The minister then went on with some suggestions about redrawing the map in favour of the victors. Of course,
Alsace and Lorraine would be returned to
France, as would
Schleswig-Holstein to
Denmark, while Hannover would be restored as an independent kingdom. Meanwhile, the Dual Monarchy would be split up into three separate components, Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary, while Serbia would acquire Bosnia, Herzegovina, Dalmatia, and northern
Albania. There would also be some adjustments to other Balkan borders, while
Britain,
France, and
Japan would divide Germany’s colonies amongst themselves.
Sazonov also divulged Russia’s desiderata. These included annexing the Lower Niemen River basin from Germany as well as Eastern Galicia from Austria. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of
Polandwould also gain lands from the losers. The latter came in the context of an unusual proclamation in early August by the army’s commander-in-chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. In a manifesto that had been composed by the foreign ministry to all Poles under German, Austrian, and Russian rule, he called on them to unite in an autonomous state “under the sceptre of the Russian tsar…free in faith, language and self-rule.”
[9] Although conservatives opposed it, the Grand Duke’s appeal was designed to strengthen the loyalty of a nation whose loyalty remained questionable.
