The story of the great war . hey must beginthe war at the beginning or they might never begin it at all. Nor was there any doubt from the outset in Great Britain thatthe German system intended the destruction of liberty and civiliza-tion as the British understood them. Militarism and autocracythe British had abhorred for a thousand years. The Germanclaim that all nations in the world must be forced to live in ac-cordance with German Kultur, the British could never diplomacy, too, of the German type, the dishonoring oftreaties and the declaration of the German Chancellor that theB
The story of the great war . hey must beginthe war at the beginning or they might never begin it at all. Nor was there any doubt from the outset in Great Britain thatthe German system intended the destruction of liberty and civiliza-tion as the British understood them. Militarism and autocracythe British had abhorred for a thousand years. The Germanclaim that all nations in the world must be forced to live in ac-cordance with German Kultur, the British could never diplomacy, too, of the German type, the dishonoring oftreaties and the declaration of the German Chancellor that theBelgian treaty of neutrality had been nothing but a scrap ofpaper was also contrary to everything for which Great Britainstood. There could be no temporizing with Germany or withGerman Kultur; there could be no compromise. The Britishnotion of civilization was diametrically contrary to the Germanand one or the other must perish. One of Germanys most cherished beliefs had been the idea WHY THE BRITISH EMPIRE ENTERED THE WAR 71. < 03 « --3a » 72 THE STORY OF THE GREAT WAR that the British Empire would fall apart the moment war wasdeclared. They could see no reason for the support of the mothercountry by her colonies and were convinced that the latter wouldprefer to stand aside. But the colonies on the contrary respondedmagnificently. They all declared war immediately and promisedtheir utmost support in men, in ships, and in supplies. Enlist-ments proceeded with extraordinary rapidity in Canada, inAustralia, in South Africa. From no port of the world indeed dida larger proportion of men enter the service nor did any troopsacquit themselves with greater gallantry than did the Canadians atYpres, Vimy Ridge, and at Lens, or the Australians and NewZealanders at Gallipoli. In South Africa a revolt had been planned by the Germans withfull expectation that the Boers would take the control of SouthAfrica out of British hands. The German colonies on either sideof the British South Afri
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectworldwar19141918
