[In the World War by Count Ottokar Czernin]@TWC D-Link book
In the World War

CHAPTER VIII
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A boy suddenly rushes in shouting: "Napoleon is coming." The crowd hurries away to see him, and cries of "Long live Napoleon" are heard in the distance.
Such was Vienna a hundred years ago, and it is still the same.

_Une ville sans ame._ I pass on the criticism without comment.
2 In different circles which justly and unjustly intervened in politics during my time of office, the plan was suggested of driving a wedge between North and South Germany, and converting the latter to the peaceful policy of Vienna in contradistinction to Prussian militarism.
The plan was a faulty one from the very first.

To begin with, as already stated, the most pronounced obstacle to peace was not only the Prussian spirit, but the Entente programme for our disruption, which a closer connection with Bavaria and Saxony would not have altered.
Secondly, Austria-Hungary, obviously falling more and more to pieces, formed no point of attraction for Munich and Dresden, who, though not Prussian, yet were German to the very backbone.

The vague and irresponsible plan of returning to the conditions of the period before 1866 was an anachronism.

Thirdly and chiefly, all experiments were dangerous which might create the impression in the Entente that the Quadruple Alliance was about to be dissolved.


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