Chapter V: Great Britain at War (1)

The war had come suddenly upon Great Britain, but it found a Government well prepared to withstand the enemy and a Parliament and a people whose divisions--on which the Germans had staked their hopes--were rapidly closing, and whose determination to carry on the contest to a victorious issue was being quickly perfected by a growing knowledge of the real position. Promises of help began to pour in from all parts of the Empire; at home steps were at once taken to detain Austrian and German reservists, and to seize or capture enemy ships within reach of British or French cruisers or lying in British ports. Twenty such vessels were taken on the first day of the war; the following days added many others and German oceanic trade was stopped at once. The British Fleets, brought together at Spithead (p. 158) had taken up their stations in the North Sea, and cruisers had been sent to protect the great trade routes from German warships, or from "auxiliary cruisers" in the shape of fast German liners, armed, and partly coaled, at sea. Horses and motor-lorries were hastily requisitioned for war purposes, and even harvesting was impeded by the (illegal) seizure of farm horses by too zealous agents; and preparations, perfectly well known in the ports, were actively made for the despatch to France of the British Expeditionary Force; but it was only by inadvertence that hints of their nature were published in the Press, and most of the papers patriotically suppressed the news. Then began that system of secrecy as to movements and details, loyally observed by all concerned and rigorously enforced by authority, which was kept up throughout the year by all the belligerents. Baffling to the contending commanders, it was still more so to the contemporary historian; and, for the first few days, it obscured the gravity of the contest.

The first day of war was marked in the Commons by the announcements of the resignations of Ministers (p. 173), of the violation of Belgian neutrality, and of an impending Vote of Credit--which was loudly cheered--for 100,000,000_l._; and then two war measures were passed almost without debate. The first amended the procedure in Prize Courts in accordance with the findings of a recent Departmental Committee, the second empowered the Crown, in time of war or national emergency, to impose restrictions on aliens, especially with a view to the removal or detention of spies. Next, on the adjournment, the Chancellor of the Exchequer made his statement on the financial position. The emergency, he said, was due to temporary causes, largely to the stoppage of remittances from abroad to enable the discount market to meet its liabilities; there was no failure of credit. After conferences at the Treasury it had been decided not to suspend special payments, but to take steps to suspend the Bank Charter Act, in order to economise the supply of gold. After strongly condemning the hoarding of gold as helpful to the enemy, he stated that on August 7 Government notes for 1_l._ and 10_s._ would be issued, convertible into gold at the Bank of England, postal orders would also be legal tender, and similarly convertible, and would be issued free of charge. The Bank rate would be reduced to 6 per cent., and the moratorium extended for a month. Bills and cheques would be dealt with as usual, subject to the discretion of the bankers in preventing an abnormal withdrawal of gold. This satisfactory account of the position was fully endorsed by Mr. A. Chamberlain.

Late that evening a White Paper was officially published (Cd. 1467) containing correspondence respecting the European Crisis. It embodied nearly 160 documents, and could not be rapidly grasped; but it eventually enabled the British people to form their own opinion as to the responsibility for the war. Later it was republished, with additions, in pamphlet form at the price of a penny, and German and French translations were circulated abroad.[2]

The course of events, so far as Great Britain was concerned in them, in the fortnight preceding the war, was as follows: The Austrian Note to Serbia, which was in fact an Ultimatum, was delivered at Belgrade on July 23, and a reply was demanded within forty-eight hours. Sir Edward Grey, while earnestly deprecating any time-limit to this Note, had laid stress, before knowing its contents, on the appalling consequences that would follow should it lead to a European war between four Powers--a complete collapse of European credit and industry which, in great industrial States, would mean "a state of things worse than that of 1848." But he declined to express an opinion on the merits of the Austro-Serbian dispute. Between the presentation of the Note and the expiry of the time-limit, however, Great Britain made three attempts at peace. In conjunction with Russia, whose Foreign Minister described the Note as "provocative and immoral," she urged the extension of the time-limit on Austria, and pleaded with Germany to do the same. Next, she proposed that Germany, France, and Italy should work together at Vienna and St. Petersburg in favour of conciliation. Italy, France, and Russia assented; Germany had no objection, if Austro-Russian relations became threatening. Thirdly, the Russian, French, and British representatives at Belgrade were instructed to advise Serbia to go as far as possible to meet Austria. Serbia, in fact, conceded very nearly all the Austrian demands; but Austria had determined on war, and Germany, when Sir Edward Grey urged her to persuade Austria to accept the reply, merely "passed on" his message to Vienna. The time-limit having expired, Sir Edward Grey proposed (July 26), by telegram to the British representatives at Paris, Berlin, and Rome, a Conference in London between himself and the French, German and Italian Ambassadors, to discuss the best means towards a settlement. France and Italy accepted; Russia agreed, if direct explanations with Vienna should prove impossible; Germany, however, said that the Conference would practically amount to a court of arbitration, but subsequently "accepted in principle" mediation by the four Powers between Austria and Russia. But Austria now declared war against Serbia. On July 28, however, Sir Edward Grey was informed through the German Ambassador that Germany was endeavouring to mediate between Russia and Austria. He then sent word to the German Government asking them, if they did not like the Conference he had proposed, to suggest any other form of mediation.

