Willy–Nicky correspondence

Context and background

Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II were third cousins (both were great-great-grandsons of Paul I of Russia), and the Kaiser was a first cousin of Nicholas's wife, Alix of Hesse. The emperors corresponded in English and were accustomed to calling each other "Willy" and "Nicky" but would use their counterparts' formal names in formal communications.

The source of the telegrams is The German White Book, a pamphlet of official documents published to justify the German Government's position after the outbreak of war. The term Willy-Nicky Telegrams is derived from The Willy-Nicky Correspondence, the title of a book by Herman Bernstein published in 1918 which revealed the personal telegraphic correspondence between the two emperors during the period June 1904 to August 1907.

The Correspondence

The telegrams start with a plea from the Tsar to the Kaiser to try to stop the serious developments that led up to the World War. An excerpt:

I foresee that very soon I shall be overwhelmed by the pressure forced upon me and be forced to take extreme measures which will lead to war. To try and avoid such a calamity as a European war I beg you in the name of our old friendship to do what you can to stop your allies from going too far. Nicky.

Ultimately, the correspondence changes tone and the two leaders warn each other of impending mobilization due to factors out of their control, while retaining the notion that mobilization does not mean war. An excerpt of the last telegram:

Immediate affirmative clear and unmistakable answer from your government is the only way to avoid endless misery. Until I have received this answer alas, I am unable to discuss the subject of your telegram. As a matter of fact I must request you to immediatly [sic] order your troops on no account to commit the slightest act of trespassing over our frontiers. Willy

The Willy-Nicky telegrams were discussed during the war by representatives of belligerent nations, during the Paris Peace Conference, and on into the interwar years, and beyond. In recent years academic historians have reassessed the exchange. They paid special attention to the telegram of Nicholas II dated July 29, 1914 (for two days before the war):

Thanks for your telegram conciliatory and friendly. Whereas official message presented today by your ambassador to my minister was conveyed in a very different tone. Beg you to explain this divergency! It would be right to give over the Austro-Serbian [sic] problem to the Hague conference. Trust in your wisdom and friendship. Your loving Nicky

On July 29, 1914 Nicholas suggested submitting the Austro-Serbian problem to the Hague Conference (in Hague tribunal) – Wilhelm did not address this in his subsequent telegram. According to Beck, the German Foreign Office omitted this telegram in publishing the correspondence between the Kaiser and the Czar. After the publication of this telegram by the Russian government on January 31, 1915 in the Official Gazette Governmental Herald, the German Foreign Office explained that they regarded this telegram as too "unimportant". In contrast, Russian Foreign Ministry (Minister Sazonov), as well as the French Ambassador in Russia (Maurice Paléologue) believed the telegram very important. Paléologue, Beck and some other authors accused Wilhelm in that he had not supported the proposal of Nicholas to submit the Austro-Serbian problem to the Hague Tribunal for adjustment, and thus abandoned the chance for a peaceful resolution to this problem.

A "flurry of telegrams" between the Kaiser and the Tsar led to the cancellation of Russian general mobilization by the Tsar on 29 July, but this was resumed two days later.