There was, as John Keegan pointed out, a brief time when the western nations of the world thought that this "local disagreement" would blow over.

"[The heads of state in Russia, in Germany, in France, in Austria and in Great Britain] did not equally share the information available, nor understand what they did share in the same way, nor agree within each capital about what was understood. Information arrived fitfully, sometimes much, sometimes little, but was always incomplete. There was no way of correlating and displaying it, as there is in modern crises centres. Even had there been, it is not certain that the crises of 1914 would have been managed any better than it was. Modern communication systems may overload those who seek to be informed through them, so consuming time necessary for thought; under load, in 1914, consumed time as men puzzled to fill in the gaps between the facts they had. Time, in all crises, is usually the ingredient missing to make a solution. It is best supplied by an agreement on a pause."9