The German Chancellor's answer was to invite the British

Ambassador, Sir E. Goschen, to call on him, late at night, on July 29. He intimated that, should Austria be attacked by Russia, a European conflict would become inevitable; he thought it clear that Great Britain would not allow France to be crushed, but this was not Germany's aim; if Great Britain's neutrality were certain, Germany would promise, if victorious, to make no territorial acquisitions at the expense of France. But he was unable, on being asked, to give a similar undertaking in regard to the French colonies. Germany would promise to respect the integrity and neutrality of the Netherlands so long as her adversaries did likewise. German operations in Belgium, he said, depended on the action of France, but, after the war, Belgian integrity would be respected if Belgium had not sided against Germany. He hoped that these assurances might lead to an Anglo-German understanding, and ultimately to a neutrality agreement. Sir Edward Grey replied (July 30) with an absolute refusal; France, without further territory being taken from her in Europe, could be so crushed as to become merely subordinate to Germany, and it would be an indelible disgrace to Great Britain to make this bargain at the expense of France; nor could she bargain away any obligation or interest she had regarding Belgian neutrality. The one way of maintaining the good relations between Great Britain and Germany was by the co-operation of the two Powers to preserve the peace of Europe. But, if the peace of Europe could be preserved, he would endeavour to promote some arrangement to which Germany would be a party, by which she and her allies could be assured against any aggressive or hostile policy on the part of France, Russia, or Great Britain. He had desired and worked for this as far as possible during the Balkan crisis, and, Germany having a like object, Anglo-German relations sensibly improved. The idea had hitherto been too Utopian for definite proposals, but he hoped for some more definite _rapprochement_ between the Powers when the existing crisis was over.

On the same day, July 30, M. Cambon reminded Sir Edward Grey of a letter written by the latter on November 22, 1912, agreeing that while consultations between military and naval experts of their two nations did not pledge their Governments to co-operate, yet, should either Government have grave reason to expect an unprovoked attack by a third Power, or something that threatened the general peace, it should immediately discuss with the other whether, and by what measures, they should co-operate in opposition. M. Cambon also showed a letter from the French Foreign Minister, indicating that Germany was preparing to invade France. Sir E. Grey answered next day, after a Cabinet Council, that as yet Great Britain could not definitely pledge herself to intervene. The preservation of the neutrality of Belgium might be an important factor in determining the British attitude. Sir E, Grey also asked the French and German Governments, through their Ambassadors, whether they were prepared to respect Belgian neutrality provided it was not violated; and he asked the Belgian Government whether it would remain neutral. France and Belgium replied affirmatively at once. The German Government temporised, and eventually gave no answer, though Sir Edward Grey had warned the German Ambassador on August 1 of the probable effect of a violation on public feeling in Great Britain.

Meanwhile Russia and Austria were still negotiating (July 30, 31). On the 29th Germany had suggested to Austria that she should content herself with occupying Belgrade. That night Russia offered to stop all military preparations if Austria would recognise that the Austro-Serbian conflict had become a matter of general European interest, and would eliminate from the ultimatum the points involving a violation of the sovereignty of Serbia. Austria now agreed at last to discuss the whole question of her ultimatum, and Russia asked the British Government to assume the direction of these discussions.

But the hope of peace thus held out was wrecked by the German ultimatum requiring Russia to countermand her mobilisation. Germany, meanwhile, had gone further towards mobilisation than Russia; the German Secretary of State refused to discuss a last proposal from Sir Edward Grey for joint action of Great Britain, Germany, France, and Italy, pending a reply from Russia; and on the afternoon of August 1 Germany declared war against France. Next morning the Germans violated the neutrality of Luxemburg. British merchant ships had already been detained at Hamburg--though the detention was temporarily countermanded on representations from the British Ambassador--and the only question now left for the British Government was whether Great Britain should remain neutral. The determining factors proved to be the violation of Belgian neutrality and the danger to France; and the position was fully explained by the Foreign Secretary on August 3 (p. 170) and by the Prime Minister two days later.

