kept—and afterwards both sides remembered it very differently. Aehrenthal assumed he had full Russian approval for his scheme, but he not give out planned dates. Izvolsky assumed he would be informed before any actual move happened. Aehrenthal vaguely informed all the major countries but gave no details. The world was astonished on October 6, 1908, when a press release in Vienna announced that Bosnia was fully annexed. Inside Austria there was general approval except in Czech areas—that minority strongly felt its demands had been deliberately ignored. Aehrenthal had expected wide European approval and instead he faced a hostile volcanic eruption from every direction. Izvolsky vehemently denounced the treachery demanded an international conference on Bosnia. After decades of low level activity, pan-Slavic forces inside Russia suddenly mobilized in opposition. Mass demonstrations broke out across the continent. Rome took advantage of the situation by reversing its friendship with Vienna. Berlin officials were surprised and appalled. The British were especially angry, denouncing the violation of an international agreement signed by both Austria and Britain. France denounced the scheme. Turkey was surprised by the unexpected development, but it was quieted by the cash payment. By far the angriest reaction came from Serbia, which called for revenge, and began setting up secret guerrilla bands, plotting insurrection in Bosnia. All across Europe the chief blame was placed on Berlin, not Vienna. Europeans feared the powerful German army and took the episode as proof of its expansionist intentions. Berlin now realized it stood alone, with Austria its only friend. It therefore decided it would firmly support Austria despite doubts about the wisdom of annexing Bosnia, Berlin explicitly warned St Petersburg that continued demands for an international conference constituted a hostile action that increase the risk of war with Germany. Russia backed down. Thanks to the German intervention, Austria scored a complete short-term diplomatic success in taking control of Bosnia. in the long run however, Germany and Austria both made many too enemies, as the battle lines of World War I started to harden. Aehrenthal had started with the assumption that the Slavic minorities could never come together, and the Balkan League Would never accomplish any damage to Austria. He turned down an Ottoman proposal for an alliance that would include Austria, Turkey and Romania. However his policies alienated the Bulgarians, who turned instead to Russia and Serbia. Although Austria had no intention to embark on additional expansion