Kaiser Wilhelm II in zero hour On July 28, the British ambassador in Vienna warned London that "postponing or preventing the war with Serbia would be, without doubt, a great disappointment for that country, which is excited at the perspective of war." Then something strange happened, which was kept secret until after the war. Kaiser Wilhelm II, after reading that morning, for the first time, the full text of the Austrian ultimatum and the Serbian response, found no reason for Austria to declare war and wrote on the margin of the Serbian response: "A great moral victory for Vienna, but with it all motives for war disappear and Giesl [German ambassador in Serbia] should stay in Belgrade, calmly. Because of this, I would have never ordered a mobilization. ” He then suggested that “as a “satisfaction d ’honneur” visible to Austria, the Austrian army should occupy Belgrade temporarily, as a guarantee.” Then they could start negotiations to end the brief military conflict. Th...