The Prime Minister moved the Vote of Credit (Aug. 5) in a speech continuing the noblest traditions of Parliamentary eloquence. After an emphatic tribute to the unremitting efforts of the Foreign Secretary to preserve peace both in the Balkan crisis and to the very last stage of the recent negotiations, he quoted from the German Chancellor's communication to the British Ambassador at Berlin the appeal for British neutrality, the refusal to undertake to respect the integrity of the French colonies, and the treatment of what, to himself personally, had always been a crucial and almost the governing consideration--the position of the small States. The proposal, Mr. Asquith said, amounted to this--as regarded France, free licence to Germany to annex, if successful, the whole of the French possessions outside Europe; as to Belgium, the British reply to the pathetic appeal of the King of the Belgians would have been that "without her knowledge, we should have bartered away to the Power that was threatening her our obligation to keep our plighted word." He characterised the German proposal as infamous; and in return Great Britain was to get a promise--nothing more--from a Power "which was at that very moment announcing its intention to violate its own treaty obligations and inviting us to do the same. Had we even dallied or temporised with such an offer, we, as a Government, should have covered ourselves with dishonour." He quoted at length from Sir E. Grey's reply, which showed that the Foreign Secretary, who had already earned the title of the peacemaker of Europe, persisted to the last in his efforts for peace. "The war has been forced upon us." Every member of the Government had had before him throughout the vision of the almost unequalled suffering entailed by war, not only to the present generation, but to posterity and the whole prospects of European civilisation. Nevertheless, they had thought it to be the duty as well as the interest of Great Britain to go to war. They were fighting, first, to fulfil a solemn international obligation; secondly, to vindicate the principle that small nationalities were not to be crushed, in defiance of international good faith, by the arbitrary will of a strong and overmastering Power. He believed no nation ever entered into a great struggle--and this was one of the greatest in history--with a clearer conscience and stronger conviction that it was fighting, not for aggression or the maintenance of its own interest, but for principles whose maintenance was vital to the civilised world. "With the full conviction not only of the wisdom and justice, but of the obligation to challenge this great issue," and in order to ensure that the whole resources of the Empire should be thrown into the scale, he asked for a Vote of Credit of 100,000,000_l._ not only for naval and military operations, but to assist the food supplies, promote the continuance of trade, industry, business, and communications, relieve distress, and generally for all expenses arising out of the state of war. This gave the Government a free hand, and the expenditure would be subject to the approval of the House. He asked also, as War Secretary, for a Supplementary Estimate for men for the Army. He had taken that office in order that the unfortunate conditions existing should be ended and complete confidence re-established; and he believed and knew that it had been. There was no more loyal and united body, none in which the spirit and habit of discipline were more deeply ingrained and cherished, than the British Army. It was unfair that his own attention should be divided, and Lord Kitchener, with great public spirit and patriotism, had undertaken the office. He was not a politician, and his acceptance did not identify him with any set of political opinions. On his behalf, the Prime Minister continued, he himself was asking for power to increase the Army by 500,000. India was proposing to send two divisions; every one of the Dominions had already tendered unasked the utmost help, in men and in money, that it could afford to the Empire in time of need. The mother country must set the example, while responding to these filial overtures with gratitude and affection. "We have a great duty to perform, a great trust to fulfil, and confidently we believe Parliament and the country will enable us to do it."

Mr. Bonar Law, speaking for the whole Opposition, gave their whole-hearted support to the Government. He had said in his first speech on foreign policy as Opposition leader (Nov. 27, 1911) that an Anglo-German war would be due to human folly; it was due to human folly and wickedness; but neither were in Great Britain. Though she was under no formal obligations to take part, the Triple Entente was understood to mean that, if any of its members were attacked aggressively, the others would be expected to aid. Berlin might have prevented war, but a miscalculation had been made about Russia and Great Britain. He endorsed entirely the Prime Minister's view of the position. The struggle was Napoleonism once again. "Thank Heaven, so far as we know, there is no Napoleon." There was danger, not of a scarcity of food, but of a fear of scarcity, and he warned the country against panic. With the command of the sea Great Britain would have freedom of trade with the colonies and the whole of the American Continent, without the competition of her enemies or her allies. He offered the Government the full services of any member of the Opposition.

After further debate, which exhibited the progress of the Liberal conversion to the necessity of the war, the motion was agreed to, and also the increase of the Army by 500,000 men and the Navy and Coastguard by 67,000.

Subsequently, on the second reading of the Appropriation Bill, the President of the Local Government Board summarised the measures to be taken to prevent or relieve distress. For the prevention of unemployment, manufacturers were making patriotic efforts to keep their businesses going, and working short time instead of discharging employees; additional employment would be provided by the Road Board, the Development Commission, and various Government Departments, while Distress Committees and Local Authorities were invited to plan relief works. As to relief, the Prince of Wales's Fund would, it was hoped, supersede local funds; local authorities were being asked to see to the feeding of school children, local representative committees were to be formed for the distribution of the Prince of Wales's Fund, and a Central Advisory Committee had been formed with himself as Chairman, and including Mr. Long, Mr. Burns, and Mr. Ramsay Macdonald. He invited suggestions. The Poor Law was kept in reserve, as a last line of defence.

The Prince of Wales issued his appeal, endorsed by the Queen, on August 6, and the response was immediate. In the first two days the subscriptions amounted to 400,000_l._; they ultimately passed 4,000,000_l._ Queen Alexandra also issued an appeal for soldiers' and sailors' families, and hosts of other appeals followed for Red Cross and hospital work and other matters; to these also response was generous.

Meanwhile the British Navy had achieved its first success and suffered its first disaster. On August 5 the third Destroyer Flotilla, shepherded by H.M.S. _Amphion_, and patrolling the approaches to the Channel, found the small Hamburg-American converted liner _Königin Luise_ laying mines off the estuary of the Thames. She was chased by a destroyer and sunk by a torpedo, some fifty being saved out of a crew of 130. Early next morning, however, the _Amphion_ herself struck a mine and was sunk, and about 130 of the crew and one officer--a paymaster--were lost, besides twenty German prisoners. In officially announcing the disaster to the House of Commons (Aug. 7) the First Lord of the Admiralty said that this indiscriminate scattering of mines, imperilling even neutral merchantmen, was a new fact calling for the attention of the nations. He added, however, that the strict censorship of the Press permitted the rise of many alarming rumours, and a Press Bureau would therefore be appointed under Mr. F. E. Smith, M.P., which would give out "a steady stream of trustworthy information" from both the War Office and the Admiralty, and he emphatically commended the patriotic reticence as to war preparations shown by the Press. (The Press Bureau, however, hardly fulfilled this forecast.)

