dragged into it by Berlin or else in many cases merely confronted with a fait accompli. The news which we received from the “Maffia” at this time confirmed these conjectures. They referred to the desperate situation in the Empire, the gratification in the Czech territories at the note to President Wilson, the dissension between Vienna and Berlin, as well as the conviction of everybody in Austria that the Central Powers could not win the war and that the end was rapidly approaching.
At that time we did not know that, after serious conflicts, the Chancellor had given way on the question of submarine warfare. That decision was reached on January 9, 1917, at a conference which was held at Pless and presided over by the Kaiser. This was done without consulting Austria-Hungary. When Czernin heard of the decision from his ambassador at Berlin, he opposed it. Holzendorf and Zimmermann therefore proceeded to Vienna for the purpose of convincing the Government there. On January 20th a conference was held, the Emperor Karl presiding. Holzendorf and Zimmermann advocated Germany’s point of view, while Czernin and Tisza opposed the scheme for submarine warfare. The two sides failed to agree, but the Viennese Government did not venture to act in opposition to what Germany had decided, and therefore submitted. It is said that Czernin then advised the Emperor Karl to separate from Germany on account of this matter.
It would appear that Germany’s decision, on the whole, did not produce any surprise or considerable excitement either among the Allies, the neutrals, or the Central Powers. It looked as if they had all guessed what was coming. And yet the decision was one which had a considerable, and perhaps even a critical, effect upon the result of the war. On February 3rd, by a solemn declaration in which he analysed the whole course of the dispute between the United States and Germany on the subject of submarine warfare, President Wilson broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, and handed Count Bernsdorf his passport. Those who had any close knowledge of political events realized that this meant the entry of the United States into the war.
In the meanwhile, Wilson had not declared war on Austria-Hungary. It appeared as if he wished to reserve for himself the possibility of adopting a more lenient attitude towards the Habsburg Empire, and that in this respect his point of
