WDF 30: The Long War XIV

The world was at war, and there was much to do. In London, attention turned to the British Expeditionary Force. The BEF had been ruled out several times before, but that did not have to matter. How ma...

23 Kesä 202545min

With only hours left until the ultimatum expired, the mood in London and Berlin was anxious and excited. Was this truly it? Was the Anglo-German relationship now destined to die in a war over Belgium?...

16 Kesä 202536min

The 1839 Treaty on Belgian neutrality was a mere scrap of paper - that was the phrase which doomed Bethmann Hollweg, and Germany, to moral condemnation. It was the excuse which conquerors of all shape...

9 Kesä 202543min

No matter what Britain did, it was impossible for Germany to evacuate Belgium. War was inevitable. Why, then, did most of Britain not even realise it?The straightforward image we have in our minds of ...

2 Kesä 202542min

Germany's invasion of Belgium had finally begun. After several anxious days of negotiations, warnings, and second guessing, Berlin was firmly set on its path. But what path was that? War had been decl...

26 Touko 202535min

In the evening of 3 August, Germany finally declared war on France. The war, Berlin insisted, was caused by hostile French acts, but most knew better. The Italians certainly did. In a series of painfu...

19 Touko 202546min

Finally, Sir Edward Grey was ready to make his case to the House of Commons. Parliament had been starved of news for a week, and the press had done their best to fill in the gaps, but the whole countr...

12 Touko 202552min

The German ultimatum to Belgium had roused the Brussels government and rallied the nation, but other than this, much was still unclear by the early afternoon of this Bank Holiday Monday. News of Belgi...

5 Touko 202532min