Imperial Valley press., 1919-05-20
DETAILED STORY
OF WARS START
IS U n FOL DED
lBN Associated- -PresSl

Benin, ADril 6 (by maiD-The
events surrounding the drafting and
disratchiug OF the Austrian ultima
tum TO Serbia whica iaau&urated the
world war arc given their first am
pl1ication in the forthcoming publ
cation Cf the war recollection of Con
ad yen Hoetzendolt. the former Aus
tro-Aurgarian field marshal.
The advanced proofs the volume
WEich is entitled Tine Aoad to the
Catastrophe indicate thal il will
rl0ve z significant parallel to Gen
elal LudendOriI S memoirs because CT
its dramatic and intimate revelations
Of Austrc-Hungaran diplomacy and
WoG policies and because of the can
dor with which it discusses Emperor
Charles, the corporation Of the Ger
man and 4ustro- Hungarian general
staff. the relations c. the former En-
peror Francis Joseph and the German
Emperor William, the scclaI and po-
litical intriguing of the Austrian En-
press ZiJa and the whole hierarchy
o. the Austrian grand dukes.
The volume is complied by Kari
Nowak, an author and journalist and
formerly war correspondent OF the
Cologne Gazette, who for two years
was assigned in personal capacity
to Marshal Won Hoetzend0rf' head
quarters. Nowak reported the war
On all the eastern fronts and while his
name nominally appears on the titie
page, the volume is known to be Won
HCetZerdOrf' authorized and person
ally revised recOllectionS.
Il
following the assassination of Arch
duke Frederick at Sarajevo, Nowak
states that few, if anV. people knew
she plans Of Count Won BerchCold, then
Austl Hungarian foreign minister.
Not even the high military officials
were informed, nor was it known
whether he was communicating with
Berlin, according to the writer.
"Indignation in political and dipo-
matte circles IAN high as d result Cf
the murder" reads the memoirs
military leaders quoted Won Moltkes
works:
"We know the catastrophe will
come some day: the sooner the bet
ter for us.
This was the situation Marshal Won
HCeLzenGoIf found on his return from
a feigned holiday in the Tyrol where
he went after the killing Of the arch
duke at Sarajev0, in order to create
the impression that the situation was
rot menacing to the peace of Europe.
Nowak describes the episode Of the
rltimayum to Serbia as follows:
"i'he ministers we're summoned to
IallhauspiatZ Foreign Office}. Won
HoctZcndorf, then chief Of the gen
arai staff, was hulriedly recalled
from Tyrol, where he was on leave
granted him after the SarajeVo as
eassination. Count Von Berchtold,
who conducted the deliberations, con
suited the general in purely military
matters. His opinion was sought only
in connection with the military pros
poets The diplomatic situation was
not mentioned nCr was any reference
made to the Serbian ultimatum or to
any other ult;matum.
"VOn HoetZendorf frankly analyzed
every possible hostile constellation
and did not conceal his conviction that
the Austro- Hungarian monarchy was
unequal to the demands OF war on
three front. He referred to similar
views previously expressed in the pre-
ceding years, in wnlcn he had point
ed out exactly such complications and
entered upot minute consideration OF
every emergency growing out Of a
possible international clash.
Count Won BerchtOld asked bin
whether the prospects for the mon