United Kingdom declaration of war upon Germany (1914)


declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914. The declaration was a result of German refusal to remove troops from neutral Belgium. In 1839 the United Kingdom, France, and Prussia had signed the Treaty of London which guaranteed Belgium sovereignty.

Order of events

On 3 August 1914 Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign Secretary, announced to the House of Commons information he had received from the Belgian Legation in London. He said that Belgian officials had informed him that they had received a notice from Germany proposing to Belgium friendly neutrality, covering free passage on Belgian territory, and promising maintenance of independence of the kingdom and possession at the conclusion of peace, and threatening, in case of refusal, to treat Belgium as an enemy. A time limit of twelve hours was fixed for the reply. Grey then informed the house Belgium had informed him they would enter into no agreement with Germany.
On 4 August 1914 H. H. Asquith, the Prime Minister, made the following statement in the House of Commons:
On 5 August 1914 Asquith told the House of Commons:
During the same meeting, the House of Commons voted to approve a credit of £100,000,000 for the war effort.