[CENTER][img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Imperial_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Empire_of_Austria_%281815%29.svg/800px-Imperial_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Empire_of_Austria_%281815%29.svg.png[/img]

[B]Kaiserthum Oesterreich[/B]
The Austrian Empire[/CENTER]

My brothers and sisters, I speak to you today, not as an Emperor or as President but as a shepherd. We find that in these increasingly hostile times, diplomacy has failed, and the tyranny of evil men prevails. Fear not, for this shepherd, a Shepherd of the Lord, will guide the Austrian people and her allies to victory. We will preserve, and we will overcome. Many lives will be lost, fathers, sons, brothers, all left in shallow graves on battlefields across the continent, but worry not, for they too are shepherds, Shepherds of the Lord and Shepherds of the Austrian Empire and the German Confederation. Together, we will march onward to victory and triumph over these evil men.

I read to you one of my favorite passages from the Bible, Ezekiel 25:17:

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who will attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

I ponder sometimes. Are the enemies of Austria the evil men, and is it us who are righteous man? But does that not make the business end of a rifle the shepherd leading the righteous man through the valley of darkness? It cannot be. I cannot accept that a rifle is righteous for it is an instrument, a tool for war. After much contemplation, I have come to believe that it is our enemies are the righteous man, and it is us who are the shepherds. It is the world that is evil, and it is man himself who besets upon him the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.

To the Austrian people, let us be the Shepherds of the Lord and walk through the valley of darkness together, and with the blessings of the Lord, we cast off the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men, liberating the righteous man and restoring peace to the continent.

To our allies, we are your shepherds, and we will guide you to victory. The struggle may be long, and we may find ourselves wishing we had long since capitulated, but remember, you walk with the shepherds, and thus, you walk with the Lord. When the evil men attempt to poison and destroy their brothers, the Lord will strike them down, laying his vengeance upon them.

To the people of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, it is with a heavy heart that I issue a formal declaration of war. The men of your country will spill their blood, but worry not. The Empire will shall liberate you from the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. We will shepherd you through the valley of darkness, for we are truly our brother’s keepers and the finder of lost children. Worry not, the Lord will strike vengeance upon the tyrannical governments which seek to oppress you, and though many lives will be lost, goodness will ultimately triumph.

To the people of the German Confederation, we call upon you to rise against the Prussian aggressors. The Kingdom of Prussia has declared war upon the Ottoman Empire, attempting to draw us in so that they may spread their tyranny across Central Europe. My brothers in Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, and the rest of the German Confederation, rise with us and stave off the Kingdom of Prussia before it shatters the Confederation through bloodshed and violence.

To the Kingdom of Italy, we beseech you to reconsider your alliances. May you find yourself walking alongside the shehpard rather than conspiring with the selfish and the tyrannical.

Your Majesties of the Kingdom of Netherlands and the Kingdom of Prussia, prepare yourselves for war. The vengeance of the Lord will be thorough and absolute!

- Franz Joseph I, Austrian Emperor