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.Nulli Secundus -
'Second to None'
by Terence Cardwell
Chapter
Twenty Two - Scrap of paper
Two weeks after the Coldstreamers’ conversation, in
late July 1914, the Austrian-Hungarian government, in an
attempt to bolster their crumbling power and to impress
the people of Austria-Hungary, made ten demands of
Serbia, accusing them of being involved in the
complicity to murder the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and
insisting they hand over the perpetrators and allow the
Austrian-Hungarian government free access in Serbia. If
these demands were not met they would mobilise against
Serbia and declare war.
The demands were extreme, some almost impossible, but
to the surprise of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria and
his government, the Serbian government agreed to all
their demands, except one, in an effort to avoid a war
they believed they could not win.
They would not agree to allow Austria access to Serbia.
The Austrian government, emboldened by the support
offered by Germany and believing the Serbians would
refuse their demands, had already mobilised. Then
declared war on Serbia citing non-compliance with their
demands.
Austria was unaware that this move would trigger the
greatest conflict in the history of mankind.
Tsar Nicholas advised Franz Josef that Serbia was a
protectorate of Russia, which would have no choice but
to go to Serbia’s defence if Austria-Hungary did not
withdraw the declaration. Russia commenced mobilisation
of their vast army as soon as possible, achieving it
much quicker than any government had anticipated.
Germany saw the moment to achieve their long-held
ambition of European domination, and advised Russia that
they had a mutual defence agreement with Austria-Hungary
and would mobilise and declare war if Russia persisted
in their course of action. Germany allowed little time
for a response and declared war on Russia on August 1.
France had a mutual defence pact agreement with Russia
and reiterated that agreement to Germany who, well aware
of this, ignored France, who unwittingly played into
their hands by blindly declaring war on Germany and
Austria-Hungary on August 3 .
England had no intention of being involved in the
conflict, having an agreement with France only to
protect their coast against any aggression or intrusion
from German naval attacks. The only British concern was
that Germany respect Belgium’s neutrality; they
requested an assurance from Germany that this would be
honoured.
Great Britain was highly sensitive about Belgium and its
proximity to the English coast. In the hands of an
enemy, Belgian ports offered a major threat to British
naval supremacy and the security of Great Britain, and
the two nations had signed a mutual defence agreement in
1839 called the ‘Treaty of London’, which committed
Great Britain to defend Belgian neutrality. This almost
unknown eighty-five-year-old agreement was about to
become Great Britain’s greatest nightmare.
Lord Earl Gray held in-depth discussions with his German
counterpart in mid-July, but at no stage did he mention
the treaty or the fact that Great Britain would go to
war in support of France and Russia. Earl Gray indicated
that Great Britain had a commitment, as a world sea
power, to protect the shores and seaways of France.
Outside that, there was no agreement to go to France’s
aid in the event of France going to war with a foreign
power.
After discussions with Lord Earl Gray, the German
foreign minister reported back to Kaiser Wilhelm: they
had a free hand to go to war with France, without the
interference of Great Britain.
The
Kaiser was delighted, and immediately put plans in place
for the attack on France and the first stage of what was
known as the Schlieffen Plan. He was well aware of the
close family relationships between the two countries and
believed on this basis alone than Great Britain would
not get involved. Unfortunately, he was not aware of
Lord Earl Gray’s predilection for dithering or his
incapacity to make firm and logical decisions.
When news arrived that Lord Earl Gray had addressed the
Parliament and spoken of the 1839 treaty with Belgium,
the Kaiser was stunned. ‘Surely they would not go to war
over an old scrap of paper,’ he blustered. ‘It is
absolutely ridiculous.’ But Great Britain was committed
by Earl Gray to defend Belgium if Germany did not
withdraw from that country: a request they ignored. It
was far too late for Kaiser Wilhelm to alter the course
of events and he was committed to war and unable to stop
it. ‘Let them send their contemptible little army, we
will sweep them aside in three days,’ the Kaiser
boasted.
The
procrastination of Lord Earl Gray and his government
almost certainly caused the First World War by their
bumbling inadequate assertiveness and imprecise
intentions. Kaiser Wilhelm indicated that had he been
able to do so, and had he been told earlier, he would
have avoided starting a war if Great Britain was to be
involved.
No
one was aware of the secret plan developed by Germany in
the event of war with France. This was the Schlieffen
Plan, named after the general who designed it in 1912,
well before any possibility of war supposedly existed.
Quite clearly Germany had always intended to go to war
with France to fulfil their desire for European
domination. They had beaten France into submission in
1870 and were confident they could do it again, even
though the French had built substantial fortifications
including the Maginot Line to defend itself.
The
Schlieffen Plan involved attacking the French head-on
with two thirds of the army, compelling them to maintain
their forces against Germany at the border. Meanwhile,
the other third would sweep quickly through Belgium,
around the French left flank, down towards Paris, back
towards the right flank of the French and effectively
surround them, bypassing the Maginot line and its
fortifications at the same time. The plan was to knock
the French out of the war in five weeks, before Russia
had the chance to mobilise her army, which was estimated
to be a six-week task. Germany could then turn the full
might of her army against Russia. The plan very nearly
succeeded.
But
they had not allowed for the possibility of Great
Britain joining the war; and this was to be their
downfall and France’s and Russia’s salvation.
Without Great Britain’s entry into the war, France,
Belgium, Russia, and Serbia would have almost certainly
become a part of the Greater German empire.
On
August 3, Great Britain asked Germany if they would
respect Belgium’s neutrality, and the Kaiser replied by
asking Britain to ignore ‘this scrap of old paper’,
Britain became aware of what was about to happen. Her
worst fears were realised when Germany invaded Belgium
on August 4. Britain insisted that Germany withdraw, and
having received no reply by midday, declared war on
Germany and Austria, aligning herself with France and
Russia.
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