The first instalment of emergency war legislation was completed before the adjournment (Aug. 10) of both Houses as follows. The Defence of the Realm Act empowered the King in Council to issue regulations authorising the trial by court-martial and the punishment of persons contravening regulations designed to stop certain specified forms of espionage, such as obtaining information to assist the enemy, tapping wires, or blowing up railway bridges or docks. The Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks (Temporary Rules) Act extended the powers of the Board of Trade to make rules under the Patents and Designs Act, 1907, and the Trade Marks Act, 1908. Its object was essentially to enable the Board to allow the rights in patents or trade marks owned by enemies to be ignored in the United Kingdom during the War. An Electoral Disabilities Removal Act prevented members of the Militia, Reserves, Yeomanry, and Territorial Forces from being disqualified by absence on the military or naval service of the Crown, or by the grant of poor-law relief towards their families during such absence. Another Act enabled the Government to requisition food, forage and stores for the Army; another empowered it to requisition foodstuffs withheld "unreasonably," _i.e._ in order to raise their price. Finally, a Housing Act revived for one year, in order to reduce unemployment, the powers conferred on the Government by the dropped clause of the new Housing Act (_post_, p. 209). The Board of Agriculture in rural districts, the Local Government Board in towns, were authorised to acquire land and buildings and to arrange for housing with local authorities or authorised societies. It was explained that they would proceed by lending money to such societies, and use the other powers given them only in the last resort. This Bill was amended, at the instance of certain Unionists, so as to require the concurrence of the Development Commission--an amendment to which some Liberals reluctantly agreed in order to avoid imperilling the Bill. This done, the Houses adjourned for a fortnight, and it was announced that the leaders would attempt to avert controversial debates.

The efforts to compose the Home Rule conflict were not entirely successful (_post_, p. 203); but less menacing differences were settled or suspended at once. The contest in the London building trade, which had been somewhat mitigated in July by sectional submissions on the part of several of the Trade Unions concerned, was settled on August 6 by the abandonment of the project of a general lock-out by the masters, and the withdrawal on the part of the men of their refusal to work with non-unionists; and settlements were also effected of a dockers' strike at Liverpool, of various sectional railway disputes, and of a coal strike in South Wales, which for a day or two had seemed likely to interfere with the supply of coal for the Fleet. Political propaganda, too, was formally suspended, notably by the Women's National Liberal Association and the Land Union; and the appointment of Earl Kitchener as a non-political War Minister was followed by rumours of the impending establishment of a coalition Government. The only approach made to this, however, consisted in the invitations to Mr. Austen Chamberlain, Mr. Long, Mr. F. E. Smith, and other Unionist leaders, to give their counsel and assistance in various departments to the Government; and they accepted cordially. A general amnesty was announced (Aug. 11) both for suffragist prisoners and for persons convicted of offences in connexion with industrial disturbances; and both the non-militant and the militant groups of the suffrage societies provisionally abandoned their agitation (though a few of the militants made a scene at the Home Office on August 27), and organised themselves for the relief, in various ways, of the women and children sufferers by the war. Admirable work was done in these directions by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, and by the Women's Emergency Corps; and Miss Christabel Pankhurst, on her return from Paris a little later, repaid the Government by speaking at meetings designed to encourage recruiting for the "new Army."

Earnest appeals had already been issued for recruits; the response was immediate; and on August 9 Earl Kitchener, as War Minister, issued a circular to Lord-Lieutenants of Counties and Chairmen of County Territorial Associations, asking for 100,000 men to form a new Army. Recruits came in for it at the rate, at first, of 3,000 daily; most of the members of the Universities' Officers' Training Corps applied for commissions in the Territorials or Special Reserve; those who asked to be appointed to the latter were offered commissions in this "New Army," and sent (if they accepted) to officers' training camps, whence they were despatched by instalments to join their units elsewhere. Retired officers and non-commissioned officers largely returned to the colours and were used in these units, which formed additional "Service Battalions" of the existing infantry regiments, their numbers following those of the Territorial Battalions. This Army was formed into six (territorial) divisions each of three brigades. By the end of the year there were also a second and a third new Army formed, or in process of formation, on the same lines. The officers' training camps, however, had been given up.

The Navy, meanwhile, was active. Cruisers were guarding the great trade routes and patrolling the North Sea; a German submarine attack on the First Cruiser Squadron was repulsed, and it was announced on August 10 that the German submarine U 15 had been sunk by H.M. cruiser _Birmingham_. The German cruiser _Karlsruhe_ had been surprised (Aug. 7) by H.M.S. _Bristol_ 200 miles south of Bermuda while coaling from the Hamburg-American liner _Kronprinz Wilhelm_ and had escaped after a 200 miles' chase; the German battle cruiser _Goeben_ and the light cruiser _Breslau_, after the latter had shelled Tunis, escaped from a pursuing Allied Fleet through the Straits of Messina, and proceeded to Constantinople, where they were bought by the Porte. (Rear-Admiral Berkeley Milne, commanding the Mediterranean squadron and Rear-Admiral Troubridge, commanding the pursuing fleet, were exonerated from responsibility for their escape.)

Further events were reassuring for the British public. The German wireless station at Dar-es-Salaam, the only good harbour in German East Africa, was destroyed (Aug. 9) by a British force; another British force occupied Togoland in West Africa (Aug. 7); and Japan (Aug. 5) and Portugal (Aug. 10) formally announced that they recognised the obligations imposed by their respective alliances with Great Britain.

