A telegram had to be read, discussed, assessed, and answered before it could change policy. A twelve-minute gap between incoming and outgoing messages therefore gives little reason to infer a complete policy reversal. Britain's share of responsibility lay, in this interpretation, in years of ineffective diplomatic signalling and insufficient engagement. German leaders expected to release a limited conflict they could control, while Austria-Hungary began to recognize the dangerous position into which it had been pushed. Retrospective chronologies need to allow time for deliberation instead of treating successive telegrams as instant decisions.
Notable Point · 1:35:53-1:39:41
The powers could not control the war they released
Slow decision cycles and years of mis-signaling undercut later claims that last-minute telegrams could neatly halt escalation.