It is worth remembering that Tsar Nicholas II's general mobilization order in 1914 was the point of "no return" in terms of initiating the Great War or World War I.  According the many historians, Count Sergi Witte, a storied figure in late Russian Imperial history, warned the Tsar that the war would forever change everything. He died in 1915 but his prediction, based on a lifetime of experience in foreign affairs, became a new reality. The same advice could be given today, rather than war mongering threats from the French president and the German Chancellor. History does repeat itself.