Help was tendered lavishly from the Dominions and Crown Colonies; at home private houses and other buildings were freely offered for hospital purposes, yachts were converted by their owners into hospital ships, and the great London hospitals allotted beds for the wounded. Great activity--sometimes marked by zeal rather than knowledge--was shown in preparing for Red Cross work, and in making clothes for soldiers and others. The Queen issued an appeal to all needlework guilds throughout the British Isles (Aug. 10) to send in underclothing for soldiers and sailors, and ordinary garments for their wives and children and such of the civil population as might suffer through unemployment; steps were taken locally to consider how distress might be mitigated, and the newspapers were full of suggestions for help. But, after the first shock, the great mass of British citizens kept their heads, responded as far as possible to the call for "business as usual," and prepared to face bravely the prospect of lessened income--already visible in the withholding of many interim dividends--and the huge sacrifices demanded by the contest.

In two respects only there had been at the outset a tendency to panic. Before the Bank Holiday there had been some attempt by private persons to lay in large stores of food, and to draw gold from the banks; when the shops reopened on August 4, there was a rush to buy provisions in many great provincial cities; next day the alarm spread to London; the great stores were besieged; one of them had to close its provision department, another refused to supply customers with more than ordinary quantities; many of the small shops were speedily sold out; in the East End certain wholesale dealers, to encourage a rise in prices, actually provided purchasers with money; and, in the West End and some southern residential towns on that day and for some days afterwards, well-to-do people personally loaded hundredweights of stores into their own motor-cars, and packed their houses to the roof. But there was no real lack of foodstuffs; steps were taken at once by the Government to keep open the foreign sources of supply by a scheme of insurance against war risks; it took over the flour mills; and a Consultative Committee on Food Supplies met the representatives of certain great distributive companies and of the Grocers' Federation, representing some 17,000 shops, and lists of maximum retail prices were issued, as given below. The interruption was mainly in the supply of sugar from the Continent, and in that of butter, bacon, and eggs from Denmark. The following list (given in _The Times_, Aug. 7) shows the first effect of the war on wholesale prices.

July 28. August 6.

_s._ _d._ _s._ _d._

Flour 1-1/4 1-1/2
Sugar, Cubes 1 3/4 4
Beef, English 6-1/2 7-1/2
" Chilled 6 7-1/2
" Frozen 4-1/2 6-1/2
Mutton, English 8 8-1/4
Bacon, Danish 8-1/4 10-1/2
Cheese, Colonial 6-3/4 8-1/2
Butter 1 1 1 3

The following lists of maximum retail prices were agreed on by the Advisory Committee:--

August 7. August 11.

_s._ _d._ _s._ _d._

Granulated sugar per lb. 0 4-1/2 0 3-3/4
Lump sugar 0 5 0 4-1/2
Butter(imported) 1 6 1 6
Cheese, Colonial 0 9-1/2 0 9-1/2
Lard, American 0 8 0 8
Margarine 0 10 0 10
Bacon, Continental (by the side) 1 4 1 2
" British " 1 6 1 3

The prices of sugar were conditional on supplies being obtainable at the prices submitted by wholesale merchants. Sugar had jumped up from 15_s._ to 38_s._ per cwt. owing to the war. Of flour and imported meat there was no shortage. A Special Committee, with Sir Ailwyn Fellowes as chairman, was appointed by the Board of Agriculture and Foodstuffs and held its first meeting on August 10. But there proved to be little for it to do. The harvest, too, was promising, and the weather, except for one short spell of cold and some rain early in August, exceptionally fine.

In one other respect there was, for a long time, a considerable alarm. Many stories had been circulated during recent years as to the presence of an army of German spies in Great Britain, and even of the existence of a host of German reservists, for whom arms were said to be stored in London and elsewhere for immediate use at the outbreak of an Anglo-German War (A.R., 1909, p. 117). Some provision against these dangers was made by the posting of Territorial troops (and in some cases Boy Scouts and Scoutmasters) to guard railways, bridges, and waterworks, and by the formation of a force of special constables within the Metropolitan police area. That there was some ground for fear had been shown by the numerous trials for espionage; and the feeling, intensified by jealousy of the Germans as trade rivals, continued to find expression in a portion of the Press. Owing to the necessity of secrecy imposed by pending trials for espionage, it was not till October that the Home Department could defend itself fully against the charge of inaction. But on the outbreak of war the Aliens Restriction Act enabled the Government both to require all enemy alien residents to register, and to restrict their freedom of movement and residence; and an official statement was published later (Oct. 9) of the steps taken to check espionage. In 1909 a special Intelligence Department had been established for that purpose by the Admiralty and War Office, and had since acted in close touch with the police; the law was amended and extended by the Official Secrets Act, 1911, and the ramifications of the German spy system in England were discovered in 1911-14. Despite immense efforts and lavish expenditure, the German Government had got little information of value. The agents were watched and shadowed, and arrested only when plans or documents of value were about to be sent abroad. On August 4 twenty-one known spies were arrested, and 200 suspects noted and mostly interned. Any fresh organisation was impeded by a postal and cable censorship; certain areas were cleared under the Act above-mentioned; aliens were forbidden to possess wireless or signalling apparatus or homing pigeons; private wireless stations were forbidden, and a special system devised of wireless detection. The Defence of the Realm Act (p. 181) made espionage a military offence. The success of these measures was shown by the ignorance of the German generals on August 21 of the despatch a fortnight earlier of the British Expeditionary Force. The writers of letters to the Press alleging cases of espionage had been unable effectively to assist the police. Owners of homing pigeons had been registered, and the importation of the birds or their conveyance by rail prohibited. No trace had been found of a conspiracy to commit outrage; no bombs, and practically no effective arms had been found after search; and 9,000 Germans and Austrians of military age were held in detention camps as prisoners of war.

