CHAPTER IV WHAT WAR MEANT TO THE GREAT POWERS 'nr^HE Austrian declaration of war precipitated •■■ the final crisis. All eyes turned instantly to Berlin and St. Petersburg, where efforts were still being made to compose the disagreement, which was now recognized as almost inevitably leading toward a general war. What then were the considerations, the possibil- ities and the probabilities which influenced and de- cided the statesmen and rulers of the great nations now on the verge of war? What were the foreign and domestic concerns of the six great Powers di- vided into the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria and Italy and the Triple Entente of France, Great Britain and Russia, which were being weighed by those who had now to decide between peace and a world war? For Austria the die was already cast. She had accepted all the perils of war; she had hazarded Armageddon, because in the opinion of all Austrian statesmen war alone could save the Dual Monarchy. Her prestige was ruined by the Balkan wars. On the southern frontier there was raised a Servia, in all respects resembling the Sardinia which in the last 25