Gallipoli by Peter Fitzsimons Read Free Book Online Page B

number of flagrantly hostile acts committed on German territory by French military aviators.
    Several of these have openly violated the neutrality of Belgium by flying over the territory of that country; one has attempted to destroy buildings near Wesel; others have been seen in the district of the Eifel; one has thrown bombs on the railway near Carlsruhe and Nuremberg.
    â€¦ I am instructed, and I have the honour to inform your Excellency, that in the presence of [France’s] acts of aggression the German Empire considers itself in a state of war with France in consequence of the acts of this latter Power …
    Be good enough, M. le President, to receive the assurances of my deepest respect.
    (Signed) SCHOEN. 19
    The German Ambassador, according to protocol, also asks for, and receives, his passport and the passports of his senior staff, as they wish to leave Paris immediately, before the actual fighting begins.
    France’s sole solace, as expressed by the French President soon afterwards to his Chamber of Deputies, is that, ‘At the hour when the struggle is beginning … [we are] helped by Russia … [we are] supported by the loyal friendship of Great Britain.’ 20
    At least, he hopes so.
    For what will Great Britain do? The newly appointed Secretary for War, Lord Kitchener – backed by Sir Edward Grey – is firm in his insistence that ‘if Britain abandons France, it can never again claim the right to be a world power’. 21 The situation is further complicated by the fact that, even before declaring war on France, Germany had delivered an ultimatum to Belgium, demanding free passage for German troops to cross its territory to get to France. King Albert of Belgium had refused outright …
    AFTERNOON, 3 AUGUST 1914, AUSTRALIA COMES TO THE PARTY
    It has taken some time, given the exigencies of the election campaign, but after Governor-General Munro Ferguson’s prod of four days earlier to Prime Minister Cook:
    Would it not be well, in view of the latest news from Europe, that Ministers should meet in order that Imperial Government may know what support to expect from Australia? 22
    â€¦ it is organised. Finally, on this chilly afternoon in Melbourne, the caretaker Prime Minister and four members of his ten-man Cabinet are able to convene in Federal Parliament on Melbourne’s Spring Street. Their deliberations as to what to do about the request from the British Government do not take long. Shortly after the meeting is over, the Governor-General is quick to send a cable to London, assuring the British Government’s Secretary of State for the Colonies of the total fidelity of its most loyal son, and that, in the event of war, Australia is:
    PREPARED TO DESPATCH AN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE [OF] 20,000 MEN OF ANY SUGGESTED COMPOSITION TO ANY DESTINATION DESIRED BY THE HOME GOVERNMENT. FORCE TO BE AT COMPLETE DISPOSAL HOME GOVERNMENT. COST OF DESPATCH AND MAINTENANCE WOULD BE BORNE BY THIS GOVERNMENT. 23
    Of course, there has never been any doubt: just as Prime Minister Cook has stated, if Great Britain goes to war, Australia will not only be with her but also cede control of its forces to Great Britain. Yet, while loyalty to the British Empire is first and foremost, there are other reasons for Australia to offer to fight. With so many German territories scattered around the Pacific – New Britain, the Caroline Islands, the Marianas, the Marshall Islands, German Samoa and North-East New Guinea, not to mention their major base at Tsingtao in China for the cruisers of the German East Asia Squadron – it is obvious that if Britain goes on to lose the war, Germany will become even more powerful than it already is. And, of course, should Germany lose the war, there is every chance that Germany’s territories will be ceded to Australia.
    For its part, Lord Northcliffe’s Daily Mail has no doubts as to the rights and wrongs of the affair:
    Our duty is to go forward into