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The high visibility of the refugees underscored the role of Belgium in the minds of the French and British. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] In the spring of 1915, German authorities started construction on the Wire of Death , a lethal electric fence along the Belgian-Dutch border which would claim the lives of between 2,000 and 3,000 Belgian refugees trying to ...
Since control of Belgium allowed an opponent to threaten invasion or blockade British trade, preventing it was a long-standing British strategic interest. [ d ] [ 24 ] Under Article VII of the 1839 Treaty of London , Britain guaranteed Belgian neutrality against aggression by any other state, by force if required. [ 25 ]
In 1914 the war was so unexpected that no one had formulated long-term goals. An ad-hoc meeting of the French and British ambassadors with the Russian Foreign Minister in early September led to a statement of war aims that was not official, but did represent ideas circulating among diplomats in St. Petersburg, Paris, and London, as well as the secondary allies of Belgium, Serbia, and Montenegro.
Britain's duty to her Entente partners, both France and Russia, were paramount factors. The Foreign Secretary Edward Grey argued that the secret naval agreements with France created a moral obligation 'to save France from defeat by Germany. British national interest rejected German control of France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Britain protests against the violation of Belgian neutrality, guaranteed by the Treaty of London (1839), The German Chancellor replies that the treaty is just a chiffon de papier (a scrap of paper). The United Kingdom declares war on Germany, automatically including all dominions, colonies, etc. of the British Empire including Canada, Australia ...
The German invasion of Belgium on 3 August led to a declaration of war by Britain on Germany on 4 August, creating the conflict that became the First World War. [4] Two alliances faced off, the Central Powers (led by Germany) and the Triple Entente (led by Britain, France and Russia).
The United Kingdom declaration of war upon Germany occurred on 4 August 1914. The declaration was a result of German refusal to remove troops from neutral Belgium.In 1839, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, France, and Prussia (the largest predecessor of the German Empire) had signed the Treaty of London which guaranteed Belgium's sovereignty.
Daily Mail on 5 August 1914. The United Kingdom entered World War I on 4 August 1914, when King George V declared war after the expiry of an ultimatum to the German Empire.The official explanation focused on protecting Belgium as a neutral country; the main reason, however, was to prevent a French defeat that would have left Germany in control of Western Europe.