

He's odd, isn't he? Your boss.

He's never been to Germany in all
his time as Foreign Secretary.

Not really. He hasn't been
to Austria or Russia either.

He says it allows him to keep
an open mind

and to play the ball, not the man,
whatever that means.

Sporting metaphors will be
the death of us one day.

I must confess I have never
understood the British

obsession with sport.

Pursuing a rolling ball teaches
you nothing apart from

how to pursue a rolling ball.

KNOCK AT DOOR

You should be in no doubt, Crowe,
there are some very important

people who admire what you have done
at the Foreign Office.

It can't have been easy to educate
the old guard about Germany.

There was a terrible blind spot
there. I am not popular.

I'll bet you're not.

No mandarin likes to be told
they've been hoodwinked by a rogue.

Sir Edward though, is a fair man.
There is no grudge there.

He is supremely fair.

He truly believes in the role
of honour in diplomacy.

That's one thing a rogue can never
forgive, outwit them by stealth

or by deceit and they will grin and
bear it, they might even admire you.

But defeat them by acting honourably
and they will burn for revenge.

That's something cricket
doesn't teach you.

I think I'm correct in saying
that I'm the only

member of the entire Government who
has spent some time with the Kaiser.

Most probably. He looks
on war as a child looks on war.

He never got past the tin soldier
stage, uniforms, naval signals,

regimental colours, of actual warfare
he knows nothing and fears the worst.

So we should treat him like a child?
In a manner of speaking, yes.

The only gesture he will understand
from Britain is the raised hand.

That's what I think.

You must have told Sir Edward
this yourself?

Hm...

Politics is a curious business,
isn't it?

Who's strong? Who's weak
and whatnot?

I think it's better it comes
from someone

who doesn't constitute a threat...

CHURCH BELLS RING

'Where the hell is General Moltke
when you need him?

'That's what the Kaiser had
asked his men in Berlin.

'Well, here he was.'

General? 'In Carlsbad.'

Ah, a storm from Berlin!

'Taking the cure.'

You want a towel?

No... Thank you.

Someone get him one.

'Every bit the Chief
of the General Staff...

'..even out of uniform.

'And I will tell you
something about this uniform.

'The Chief of Staff is not
a hereditary position in Germany,

'but Moltke's uncle had worn
it before him.

'And in the Franco-Prussian War
of 1870, the uncle had led

'the German army that crushed France
and occupied Paris...

'What did the nephew think of that?

'An example to follow?
A burden to carry - both?'

The Kaiser thinks the Russians will
stand back and let the Austrian army

enjoy the whore houses in Belgrade
for a couple of weeks, doesn't he?

He wants a victory without
paying a price.

Just a small victory -
in a local war.

But it can't happen.
The Russians aren't that stupid.

And let's stop pretending
the Austrians are going to

solve our problems for us.

I agree.

If we really wish to change
the balance of power in the Balkans

we ought to think about what kind
of price we are prepared to pay.

The German army isn't just
there for decoration.

So will you come back to Berlin?

If I do that,
everything will speed up.

Precisely.

But I don't want things to speed
up, I want them to slow down.

The longer things
drag on with Serbia,

the more agitated
the Russians will get.

With the Russians agitated,

the less belligerent we shall
appear in the weeks to come.

I'm staying here for a while.

Harder!

Not so hard.

You can't send your ultimatum

because your soldiers
are wanted at the harvest?

What happened to the idea of farmers
doing the harvest?

MUFFLED LAUGHTER

So the middle of August - five weeks?

You will be ready in five weeks'
time, brilliant!

Do you think there's any chance
the Serbs might discover

what we're up to by then?

And the Russians?

Will they still be seething at
the regicide in a month's time?

Or will they be Serbia's
gallant protector again?

Do not sit down!

This is Austria's last chance.

So please, explain to your Emperor,
using your own words, that unless

action is taken against Belgrade in
the next week it will be too late.

Too late forever.
You won't get another chance.

It's like taking care of a pony.

LAUGHTER

BELLS RING

'Quick to take offence, slow to act.

'Isn't that always the way with
people who stand on their dignity?

'The same with nations.

'Since the Archduke's assassination
a whole three weeks

'had passed before the Habsburg
Emperor finally got round to

'composing his ultimatum to Serbia.

'But don't be fooled by this
pathetic quadrille.