The interruption of national intercourse had made itself acutely felt in other ways. Alien enemies not of military age were allowed to leave Great Britain up to August 10 by certain specified ports, but after that date only with special permits; but graver difficulties arose with the hosts of British and American travellers for health or pleasure on the Continent who were cut off by the declaration of war. From Germany and Austria some hurried back at once without much difficulty, others experienced hardships and even brutality from the German officials and populace; those were in worst case who tried to pass from Germany into Belgium after the invasion had begun. But many British subjects, even invalids at health resorts, with their families, were detained in Germany and Austria, while those of military age were treated as prisoners of war. The care of British subjects was confided to the American Embassies and Consulates, but their friends in England were rarely able to communicate with them. By August 8 it appeared that France and Belgium were almost emptied of British tourists. But Switzerland, as usual, contained a host of them, whose letters of credit, cheques, and even British coin, were now refused, and who were unable to return owing to the stoppage of ordinary traffic on the French railways through mobilisation. But the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs was able to state in the Commons on August 11 that funds had been advanced to His Majesty's representatives at Berne, Lausanne, and Paris, to relieve the more pressing necessities of British subjects stranded abroad, and provide for their return. Some of those in Switzerland came by sea from Genoa; most, however, reached England only in the first days of September, by special trains, but after much discomfort and delay. Had war broken out a few days later, however, the numbers would have been far greater.

The case of American tourists for a time seemed even worse. The number in Europe at the outbreak of the war was estimated at 80,000; and they were impeded, not only on their way to England, but by the irregularity of the services across the Atlantic, and by the interruption of the international exchanges between New York and London. A Committee was formed to deal with them; it sat at the Savoy Hotel, and arrangements were made to cash letters of credit. But the liners leaving for the United States were overcrowded; even the steerage was given up to cabin passengers; berths were sold by holders at a huge premium, and a group of Americans even bought a steamer, the _Viking_, and charged 100_l._ to 125_l._ for passages. The Committee, however, did excellent work both in relieving the needs of the stranded passengers and repatriating them, and by the end of August the worst was over.

Meantime the Churches had done their part in impressing on the people the gravity of the situation, the need for endurance and sacrifice, and the righteousness of the British cause. On August 6 a Form of Public Intercession authorised by the Archbishops and Bishops was circulated to all incumbents in England and Wales for use on August 9, the first Sunday of the war; and on that day crowded and reverent congregations filled the places of worship of all denominations throughout the country, and special sermons were preached emphasising the coming trial and the duty of the nation. Friday, August 21, was appointed as a special Day of Intercession for the soldiers and sailors, frequent services were held at the churches and chapels throughout the kingdom; the King and Queen attended the afternoon service at Westminster Abbey; and the day was observed by the Roman Catholic Church and the Free Churches generally. With very rare exceptions, which included neither the Society of Friends nor the great mass of pacifists, the British people had made up its mind that the war was just and righteous, that it must go on at all costs till the arrogance of Prussian militarism was finally humbled, and that no peace would be acceptable which did not secure a general reduction of armaments and a better method of settling national disputes. It must be in short "a war to end war."

Meanwhile public feeling was encouraged by the checks given to the German invaders at Haelen and Liège, by the French advance in Alsace, and by the announcements (Aug. 12, 13) that twenty-four British and some French cruisers were searching for the five German cruisers known to be in the Atlantic, and that that ocean was clear of enemy warships as far south as Trinidad. On the other hand, the Admiralty warned shipowners that the North Sea had been rendered unsafe by the promiscuous strewing of German mines in it; but the Danish steamers were diverted from Harwich to more northern ports, and one at least of the Dutch regular services to London suffered little interruption.

The area of the war also continued to extend. War had been declared on August 12 between Great Britain and Austria-Hungary, not from any direct cause of quarrel, but through the menace of the latter towards France; and the Austrian Embassy was sent home by the British Government in a specially chartered liner to Genoa. The breach with a Power long friendly to Great Britain was generally regretted. On the other hand, the Germans had put themselves in the wrong at starting, and their conduct in Belgium exasperated British feeling more and more. The German feeling was expressed in an alleged proclamation--published in England at the end of September, but issued August 16, though its authenticity was denied at Berlin--in which the Kaiser directed his troops to "annihilate the contemptible little English army."

The arrival in France of the British Expeditionary Force was announced officially in England on August 18, though the French papers had published the news of its arrival ten days earlier on the authority of the French War Office. The delay had given rise to disquieting rumours, and it was officially stated that no casualties had as yet taken place among the troops. The route taken was mainly by way of Southampton to Havre and Boulogne; and it was learnt from the naval despatches (Oct. 23) that two destroyers and the eighth submarine flotilla had watched continuously to attack the German fleet had it interfered. The South-Western Railway Company dealt with the huge traffic admirably. At the same time (Aug. 18) there were published a Message from the King and Instructions from Earl Kitchener. The former, delivered before their departure, was as follows:--

You are leaving home to fight for the safety and honour of my
Empire.

Belgium, whose country we are pledged to defend, has been attacked,
and France is about to be invaded by the same powerful foe.

I have implicit confidence in you, my soldiers. Duty is your
watchword, and I know your duty will be nobly done.

I shall follow your every movement with the deepest interest, and
mark with eager satisfaction your daily progress. Indeed, your
welfare will never be absent from my thoughts.

