An Uneasy Truce

In our world, World War I was one of the most deadly conflicts of all time, caused by the tension between European powers and the murder of an Austrian Archduke. it was the biggest and most mobilized conflicts up to that point in time, and was responsible for the deaths of untold millions. But What if cooler heads and reason had prevailed? What if World War one had stopped before it started?

Point of Divergence
When the Austrian Arch Duke was murdered, instead of mobilizing and declaring war against Serbia instantly, Austria-Hungry decided to take the less risky route, at least temporarily. The emperor simply put some troops at the border, and see how other nations would react to this move. Russia immediately threatened to declare war, and began the long mobilization process.

Despite General aggression, none of the European nations really wanted war. So instead of declaring war, Austria decided to take diplomatic action, and sent a diplomat to Moscow, who suggested peace talks. It was decided the talks would take place in Munich, with Germany acting as a neutral mediator.

In the end, both sides agreed on a compromise: Austria would be allowed to take "policing Action," by occupying Belgrade, the Serbian capital. In exchange, they agreed not to expand further into the Balkans for a period of 10 years. This way, the Austrians would be able to punish Serbia, but the Russians stopped a hated enemy from expanding. As a direct result of the truce, tensions greatly increased in Europe, especially between Germany, Austria-hungry and Russia.