It feared Germany's domination of the continent and its challenge to British industrial and imperial supremacy. But until late July 1914, Britain was largely preoccupied with domestic issues. Social, industrial and political unrest and the threat of civil war in Ireland received most of the nation's attention.
Kennedy argues that by far the main reason was London's fear that a repeat of 1870 — when Prussia and the German states smashed France in the Franco-Prussian War — would mean that Germany, with a powerful army and navy, would control the English Channel and northwest France.
What caused the rivalry between Britain and Germany in the early 1900s?
Between 1900 and 1914, Germany became identified by Britain as the chief foreign threat to its Empire. This was, to a large extent, the outcome of the policies pursued by Germany's leader, Kaiser Wilhelm II – most notably his eagerness to build a battle fleet to rival Britain's.
From that point on, Germany was seen as the “bad guys.” By the end of World War I, all of their allies, the Ottomans, the Austro-Hungarians, and the Italians, would all be gone.
The REAL Reason Britain Declared War On Germany August 4 1914
Who was fully blamed for WW1?
The Treaty of Versailles, signed following World War I, contained Article 231, commonly known as the “war guilt clause,” which placed all the blame for starting the war on Germany and its allies.
British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, however, was always suspicious of Germany, disliked its authoritarianism and feared that it would eventually start a war with a weaker neighbour.
Britain had the largest navy in the world and its policy was to ensure the Royal Navy was at least the size of the next two largest navies combined, known as the two-power standard. Britain's economy was dependent on the ability to ship in raw materials and export out a finished product.
Germany's failure to defeat the RAF and secure control of the skies over southern England made invasion all but impossible. British victory in the Battle of Britain was decisive, but ultimately defensive in nature – in avoiding defeat, Britain secured one of its most significant victories of the Second World War.
The political objective of the assassination was to free Bosnia and Herzegovina of Austria-Hungarian rule and establish a common South Slav ("Yugoslav") state. The assassination precipitated the July Crisis, which led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia and the start of World War I.
Germany was severely punished by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The key points were: Germany had to accept full blame for the war. This was known as the 'war guilt clause.
In some places German-Americans were victims of beatings. Some German immigrants chose to make changes themselves so people would not discriminate against them for their heritage. Some families stopped celebrating German traditions. Some businesses changed their names to more American sounding names.
WW1 did not break out by accident or because diplomacy failed. It broke out as the result of a conspiracy between the governments of imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary to bring about war, albeit in the hope that Britain would stay out.
When Hitler gave no response, Britain declared war on Germany 3 September 1939. "This is not a question of fighting for Danzig or fighting for Poland," Churchill declared, "We are fighting to save the whole world from the pestilence of Nazi tyranny and in defense of all that is most sacred to man."
A month after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on July 28, 1914, the Austro-Hungarian government declares war on Serbia.
Historians who believe Germany was not primarily responsible for the war base their conclusion on the fact that other nations behaved just as badly as Germany did in the decades preceding the war, and that factors outside the control of any one country or individual were more responsible for the war.
Germany declared war on Russia and ordered its own general mobilisation. France knew that it faced German invasion, but was clear that it must stand or fall with Russia. Many Frenchmen also hoped that war could settle old grievances with Germany stemming from the 1870s.
Without the war, the more infamous genocides of the 20th century would not occur. In this scenario, Germany never sends Vladimir Lenin back from his Swiss exile to destabilize Russia, leading to the Soviet Union's many purges and liquidations.
A man with war in his blood, Sir Adrian Carton De Wiart was of Belgian heritage but fought for the British Empire during WW1. Throughout his stints at war, he was injured multiple times, and despite the severity of his wounds, survived. He became known as the 'man who could not be killed'.
[1]Desmond Doss is credited with saving 75 soldiers during one of the bloodiest battles of World War II in the Pacific — and he did it without ever carrying a weapon.
Francis Pegahmagabow is known for being the deadliest sniper of WW1. He acquired the Military Medal 3 times following the killing of 378 Germans and the capturing of 300 prisoners.
For two or three years afterward, large numbers of British subjects remained convinced that the Nazi invasion of Britain might still happen. But the fact that the Germans never did land on England's shores, and in reality couldn't have done so, is perfectly obvious in hindsight.
Although the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, and certain elements of the British public favoured a negotiated peace with an ascendant Germany, Churchill and a majority of his Cabinet refused to consider an armistice.
Winston Churchill was an inspirational statesman, writer, orator and leader who led Britain to victory in the Second World War. He served as Conservative Prime Minister twice - from 1940 to 1945 (before being defeated in the 1945 general election by the Labour leader Clement Attlee) and from 1951 to 1955.
