The sudden outbreak of war caught the British Empire across the Channel a little unprepared. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Although, the British government had long anticipated that war would be inevitable. However, they still did not expect that the war would come so suddenly.

Of course, for Britain, it is better to start this war sooner than later. This was especially true when the strength of the German Navy was growing faster and faster, and it was already a serious threat to Britain. If Germany cannot be defeated, Britain's hegemony will be shaken, and this will have a very negative impact on the maintenance of Britain's world colonial system.

In order to maintain its hegemonic status, Britain has always practiced the policy of balance of power on the European continent, that is, it does not want a hegemon to emerge on the European continent. Once one country rises, Britain will join forces with other countries to besiege it. The last to be besieged by the British was France, and now it was Germany's turn.

Because of their geographical location, Britain could keep their homeland safe from attack as long as they maintained a strong navy. As for the war on land, it was left to the French and Russians. Let them fight to the death with the Germans on the land battlefield. It is much better than letting a large number of British young people die on the battlefield!

Germany declared war on Russia and France, respectively, but Britain did not declare war on Germany in the first place. On the one hand, Britain had not signed military treaties with France and Russia, and was not obliged to enter war immediately. Whether or not to enter the war depends on the interests of Britain. On the other hand, the British did not have the intention of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight, using Germany to deplete the strength of France and Russia, so that they suffered heavy losses in this war. In this way, it would be easier for Britain to control the post-war world.

Therefore, there are no eternal friends between countries, only eternal interests. In this war, it was vividly expressed. Even if they are allies of each other, everyone calculates against each other.

It's just that the wishful thinking of the British is obviously wrong. The next move of the Germans disrupted their deployment.

On the afternoon of August 2, the British Cabinet held an emergency meeting. There was only one item on the agenda, and that was that the Kingdom of Belgium had informed them that when an ultimatum had been given to them, Germany would attack them if they did not allow the German* army to take advantage of it. This is absolutely unacceptable to the British.

"Damn the Germans, what are they trying to do? Could it be that they really wanted to force the British Empire into war? "Prime Minister Asquith was furious.

If Germany really attacked the Kingdom of Belgium, it would be impossible for Britain to continue to sit on the hill and watch the tiger fight. According to their commitments, Britain has a duty to protect the security of the Kingdom of Belgium.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the tactics of the Germans are really vicious! By attacking the neutral Kingdom of Belgium, they avoided the heavily deployed French lines and the rugged Ardennes Mountains to attack northern France. And according to what we know, the defense of northern France is very empty. It can be said that the French did not expect at all that the Germans would attack from the north. Once the Kingdom of Belgium was defeated, the French defenses would be dealt a fatal blow. "Secretary of War Richard? Haldan sighed.

"The French have to be informed and prepared for them. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for us to contain the Germans once France had suffered a heavy blow. "Foreign Secretary Edward? Sir Grey also said.

Even though Britain wanted to use the hands of the Germans to further weaken France. However, they must not stand by and watch France suffer heavy losses. If France were defeated, it would be dangerous. If not, they'll lose the war. Britain cannot afford to take such a risk.

"Well, let the French prepare in advance!" Prime Minister Asquith said.

"Even if we inform the French now, they may not be in time. The Germans were ready for war, and they only gave the Belgians 24 hours to think about it. It's been hours now. That is, in less than 20 hours, the Germans will attack. And the preparations for war of the French were not completed at all. Their standing armies were mainly deployed on the eastern defensive line. Even if the army was immediately drawn to defend the north, or to fight in Belgium, it would take time. By then, the Kingdom of Belgium would probably have been defeated by the Germans. Churchill shook his head, looking a little negative.

Prime Minister Asquith's face was also a little unpleasant.

"What if we send an expeditionary force and land directly in the Kingdom of Belgium?" Prime Minister Asquith asked.

Although, the British army is very small and not very combative. However, for the sake of the imminent war, Britain still decided to send an expeditionary force to fight on the European continent. This is what the French demanded in the first place.

"Your Excellency, the build-up of the expeditionary force will take time. In addition, the preparation of war materials also takes time. Therefore, if you want to send an expeditionary force, it will take at least half a month. This is also the reason why the expeditionary force has only two corps, four infantry divisions and one cavalry division, with a total of more than 70,000 people. If there are more troops, I am afraid that more preparation time will be required. "Secretary of War Richard? Harrdan replied.

"Oh God! Is there nothing we can do now but watch the Germans defeat Belgium and then go south to inflict heavy losses on France? In that case, we will lose the war! "Prime Minister Asquith is very anxious.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, now we can only hope that the Belgians will hold out a little longer. At least, their fortress of Liège was quite strong. Let's hope God bless them! Churchill sighed.

Prime Minister Asquith thought about it and had to nod, this is also a matter of no choice.

"Well, inform the Belgians, and we will send troops to help them at once, and hope that they will hold on. Also, Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, warn the Germans that if they send troops into the Kingdom of Belgium, we will enter the war. Hopefully, we can buy more time! Prime Minister Asquith said.

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister." Edward? Sir Gray nodded.

On 3 August, the Kingdom of Belgium formally rejected the German request for a passage and sent troops to the fortress of Liège, where they prepared to resist the German attack.

At the same time, Britain officially warned Germany not to send troops into the Kingdom of Belgium.

However, Germany ignored Britain's warnings. War was then declared on the Kingdom of Belgium.

On 4 August, German troops crossed the border and entered the Kingdom of Belgium. On the same day, Britain officially declared war on Germany!