I pray God to bless you and guard you and bring you back victorious.

The following instructions were issued by Lord Kitchener to every soldier in the Expeditionary Army, to be kept in his active service pay-book:--

You are ordered abroad as a soldier of the King to help our French
comrades against the invasion of a common enemy.

You have to perform a task which will need your courage, your
energy, your patience.

Remember that the honour of the British Army depends on your
individual conduct.

It will be your duty not only to set an example of discipline
and perfect steadiness under fire, but also to maintain the most
friendly relations with those whom you are helping in this trouble.

The operations in which you are engaged will, for the most part,
take place in a friendly country, and you can do your own country
no better service than in showing yourself in France and Belgium in
the true character of a British soldier.

Be invariably courteous, considerate, and kind. Never do anything
likely to injure or destroy property, and always look upon looting
as a disgraceful act.

You are sure to meet with a welcome and to be trusted; your conduct
must justify that welcome and that trust. Your duty cannot be
done unless your health is sound. So keep constantly on your
guard against any excesses. In this new experience you may find
temptations, both in wine and women. You must entirely resist both
temptations, and, while treating all women with perfect courtesy,
you should avoid any intimacy.

Do your duty bravely. Fear God. Honour the King.

KITCHENER,
Field-Marshal.

The concentration of the Expeditionary Force in France was completed on August 21; but it was not till some days later that its location was even approximately known. Meanwhile the hopes set up in England by the earlier accounts from France and Belgium gradually gave place to anxiety as the Germans occupied Liège and advanced to Brussels, and the French retired in Alsace; and the sudden and as yet unexplained fall of Namur (Aug. 25) caused dismay. This event, it was announced, necessitated the retirement of a portion of the Allied troops from the line of the Sambre to their original defensive position on the Franco-Belgian frontier; but the British position was not fully revealed till Sir John French's despatch was published (Sept. 10). On August 22, he stated, he had moved the troops to positions for commencing operations in pursuance of General Joffre's plans (apparently to cover the French left on the Sambre). They occupied a line of about twenty-five miles in length from Condé westwards through Mons to Binche, the Second Corps extending from Condé and Mons, the first from Mons to Binche, the 6th cavalry brigade on the extreme right at Binche. After cavalry reconnaissances on August 22 and 23, the actual engagement began at 3 P.M. on the 23rd; but, having believed himself faced only by one or at most two German Army Corps, he learnt at 6 P.M. from General Joffre that there were at least three--a reserve corps and the 4th and 9th Corps, while a fourth was engaged in a turning movement on his left flank, and the French on his right were retiring before the Germans, who on the 22nd had secured the passages of the Sambre between Charleroi and Namur. He therefore began to retire at daybreak to the line Jeulain-Maubeuge, some ten miles farther back, a position previously surveyed, but difficult to hold, and reached it before nightfall. During this retirement the Second Cavalry Brigade, under General De Lisle, attempted a flank attack on the enemy's infantry, but was stopped by a wire entanglement, and the 9th Lancers and 18th Hussars suffered severely. Supported by the 19th Infantry Brigade, the Second Corps, under General Smith-Dorrien effected a retreat, but with two German corps on its front and one threatening the flank, it suffered great loss. From the new position, however, a retreat was necessitated by the efforts of the enemy to outflank the British force and drive it on Maubeuge, and on the 25th a further retirement was effected to a line some sixteen miles to the S.S.W., running from Cambrai by Le Câteau to Landrecies. The 4th Infantry Division now came up to assist; and the First Corps reached Landrecies at about 10 P.M. But the enemy, though much exhausted, came on, and the 4th Guards Brigade in Landrecies were heavily attacked by the 9th German Army Corps, which itself suffered tremendous loss in the narrow streets. Meanwhile the First Corps, under Sir Douglas Haig, was heavily engaged south and east of Maroilles; but, mainly through his skill, and with the assistance of two French reserve divisions, it was extricated in the night and resumed its march at dawn. The next day, August 26th, was the most critical. At daybreak it became apparent that the enemy was throwing his main strength against the left of the position occupied by the Second Corps and the 4th Division; General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien could not continue to retire, and no support could be sent him, nor had there been time properly to entrench the position; but the troops showed a magnificent front to a terrible fire, the Artillery, outnumbered by four to one, making a splendid fight; and at 3.30 a retirement was commenced, of necessity, and heroically covered by the Artillery and protected by the Cavalry. The left wing was saved by General Sir H. Smith-Dorrien's skill, to which Sir John French paid a very high tribute. The retreat was continued till the 28th, when the troops halted on the line Noyon-Chauny-La Fère, along the Oise some twelve to twenty miles south of St. Quentin. The British losses were very serious, but inevitable, inasmuch as the British Army, only two days after a concentration by rail, had had to withstand the attack of five German Army Corps. The enemy, however, was too exhausted by the 26th to pursue effectively. The services of officers and men were acknowledged by the Commander-in-Chief in the highest terms, and special note was taken of the gallantry of the Flying Corps, both in reconnaissance and in aerial combat.

