French refusal to remain neutral results in continental war
After Russia had rebuffed German demands to halt mobilization, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered the general mobilization of the German armed forces on 1 August 1914, and then declared war on Russia. Russia’s ally France had responded evasively to a German ultimatum requiring French neutrality in the event of a Russo-German conflict and also mobilized its troops. The following day, Germany demanded that the Belgian government allow the free passage of German troops through its territory to enable the German Army to bypass strong fortifications in eastern France. Only this course of action would allow a rapid German advance into France and thus a quick German victory in the West.
Germany declared war on France on 3 August 1914, alleging that France had made incursions into Germany and had conducted an air raid. The latter allegation had already been proven to be false. This second German declaration of war escalated what had started as a regional conflict with Russia into a continent-wide war. To the British government, Germany justified its intention to violate Belgian neutrality by citing “military necessity”. Prussia – and thereby Germany after 1871 — was a signatory to the Treaty of London (1839), which guaranteed Belgian neutrality.
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