ranger_syntax 3,715 Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 1 hour ago, ChelseaBoy said: Even back then Germany had plans for territorial expansion and were looking to implement the Septemberprogramm which showed the extent of their war aims, being the territorial expansion in the east and west. Years later it was resurrected by the Third Reich as a central plank of their Lebensraum philosophy. If Germany had won either war decisively then nothing would have stopped German hegemony in Europe. The September programme would be a bad reason for the British Empire to get involved. Germany agreed to drop the opportunistic annexation of France if Britain remained neutral. Did anything else in the programme threaten British interests? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger_syntax 3,715 Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 2 minutes ago, Scott7 said: Why blame Churchill particularly and not Asquith? That's a good question. So far I have read that Churchill was particularly enthusiastic for this war. Was he the real driving force behind it? I don't know yet. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger_syntax 3,715 Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 10 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said: Britain stated it joined to protect Belgian neutrality but France was probably a bigger concern. ... True, but see the comment about the September programme. Also I believe we remained neutral during the Franco-Prussian war. A much smarter, and more beneficial, decision I think. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
26th of foot 5,776 Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 We were obliged to enter the war because Belgium was ......... plucky and little? Now, as a student of Higher History(Traditional) forty-six years past, I seem to remember Germany had designs ..................... bastards! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill 13,687 Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, ranger_syntax said: Did any pact oblige the British Empire to get involved? I'm not aware of one. There's a determination not to acknowledge your point. Perhaps after another few pages of trying to explain the background to WW1........ I'll attempt to break the log jam early and say I agree wholeheartedly. It seems clear those who took us into it had little idea what they were getting into, or the long term implications. Had the Empire not been involved, not only would the lives of its citizens been hugely improved but the insidious malevolence of socialism might never have taken root. It was the single most transformational and probably the most disastrous decision of the last 200 years. Edited December 29, 2020 by Bill 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo79 13,349 Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 Is it not widely accepted that Britain shouldn't have got involved in WWI? I don't think we should have got involved. But neither should the Russians or Germans. A disastrous that escalated quickly moment, with multiple factors and reasons. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Dynamo 128 Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 Nearly all of the major players were just looking for a reason at the start of the war. Gavrilo Princip must've been a dream come true for some of them. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger_syntax 3,715 Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 1 hour ago, Gonzo79 said: Is it not widely accepted that Britain shouldn't have got involved in WWI? ... That's difficult to say. My experience is that the most people think that Britain was involved justifiably. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChelseaBoy 2,196 Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 3 hours ago, ranger_syntax said: Did any pact oblige the British Empire to get involved? I'm not aware of one. Don't think anything obliged Britain to get involved. We had signed the Triple Entente with France and Belgium but this did not explicitly compel us to go to war. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo79 13,349 Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 47 minutes ago, ranger_syntax said: My experience is that the most people think that Britain was involved justifiably. Another interesting subject, that may be linked to age and circle(s) of friends/associates. People my age, who grew up in the 80s and 90s seems to be quite anti-war (generally), in my experience. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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