But as yet only part of the truth was allowed to emerge in Great Britain. When Parliament reassembled on August 26th, Earl Kitchener made a statement in the House of Lords--his maiden speech, though he had been a Peer since 1898. As a soldier, he said, he had no politics, and his term as War Secretary was that of the new Army--for the war, but not for longer than three years, a term selected because others would then be ready to replace them. The Expeditionary Force, having advanced to near Mons, had then been for thirty-six hours in contact with a superior German force, and had maintained the traditions of British soldiers and behaved with the utmost gallantry. Since the beginning of active operations rather more than 2,000 had been placed _hors de combat_. Mobilisation had taken place without a hitch; the Expeditionary Force proved itself wholly efficient, thoroughly well equipped, and immediately ready to take the field. The Press and the public had aided the Government by a discreet and necessary silence, the civilian population by meeting requisitions; the railways had justified the confidence of the War Office, the troops, thanks to the Admiralty, had been conveyed across the Channel without any untoward incident. After laying stress on British moral support to France as "a factor of high military significance," and expressing hearty sympathy with Belgium, he pointed out that Great Britain's military system enabled her still to have a vast reserve from herself and the Dominions. Sixty-nine Territorial battalions had volunteered for service abroad; the hundred thousand recruits asked for had been practically secured; behind these were the Reserves. While the maximum force of the adversary Empires was constantly diminishing, Great Britain's reinforcements would steadily and increasingly flow out till she had an Army in the field not unworthy of the British Empire. The new Field Army might rise in the next six or seven months to a total of thirty divisions, continually maintained in the field. Should the war be protracted and its fortunes varied or adverse, exertions and sacrifices beyond any yet demanded would be required from the whole nation and Empire, and would not be denied by Parliament or the people.

In the Commons that day the chief business was a statement by the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the arrangements for repatriating and assisting British subjects stranded on the Continent, the introduction of much emergency legislation--to be summarised later--and the announcement by the Speaker of the receipt and acknowledgment of a congratulatory message from the Russian Duma. Next day (Aug. 27) the Prime Minister, in reply to a question, declared emphatically, in view of Lord Kitchener's statement, that compulsory military service was unnecessary; the sinking of the _Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse_ was announced, also the engagement of the British force, and the British occupation of Ostend (p. 193); and in the course of a discussion regarding the Moratorium, the Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that while bankers, financial houses, and merchants favoured its continuance, manufacturers were two to one in favour of bringing it to an end. But the feature of the day was the speech of the Prime Minister in moving an Address expressing admiration for the heroic resistance offered by Belgium to the invader, and pledging Great Britain's support to her gallant ally. After a reference to the cause of the war he insisted on the binding obligation on Great Britain to intervene. We did so only when confronted with the choice of keeping or breaking solemn obligations, between the discharge of a binding trust and a shameless subservience to naked force. "We do not repent our decision." The issue was one which no great and self-respecting nation, certainly none bred and nurtured like ourselves in this ancient home of liberty, could have declined without undying shame. He recalled the struggles for integrity and national life made by small States, by Athens and Sparta, the Swiss cantons, and the Netherlands; never had the duty of asserting the preservation of that life been more clearly and bravely acknowledged and more strenuously and heroically discharged than by the Belgian King and people. The defence of Liège would always be one of the most inspiring chapters in the annals of liberty. The Belgians had won for themselves the immortal glory that belonged to a people who preferred freedom to ease, to security, and even to life itself. "We are proud of their alliance and their friendship." We were with them heart and soul, because we were defending with them the independence of small States and the sanctity of international covenants, and he assured them, in the name of Great Britain and the whole Empire, that they might count on our unfailing support.

Mr. Bonar Law, in seconding the motion, fully endorsed the Prime Minister's eulogies and promises. The events in Belgium confirmed the view that the war was a struggle of the moral influences of civilisation against brute force. Belgium had deserved well of the world and had placed Great Britain under an obligation, which would best be discharged by realising that for both countries the war was a struggle for life and death, and by employing all British resources to bring it to a successful end. Mr. John Redmond eloquently associated Ireland with the motion, eulogising Belgium, and suggesting that the loan contemplated (p. 216) should rather be a gift. The resolution was agreed to _nem. con._ In the House of Lords a similar Address was moved by the Marquess of Crewe, who said that Germany would have to make full reparation, and seconded by the Marquess of Lansdowne, who said that to Belgium was due the difference between the existing situation and that at the same time in 1870.

Next day (Aug. 28) a message was read in both Houses from Sir John French, describing the British resistance in the Cambria and Le-Câteau district; and Lord Kitchener, after communicating it to the House of Lords, announced that two divisions and a cavalry division, besides other troops, would be sent from India to France. The Marquess of Crewe added that the wonderful wave of enthusiasm and loyalty passing over India was largely based on the desire of the Indian people that Indian soldiers should stand side by side with their British comrades in repelling the invasion of France and Belgium. It was known in India that French African troops had been assisting in France, and "our loyal Indian fellow-subjects" would be disappointed if Indian troops could not assist British. The Indian frontiers would be fully held, and the popular enthusiasm precluded any internal trouble. It pervaded all classes, and found expression, among the princes, in munificent gifts for the service of the troops.

The British people did not yet know the whole story of the fighting in France, and Lord Kitchener's appeal for another 100,000 men did not excite alarm. The public disquiet might have been greater had the newspapers published particulars of the precautions taken on the East Coast--constant patrolling by destroyers and seaplanes, destruction of houses which might obstruct the line of fire on a hostile fleet or serve the enemy as sea-marks, extinguishing of street lamps on the sea front or in streets visible from it, prohibition or restriction of the lighting of such rooms in private houses as were visible from the sea, and eventually the temporary extinction, for the first time in 100 years, of all lighthouses and lightships. But these things were only revealed in private conversation or correspondence.