Key Facts
The Royal Couple were murdered on June 28th 1914
On 28th July the Austrians declared war on Serbia
This was the third Balkan War since 1912 but the other two had been confined to the Balkans
Mobilisation means preparing the armed forces for war and in 1914 this was taken as being the same as invasion although no troops had actually crossed any frontiers
On 29th July the Russians mobilised their army to defend Serbia
On 1st August Germany tried to help Austria by demanding that the Russians cancel their mobilisation
No reply was received - Germany and Russia were now at war
The German Schlieffen Plan demanded that France be attacked first through Belgium
Germany claimed, falsely, that French troops had attacked Germany and towns had been bombed. Germany declared war on France on 3rd August
Also on 3rd August German troops invaded Belgium
Despite her secret commitments to France, Britain had only made vague declarations about the crisis. This reflected a deeply divided government but the German invasion of Belgium resolved these divisions
Belgian neutrality had been guaranteed by the Treaty of London which the Germans had also signed
On August 4th a British ultimatum was delivered to the Germans demanding they withdraw from Belgium
No reply was received and war was declared on 4th August, 1914.
Despite personal messages between George V, Tsar Nicholas II and kaiser Wilhelm II, Europe was at war by the end of the August Bank Holiday, just as the Paisley Fair started.
Read pages 24 to 29 and complete this table
Date Action
June 28th 1914
July 26th
July 28th
July 29th
August 1st
August 3rd
August 4th
Read page 13 and answer these questions-
What problem did the German army face after 1894?
In the Plan who was to be attacked first?
What was essential? Why?
Once the French were defeated what would then happen?
Which neutral countries would be attacked (see map page 13)
Document Exercise
How reliable is source G on page 29?
What point of view is being expressed in source H on page 29?
