Only to apologists and those who beg to re-write History to their own liking.
For those interested in facts, it's a different story altogether.
Mobilization, at the state of the art then, meant war. Each side had elaborate and rigid war plans. Once mobilization started, the movement of troops was calculated with mathematical precision. It was a war by timetable. So while the diplomats and the Keiser hoped for diplomacy to work, -- and issued praises for this or that diplomatic demarche,-- the generals computed distances and throughput of roads and said things like:
-- The enemy mobilized yesterday. If we mobilize today, we lose 10 miles inside our territory. If we mobilize tomorrow, we lose 20 miles. If we mobilize the day after tomorrow the enemy has access to our railroad grid and we lose the war. Your Majesty, you have to mobilize.And His Majesty wrung his hands and listened.
The military doctrine of the time -- dictated by the military technology of the time -- made mobilization an effective act of war.
Only to apologists and those who beg to re-write History to their own liking.
For those interested in facts, it's a different story altogether.