TWENTY YEARS AGO

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 210, 4 August 1934, Page 8

TWENTY YEARS AGO

DECLARATION OF WAR. . GRIM STRUGGLE RECALLED. Twenty years have elapsed to-day since Great Britain declared war on Germany and joined ill the titanic struggle which turned Europe into a battleground for over four years until the Armistice on November 11, 1918. Events immediately leading up to the Great War were the culmination of months of military intrigue, historians relate, with Germany planning to launch an attack on comparatively defenceless countries at the crucial moment. The main declarations of war were on August 2, I y l*' but Great Britain officially entered the theatre of operations on August 4. It has been said that the military conflagration which burst out was not only the greatest war in history, but the greatest in the political and ecc-» nomic sciences. For its causes, however, not only Germany, but her Imperial relations with Russia have to be studied. Disregarding the counsels of Bismarck and previous reigning Hohenzollerris, the Kaiser had steadily offended Russia, with whom war within two years was considered to be inevitable, irrespective of matters related to Serbia. Both Russia and Germanv knew the precise position, but the former did not want war before 1916. The war party in Germany had the supreme audacity to determine through Austria, first to smash Serbia and then put the Balkan States and Turkey in alignment with her for -war. During the progress of the Japanese War, Germany had thrust commercial treaties on St. Petersburg and Russia was anxious to throw off these crippling shackles. Russia had already suffered the indignity of being forced by Germany, at the point of the bayonet, to assent to the taking by Austria of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in violation of the Treaty of Berlin. It was a popular fallacy in Germany in conformity with the old Junker spirit, that militarism makes a great nation. THE MURDER AT SERAJEVO. The assassination at Serajevo, in Serbia, on June 28, 1914, of the Archduke Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Austria, is generally accepted as having precipitated the Great War.' It was an incident which furnished Germany and Austria with the opportunity to carry out their long-con-ceived project to extend their influence through the growing State of Serbia. A treaty had been arranged between Greece and Turkey, to be signed in July, which would have settled things between Turkey and the Balkan States. Roumania and Serbia were in agreement with this great proposed measure for peace in south-eastern Europe. When everything was ready for signing Austria intervened and announced her opposition. Then followed the bombshell of the ultimatum to Serbia, timed at the precise- moment to kill the treaty negotiations. It was sought that instead of this, the Balkan States should come into union with Turkey under the influence of Austria.

Germany, with her enormous spy system, secured copies of the confidential State papers of the Czar and transmitted them to Vienna. They knew Russia was unprepared, both financially and militarily, for war. The plans of Austria and Germany were to line up the Balkans under German policies and trade influences; then in two years to fight Russia and impose German tariff conditions upon her. If France dared to come in, there would certainly be an attack. Italy would, under the Triple Alliance, assist to defend Austria and Germany. With possession of Russia’s vast resources Germany cpuld later crush France, and would be in a position to try out the long desired naval issue with Britain for supremacy of the seas. The German Emperor directed the ultimatum isued by Austria, and fenced off all gestures of modification or postponement. Germany was ready for everything—except the intervention of Great Britain where the nation sprang to arms when the call came. The aim of Germany, in alliance with Turkey, and through Austria, was to establish a quasi-sovereignty over the Balkan States, enabling her to extend her influence right through Asia Minor to the Persian Gulf. She would then have a mighty military Empire with railway communications cleaving the centre of Eurone to the East.

THE OUTBREAK

War followed Serbia’s rejection of the Austrian ultimatum. Germany declared war on Russia at 7.30 p.m. on August 1, and was openly marching on France, who had not then been notified of a declaration oi' war. At 7 p.m. on Sunday evening, August 3, the German ultimatum was handed to Belgium giving the latter twelve hours to surrender her country to the free passage of German battalions, but Belgium refused and Germany invaded her territory. Britain had warned Germany of the immediate and natural consequences of the violation of Belgium neutrality, and declared war. Her naval mobilisation had been completed at 4 a.m. on August 4, and the British Army began to mobilise at midnight on August 5, the same day as Germany entered Switzerland, violating the treaty there. Thus military operations began with the declaration of war by AustriaHungary on Serbia. Germany had joined Austria and Russia supported Serbia. As Russia’s ally, France entered the field, the violation of Belgium neutrality ranging that country and Britain on the same side. Later, Austria and Germany, the Central Powers, as they were called, were aided by Turkey and Bulgaria, while the Allies were joined at once by Japan, in 1915 by Italy, in 1916 by Roumania and in 1917 as an associate, not an ally, by the United States. Other countries on the same side were Portugal, and several in America, too far off to render effective assistance. The main field of battle stretched from the North Sea to Switzerland. SIR EDWARD GREY’S SORROW. Probably there is no more faithful and human record of what the ultimatum cost the British Foreign Secretary, the late Viscount (then Sir Edward) Grey, than that chronicled in “The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page” (then the American Ambassador to Britain) by Burton J. Hendrick. In a letter written to president Wilson, on August 9, 1914, Mr Page said, anent “the grand smash,” as he termed it: “I shall never forget Sir Edward Grey’s telling me of the ultimatum — while he wept; nor the poor German Ambassador who has lost in liis high game—almost a demented man; nor the King as he declaimed at me for half an hour and threw up his hands and said, ‘My God, Mr Page, what else could w'e do?’ Nor the Austrian Ambassador’s wringing his hands and weeping and crying out, ‘My dear colleague, my dear colleague.’ The chronicler, in further reference, says: — „ “ ‘England would be forever contemptible ” Sir Edward Grey said, “if it should sit by and see this treaty violated. Its position would be gone if Germany were thus permitted to

dominate Europe. I have therefore asked you to come to tell you that this morning we sent an ultimatum to Germany. We have told Germany that, if this assault on Belgium’s neutrality is not reversed, England will declare war.” “Do you expect Germany to accept it?” asked the Ambassador. Sir Edward shook liis head. “No. Of course everybody knows that there will be war.” There was a moment’s pause and then the Foreign Secretary spoke again: “Yet we must remember that there are two Germanys. There is the Germany of men like ourselves—of men like Lichnowsky and Jagow. Then there is the Germany of men of the war party. The war party has got the upper hand.” At this point Sir Edward’s eyes filled with tears. “Thus the efforts of a lifetime go for nothing. I feel like a man who has wasted his life.” “This scene was most affecting, Page said afterward. “Sir Edward not only realised what the whole thing meant, but he showed that he realised the awful responsibility for it. ... I came away with a sort of stunned sense of the impending-ruin of half the world.”