Therefore, in 1904 France and Britain reached a series of agreements, also known as the Entente Cordial (friendly understanding), which settled, if not all but most, of their old disputes. Undoubtedly, the main agreement had to be the agreement in which France recognised Egypt and Sudan as British sphere of influence, while Britain recognised Morocco as French sphere of influence. In addition to this, both countries would support each other if their spheres of influence were challenged by a third power. Generally speaking, the objective of this entente cordial was basically to encourage co-operation against the perceived threat of Germany.
Meanwhile, France also had a military alliance with Russia. The Entente cordial with Britain meant that France could assist in talks between Britain and Russia. This certainly proved effective as three years later in 1907, Russia, who also feared the growth in the German army, joined Britain and France to form the Triple Entente. All in all, this entente was mainly formed because of the growing German threat.
From this one could reach an assumption, which states that the Entente cordial may have been an indirect consequence for Britain’s declaration for war. The alliances formed by both sides caused nations throughout Europe to prepare their armies for military action and honour their diplomatic alliances; hence Britain’s relations with the Triple Entente partners were no different. However, although the ententes between Britain, France and Russia stated, that each nation would back the other nation during a war, it did not mean that it was an alliance, but instead a vague promise. This clearly indicates that the Triple Entente wouldn’t have been the fundamental reason for Britain’s declaration of war. On the other hand, even though the entente made by Britain with France and Russia was merely a friendly understanding, it could be argued that it was still very essential for Britain to support the members of the Triple Entente. This is basically because of the fact that if Britain turned its back on the entente during a war situation, it was certainly obvious that later the entente would refuse to support Britain if she encountered any future difficulties. As B. Gilbert states; ‘the conclusion that the event of a German attack upon France, Britain would have to act on whether or not the Germans invaded Belgium.’ Moreover, after the Germans, the French and the Russians were one of the major powers in Europe, which meant if Britain refused to help France and Russia when they needed her most, later they could both unite together against Britain and threaten the scattered British Empire.
On the contrary, the classic reason given by the British government for entering the war was because of the invasion of Belgium by Germany. Germany had initially been developing plans for invasions into every European country since the time of Bismarck. One of the plans, which would assist Germany with this concept, was the Schlieffen Plan. The basic concept of this plan was a quick encirclement that would surround and destroy the enemy. In the past this plan was used for the invasion of France and also for individual conflicts like Battle of Tennenburg. If this plan was to work it was extremely necessary for Germany to put all possible force behind the invasion of France and not to hold any soldiers back in reserve. On the whole, the basic strategy was to end this war quickly by attacking France and immediately overrunning it before Russia had a chance to mobilize. This plan involved attacking Belgium and then proceeding south into France.
However, attacking neutral Belgium was totally against Britain’s objective, as Belgium was its prime strategic importance. For years Britain had been trying to ensure that no great powers secured control over Belgium, as it would cause great threat towards Britain. In 19 April 1939, Britain along with Austria, France, Prussia and Russia agreed to sign the Treaty of London, which was established after the revolt of 1930, and meant that Belgium should form an independent and neutral state. However, by invading Belgium, Germany went against this. According P. Hayes, Britain had moral reason for declaring war, and states, “Britain might claim that war was declared…to protect freedom.” Nonetheless, it was already known by the British government that if war did breakout between Germany and France, Germany would undoubtedly send troops through Belgium. On February 1st 1887 Vivian wrote to Salisbury about the gradual increasing of anxiety in Belgium regarding its position to the war and that it was ‘inevitable if not imminent that Germany would send troops through Belgium’.
Even so, to many historians it seemed that on the whole, Britain was not too bothered about Belgium, but used this moral issue as an excuse for her declaration of war. Therefore, naturally as a historian, I have to find other factors or reasons, which led to Britain declaring war on Germany.
Prior to the British declaration to the war, the British cabinet was occupied and hard at work trying to resolve the problems that posed in Ireland by the Home Rule movement. What seemed to be a violent clash between the Catholic majority and the Protestants in Ireland, was gradually leading to a certain possibility of an Irish civil war. As a result, for a while, international situation wasn’t one of the main causes for concern for the British government. Although the Conservative party thought that Britain should not stand isolated while the other imperial powers of Europe was engaged in war, the Liberals thought differently. It seemed to the Liberals that a war in Eastern Europe was essentially none of their business. Asquith to his mistress confined that, “Happily there seems…to be no reason why we should be more than spectators.” Many Liberals felt that Germany/Austria and Russia/France were evenly matched; hence there was no need for Britain to get involved. However, Eyre Crowe had different views, as for years he has been trying to transform the Entente with France into an alliance. Crowe along with the French ambassador criticised the Liberals by pointing out ‘if the word honour should be erased from the English language’
Nevertheless, we have to bare in mind that Britain could not ignore the fact that Germany was aiming at the ‘the political dictatorship of Europe’. At the verge of the late 19th century, Britain was undoubtedly the greatest imperial power in the world and had many colonial possessions scattered across the globe. However, by 1914 Britain was no longer the dominant economic power in Europe. Although it still had the world's largest shipbuilding industry, in other areas such as coal, iron, chemicals and light engineering, Britain was out-performed by Germany, and soon from 1899, Germany was beginning to pose a potential threat to the British Empire. To Britons, who had become accustomed to economic power, such German developments were hard to except, and in turn aggravate the bitter Anglo-German relation. In fact, the anti-German views were articulated throughout. In a secret memorandum of Francis Bertie, of the British Foreign Office, it states that, ‘Germany is in a dangerous situation in Europe…surrounded by governments who distrust her….’ The British government always feared that a major war between the continental powers could result in British imperial possessions becoming spoils of the war. Therefore, it seems that in reality, to defend the interests of Britain, the British cabinet had no choice but to declare war on Germany.
In conclusion, it seems to me that the reason for which Britain declared war on Germany wasn’t entirely because of the invasion of Belgium, but instead, there were many other factors, some of which I have already stated. After carefully examining the circumstances, I have noticed that it was more likely that Britain’s declaration of war in 1914 could have been a consequence of her Ententes with France and Russia. On the contrary, the fact that prior to the war, Anglo-German relation was already aggravated, it could be said that Britain’s declaration of war against Germany was directly connected with incidents that took place years earlier, such as the Naval Race. In addition to this, we have to bare in mind that, when the war began British cabinet was still trying to solve its domestic problems with Ireland. Therefore, it could be stated that, as civil war in Ireland was highly likely, the best way to reduce the hostility at home would be to declare war against Germany, simply because it would draw attention away from the crisis and also increase national patriotism, which in turn would unite the whole nation. However, I’ve failed to find many sources that support this view. For that reason, I believe that the main motive for why Britain declared war in 1914 was not entirely because of her Ententes, but instead because of the ever rising Anglo-German bitterness.
Bibliography:
Rivalry & Accord, International Relations 1870-1914, by John Lowe.
- http://www.ibiscom.com/w1frm.htm
The First World War – by Robert Johnson
