Who started it?

I'm kind of annoyed because most books more or less skip over Austria Hungary and Russia in favor of the easier to study and read Great Britian Germany France story.

Heres my QRD, tell me where I'm wrong.
1. AH annexes Bosnia Herzegovina which creates a constitutional crisis. The Kaiser and his government are not sure if it should be a crown land, an independant South Slav entity, or a hungarian holding and end up choosing not to create a Triple Monarchy in order to appease Hungary. By doing this Serbian and slavic Nationalist look to Serbia instead of the possible Croatian/Bosnian Habsburg Crown. Serbs in Serbia and AH agitate with violence and political pressure within the existing constitution. The leadeship in AH believes the situtation is a mortal threat to its existence and that Serbia must be dealt a prestige blow in order to restore internal stability. No documents seem to show an intent to annex Serbia, but there is intent to weaken her by allowing neighboring allies to take a piece, a act which SErbia herself had not hesitated to do with in the decade.

2. Russia claims to have a right to rule South Slavs. It sees the balkans as a path to controlling the Dardanells and Constantinople which is an essential trade route for its economy. Russia fears that failing to defend the balkans would cause a loss of support from the south slav states and close the door to it gaining dominion and control over its own access to the Mediterranean. It moves to attack AH because it ultimately wants to control Constantinople, or at least keep that door open.

3. France is eternally but hurt over the loss of Alsace and Lorraine and war mongers and veterans of the FP war of 1870 grew up to control the government. One of them si the French ambassador to Russia. IT allies with Russia despite it being its ideological antithesis because Russia as an ally is the best weapon to defeat Germany and get revenge. It even dumps a shit load of money into Russia in order to build up the railways in russia thus allowing it wage war on germany better. The French ambassador to RUssia did everything in his power to encourage Russia to declare war on AH because he knew that RUssia attacking AH would trigger the triple alliance and draw germany into a fight. France was aware that the Germans were planning on attacking both France and Russia at the sametime thanks to a spy who gave them a copy of the plans while wearing all bandages.

if the kaiser didn't let the treaty expire and piss on germany's relationship with the russians like some sort of dumb cunt, what russia did and didn't want would have never mattered

4. Britian mobilized its navy before Germany sent an ultimatum to Belgium. Britian gave orders to its navy to defend the French coastline before the German ultimatum to Belgium. The British cabinet's dicussions were primarily about its distaste for a German dominated continent and its desire to not see France beaten in a war and that it woudl have to intervene to prevent that from happening. After the belgian ultimatum the British cabinet discussed military strategy not in terms of defending belgium but in terms of defending France. The Cabinet did not even discuss sending troops to Belgium but sending them to reinforce the french flank. Belgium was only ever discussed in terms of being a rational for public consumption. After the war Britian gave fuck all to Belgium in terms of compensation and territory int he Versailles treaty despite Belgian diplomats begging for aide just ot rebuild.

The German cabinet doesn't seem to have wanted war at all. The Kaiser didnt think it necessary based on the Serbian response to AH ultimatum. Discussions were had that France would not stop provoking Germany and that the UK and France continued to work to hinder Germany's colonial and economic ambissions abroad. Early war time discussions show no interest from any german politicians in western annexations. German public opinion litearlly used the word 'race traitor' upon haering the UK would go to awr with them. The German high command literally believed they could get through belgium without belgium being violated and that they would compensate her for collateral damage. The German leadership literally believed the Russians and French were conspiring to destroy her. (Russia did not appear to have hostile intentions toward Germany or AH but was thinking primarily of its vital economic interests in the Med. Sea.) The kaiser was acting in good faith by standing with AH.

Italy fucked over its allies for two reasons. 1. the government in Italy was at risk of collapse and consensus for war just wasnt there. 2. Italy had designs on AH's italian subjects. Italy's declaration of Neutrality was sketchy as there was no Serbian-Russian alliance, and Russia had mobilized and attacked AH, thus triggering the Triple alliance. However, the allied diplomats were speaking of events such that AH is the aggressor thus allowing Italy the option of agreeing and dodging its obligations. This freed about 6 divisions for France to place in Germanys way. THis is treachory enough without even mentioning Italys entrance into the war on the side of the Entente. Too bad for ITaly England and France and the US didn't give a fuck about the Treat of London they signed luring Italy into the war on their side.

I will also point out that the British cabinet argued that its entente coridal with France obligated it by honor to enter the war on France's side. This is without a formal alliance being present.

BY THIS EXACT logic it also follows that Germany MUST defend AH from attackers in the event of war and it had an even stronger obligation to do so given the stronger nature of the triple alliance.

Thus it also follows that the cabinet itself did not believe in German war guilt but pushed the narrative to sell it to the public and posterity.

Thus, in conclusion Russia and AH were both in weakened positions and thought the Balkans situation contained threats that threatened their existence as powers.

France desiring war with Germany pushed Russia to mobilize against AH knowing it would pull Germany into a fight and activiting its treaty obligations allowing it to fulfill its 50 year plans of encirclement and revenge. The French government was also well aware that Britian would act in favor of the weaker power (france) and moved to trap GB into its alliance against Germany. it even ordered the French army to retreat 10 km further into the interior to strengthen the German position and make GB more likely to feel the French were threatened.

THe key to this is looking at Paliologs interaction iwth Russia where it chose to encourage war instead of dissuade.

The british foreign office did not want war but felt it had to join one should it arise, belgium was not an issue at all. The German government did not want war either but did desire to see an end to encirclment it felt threatened it. AH and Russia both did not want war but felt their interests required control fo the balkans for survival.

France did want war. It wanted revenge. Its foreign policy and financial policy had created a totally surrounded Germany. There is no record of conversation of the French pushing to stop war int he balkans or with Germany. there is however the opposite.

What the fuck is up with that map? The Germans own Metz but not the rest?