'Austria was in no haste,
but weak and decadent as she was,

'her vindictiveness was...amazing.

'In Berlin we waited...

'We cursed the Austrians
for their stupor.

'And then... This!'

It's inept. They might as well
have just invaded.

This makes them look unreasonable.

'Unreasonable?

'What Austria wanted from Serbia was
complete humiliation!

'In a police cell in faraway
Sarajevo, the Austrians already had

'the Archduke's assassin
Gavrilo Princip -

'he and his wretched comrades still
dreaming of a greater Serbia.

'And the boys had confessed
to receiving shooting lessons

'and a case of revolvers in
Belgrade - but now Austria blamed

'the entire Serb nation for their
operation and its list of demands

'on the Serbian Government was
so extreme that, in meeting them,

'the Serbs would have completely
surrendered their sovereignty.'

This is an astonishing ultimatum.

It is.
So much for Fermanagh and Tyrone.

I wouldn't take your eyes
off Ireland, gentlemen.

I'm happy to. Such a dreary bog.

I'd bet on an Irish war before I
would a Balkan one... Sadly.

But the Austrian ultimatum has been
purposely designed to be

rejected surely?

It probably has.
But that doesn't mean it will be.

So, you have cause for hope?

I know Serbia is in no shape
to fight a war.

Nor I understand is Russia.

Then they have no alternative
but to negotiate. Mm.

Just keep them supplied with tea
until Sir Edward's ready.

Oh, and don't...don't let them
speak to each other.

How...how do I do that?

'We'd gathered the principal
ambassadors at the Foreign Office.

'Prince Lichnowsky you know.

'Count Benckendorff - German name,
but the ambassador for Russia.

'And the Times reader is
Count Mensdorff of Austria.

'They're all cousins.
That's worth saying again...'

The three cousins are here.

Who would you like to see first?

Austria - I suppose.

Count Mensdorff,
if you'd like to come this way.

What is this country - Servia?

My government,
after a thorough police

investigation into the murder
of our Archduke Franz Ferdinand

and his consort, have sifted through
the accumulated evidence...

Yes, yes, what I want to know is
what you think of this ultimatum.

"The Serb government should
suppress any newspaper which creates

"anti-Austrian feeling.

"It must outlaw all
pan-Serbian cultural societies.

"It must rewrite its school
textbooks to eliminate any negative

"references to
the Habsburg monarchy."

What an extraordinary thing to
demand of an independent country.

Don't you agree?

It's as though you imagine
Serbia to be a little

province in your own empire.

I don't think that
there is that assumption.

Do you know what
I said to Crowe here

when I read this thing two hours ago?

Oh, you said it was the most
formidable document ever

addressed by one state to another.

Was that before or after
I fell off my chair?

It's designed to
be rejected, isn't it?

No, it is.

Let's not act like children today.

No government wishing
to maintain its sovereignty

could agree to these terms.

There would be a revolution.

They'd be overthrown by their own
people. Is that what you want?

We have no opinion on these...

Because if it is, you'll be dealing
with someone far worse in Belgrade.

You'll get someone in charge
who actually does hate you.

(Point five.)

Ah. Ah, yes. Point five.

How will that be achieved?

You demand the right for your
own state officials to take

an active role in policing
anti-Austrian feeling in Serbia.

There are many police forces

co-operating over national
boundaries these days.

Give me strength.

You've also given us 48 hours -

well, that's 18 hours now -
to use our influence

and help Serbia move towards
some of these demands.

I have been instructed to ask you
what position Britain would take

if a conflict would break
out between Austria and Serbia.

There is a strong feeling
in this country that

Serbia shouldn't be humiliated.

There's considerable
admiration for her.

There is.

Is there?

But, you know, I would
very happily let you

and the Serbs sort this mess
out between the two of you.

But I can't do that because we both
know there is a danger that Russia

will be drawn in and the British
interest would become involved.

To join forces with Russia?

To mediate, you fool!

Diplomacy is a branch of manners.
That man has none.

BENCKENDORFF: Russia is
outraged by this, Sir Edward.

We have our dignity too.

And Serbia is a friend of ours.

We can't let her be put on
the end of an Austrian chain.

I think that's a slightly fanciful
image, Count Benckendorff.

My government hopes you will
support us as our trusted ally.

It's quite true.

We have co-operated well in
recent years, especially in Asia,

and that has been gratifying.

