Answer: Austro-Hungarian and German diplomats thought the war would be at the local level.
Explanation:
When Austria declared war on the Kingdom of Serbia (July 28, 1914), the country's diplomats and German political officials believed that the war would be localized. They implied that the war would be fought only between the two countries. Serbia has previously been an obstacle to Austrian interests in the Balkans, so they wanted to deal with them. Russia immediately sided with Serbia, and Germany sided with Austria. It was a period in which nationalism and war rhetoric flared up across Europe. In such circumstances, there was a chain reaction and the withdrawal of many countries that chose one of the sides in the war.
