#59: 3 August 1914 III - House on Fire
When Diplomacy Fails Podcast12 Mai 2025

#59: 3 August 1914 III - House on Fire

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 country was desperate for an update. What would the government do if the rumours were true, and Germany had invaded France? Was neutrality on the table? And what of Belgium, who was protected by a treaty? How would Grey rally the House to his side, and did it even matter if he could not, since the Cabinet had already been convinced of the need to act thanks to various pressures?


Grey was tasked with answering many of these questions, but there were many that he did not answer, and a surprising amount that he did not say. In this episode we give Grey's speech in the Commons - and the subsequent reactions - their proper attention. In a day suffused with monumental, watershed moments, not limited to Germany's declaration of war on France, Grey's speech represented the public culmination of a struggle which had gone on in private for several weeks. His seventy minute speech set the tone for what was to come, and effectively spelled out that Britain was bound to transform this European war into a world war.


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Episoder(744)

#16: March-June 1914 - The Entente Part 3

#16: March-June 1914 - The Entente Part 3

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#15: Jan-March 1914 - The Entente Part 2

#15: Jan-March 1914 - The Entente Part 2

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#14: 1912-1913 - The Entente Part 1

#14: 1912-1913 - The Entente Part 1

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#13: 13-14 July 1914 - Berchtold Supreme

#13: 13-14 July 1914 - Berchtold Supreme

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#12: 8-12 July 1914 - Hartwig's Last Act

#12: 8-12 July 1914 - Hartwig's Last Act

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#11: 7 July 1914 - Joint Council Meeting

#11: 7 July 1914 - Joint Council Meeting

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#10: 6 July 1914 - Saving Austria-Hungary

#10: 6 July 1914 - Saving Austria-Hungary

With the blank cheque secured, Austria had received its ally's blessing to pursue a punitive strike against Serbia - what would happen next? The morass of questions surrounding this development deserv...

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#9: 5 July 1914 - Drafting the Blank Cheque

#9: 5 July 1914 - Drafting the Blank Cheque

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