Without hindsight, was the Russian decision in 1914 to go to war the right one? With hindsight, you obviously know my view, but without hindsight, the question is much more interesting. I mean, Serbia wasn't worth all that much to Russia in and of itself, but if there is to be a Great Power confrontation, wouldn't it be prudent for Russia to fight it while it still has both France and Britain at its side and while neither France nor Britain is actually distracted by anything else? (World War I put a temporary freeze to the escalating situation in Ireland for Britain, after all. A more heated Ireland would have meant less British and/or British Empire troops at disposal for Europe.) And British entry into the war could subsequently eventually bring the Americans into the war. If Russia were not to risk war in 1914 but instead wait until later, then it would lose Serbia as an ally and could possibly lose Britain and the US as allies; would Russia itself being stronger due to the completion of Russia's Great Military Program actually be sufficient compensation for this? On the flip side, though, Russia itself had very little to gain in a European war, even without hindsight, so this does raise the incentive for Russia to maintain peace at almost any cost.
Anyway, what do you think?
Anyway, what do you think?