The German Empire invaded Belgium and France on this day in history and began WW1. The war was to end in 1918.
August 3 is a historic day because it marks the start of World War I. On August 3, 1914, Germany invaded Belgium and France, prompting Britain to declare war on Germany. Then Britain invaded Germany to stop them but was not able. Germany then invaded France for the second time and quickly advanced. In 1917, Germany and Austria-Hungary began to break apart. The Hapsburg Empire lost the war.
On August 3, Germany invaded Belgium because, in 1914, the Germans had a plan to get rid of their enemies. It was called the Schlieffen Plan, but this did not work well because of a new invention called tanks, which slowed down German troops giving more time for the British forces to get there.
Here is more information about August 3, 1914- Germany invades Belgium and declares war on France, kickstarting WW1
More Facts
- The First World War, or the Great War, started on this day, in 1914, when Germany invaded France through neutral Belgium.
- The German leader at this time was Kaiser Wilhelm II.
- The French leader was Marshal Joseph Joffre, who repeatedly warned Germany against violating Belgian neutrality but was ignored by Kaiser Wilhelm II.
- On August 2, 1914, the armed forces of the German Empire crossed the Belgian frontier and attacked France by violating that country's neutrality.
- Some of Belgium was occupied, and King Albert I went into exile. On the same day, Britain declared war on Germany and mobilized its Army.
- Early in the morning on August 4, Britain's ultimatum to Germany expired, and two hours later, Britain declared war on Germany.
- On August 6, two German army corps advanced into neutral Luxembourg and occupied the Grand Duchy.
- On the same day, German troops also entered the neutral Netherlands.
- By 1914, the Germans had overrun most of Belgium and northern France.
- On August 22, Belgian resistance ended with the surrender of King Albert I in Brussels.
What was the position of the US when all of this was going on! We have always been a step behind.
Excellent
Lest we forget, the United States entered the war in April of 1917, swinging the momentum of the war to the allied side. President Wilson’s 13 Points prescribed the direction of the settlement, although the US failed to accept the 13th point—the establishment of the League of Nations. The League might have prevented WWII in Europe, IF it had teeth.
This is a simplistic account of the beginning of the war. It doesn’t mention the assassination of the Austrian Archduke and his wife by a Serbian terrorist with the connivance of the Serbian government. Serbia was allied with Russia, Austria with Germany. When the respective armies began to mobilize, war was declared.
Each nation had reasons to enter the war. France wanted revenge for their loss in 1971. Britain was losing the commercial competition with Germany. Germany feared the Russian bear and resented the British subjugation of the Boers in South Africa.. All these nations had a ‘dog in the hunt’ and the dog was the Dog of War.
The true story of WWI and its preludes has yet to be written.