But Afghanistan is not the Balkans.

What are you saying?

I'm saying I'm just warning you
that nobody in England

much cares about Serbia.

It would infuriate the British
people to know that even

a single mule of ours

had been sacrificed for a country

most of them cannot place on a map.

That is outrageous.

I'm not saying it's commendable,
I'm just outlining our difficulty.

Do you think this?
He agrees with me.

Ah, the other thing, my dear Count.

Please.

I would urge Russia
to steady its own horses.

I mean, Austria has put
Serbia in an impossible position,

I appreciate that.

But it will be easier
for me to play the mediator

if you are not already
locked into their quarrel.

You do understand that?

I'll get Prince Lichnowsky.

I can't stay in here
any longer. I need air.

Good idea. We can use the garden.

Actually, I'd like
to see the prince alone.

You really didn't know?

I discovered its contents at
exactly the same time as you did.

Because I thought you were
testing me at the cricket.

No-one in Germany knew what
was in the ultimatum,

but a few people did know
there'd be one. I see.

And did Germany encourage
Austria to be militant

in drawing up that ultimatum?

I can't answer that, Edward.

Because you don't know?

I can't answer that either.

Ah, what do you think the Kaiser
will think when he reads it?

He's currently on holiday, isn't he?

Yes, he is. He's definitely on
holiday. I believe he gets back...

Yeah, no matter.

But you say you were as ignorant
of the actual contents

of the ultimatum as we were?

So, tell me, man to man, now
you've seen it, what do you think?

What I think of it is
probably what you think of it.

DOOR OPENS

I think the Germans
are playing with us.

I realise that.

So why don't we send out a signal
that we are not to be played with?

I meant I realise
that's what you think.

What, I'm wrong?

There's this curious
defect somewhere, Crowe.

In me?

In the way you operate.

You're always so eager
to hold Germany

to an inappropriate
moral standard.

Perhaps it comes from
being an intellectual.

Or perhaps because I was born in
Germany? I didn't say that.
You're thinking it. No, I'm not.

But like all abstract thinkers,
you have your idee fixe,

your obsession.
We can't afford obsessions.

We've developed a sophisticated
diplomatic machine over the years.

It's not perfect
but it keeps the peace.

Villains get caught
in its moving parts,

those who don't abide
by the rules get spat out.

Well, you know this.

At least you used to.

Since this morning,
we have but one task -

to get the interested nations
talking to each other.

Those with poisonous motives will
be exposed, the machine will be

greased - by me, by others - and
it will operate as it did before.

DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES

BELLS RING

You look well, Moltke. �20.

Carlsbad has worked its magic.

The Kaiser will be excited
about the Austrian ultimatum.

Mmm, yes, I think he will be.

Because he won't know what it means.

Well, he's finally getting
his little Balkan war.

Yes, he'll get that. He'll sit
there contemplating that harmless

little acorn of his,
but acorns have a habit of growing.

The little Balkan war will not
remain a little Balkan war forever.

The problem with our Kaiser is

that he only ever
plans one move ahead.

Well, he's absolutely certain
that the Russians will not

come to the aid of Serbia.

And he's right,
but they will mobilise their army

and that will be enough.

But why on earth would they do that?

I will leave them
with no other choice.

BICYCLE BELL RINGS

It's not like you to sulk, Crowe.

I am not sulking.

And now you're offended.

No, I'm not.

You'll feel better tomorrow

when the hysteria subsides and
the Balkans becomes boring again.

For that matter, oh, so will I.

And Germany?

Look, 20 minutes of sunshine left.

My favourite part of the day.

Good night.

Good night, Foreign Secretary.

Hm, early night for once,
unlike you, I'm afraid.

Nice to see you're fitting in.

BELL CHIMES

Lovely evening. Sir.

Austria doesn't want to talk.
She wants a war in the Balkans.

A quick, clean war. Over before the
Russians know it's even begun, yes?

It's the Russian army.

The Tsar appears to have ordered
a section of it facing

the Austrian Empire to mobilise.

When you are so close together,
it is difficult to avoid friction.

Now is the time to put
British power into the scales.

If the iron dice roll,
may God help us.

You want to invade France?

I will tell you this,
Britain will not stay neutral.

Britain is not capable of getting
involved.

The English are liars.

Are you going to wait until France
is violated before you act?

The whole world will be
thrown into chaos!

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