Guns Of August

25 Pages 6194 Words

hat expired without a reply. Thus it was declared that Germany would too begin mobilization. It began and everything went along the specific schedule, down to the number of train axles that would pass over a given bridge within a given time. The Kaiser was very tense as he had not actually wanted a general war. Yet instead of possibly keeping the peace with France, by suggesting the autonomy of Alsace, Germany also delivered France an ultimatum. The French reply was that it would act in accordance with her interests. Some confusion soon erupted when the London ambassador mistakenly sent a message to Germany with the possibility of English and French neutrality, which was not actually the case. Next, Germany requested Englands neutrality and failed. Because German protocol deemed it necessary to properly declare war, Germany formally declared war on France and Russia, and Italy was not obliged to support Germany since it was officially not a defensive war.
Meanwhile, in France, it was a primary goal to have England fighting in the war and on F...