#english_history 

## The storm clouds of war
By the end of the 19th century it had become clear that Britain was no longer as powerful as it had been. Germany, France and the USA were seriously competing with her.

There were several reasons for that:
1. Other countries had greater natural wealth
2. Britain was behind the times in tech and science
3. The working class, used to low pay for long hours, did not feel they were partners in manufacture.

The "balance of power" that'd been working since [[Revolution in France and the Napoleonic Wars from the perspective of Britain|Waterloo]] was collapsing.

The danger of war with Germany had been clear from the beginning of the century, and it was this which had brought France and Britain together. Britain was particularly frightened of Germany's modern navy, so the government started a programme of building battleships to make sure of its strength at sea.

By 1914 an extremely precarious situation had developed: Germany and Austria-Hungary had made a military alliance. Russia and France had made one also. Britain had no choice but to stand by France. In July 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on its neighbour Serbia following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Because Russia had promised to defend Serbia, it declared war on Austria-Hungary, then Germany declared war on Russia and so on.

In August 1914 Germany's attack on France took its army through Belgium, and Britain immediately declared war because it had promised to guarantee Belgium's neutrality.

## The [[First World War]]
Germany nearly defeated the Allies in the first few weeks of war. The French army and the small British force were fortunate to hold back the German army at the River Marne, deep inside France. Four years of acrid fighting followed.

In the Middle East the British fought against Turkish troops in Iraq and in Palestine, and at Gallipoli, on the Dardanelles.
The war at sea was more important than the war on land. From 1915 German submarines started to sink merchant ships bringing suppplies to Britain. At the battle of Jutland, in **1916**, Admiral Jellicoe successfully drove the German fleet back into harbour.

The government had to persuade the people that in spite of such disastrous results the war was still worth fighting. The nation was told that it was defending the weak against the strong, fighting for democracy and freedom. The nation was encouraged to hate Germany. Thus, when at the end of 1916 Germany offered to make peace, neither the British nor the French welcomed the idea.

When in 1917, following the [[Bolshevik revolution]], Russia made peace with the Germans, they hoped to win. But their attacks on the merchant ships brought America into the war, and Germany surrendered in November 1918. By this time Britain had lost 750,000 dead and over 2 million wounded. Public opinion demanded no mercy for Germany, and she was punished inthe 1919 Versailles Treaty.

Apart from hatred of Germany, there was great sorrow for the dead, with many "war poets" like Laurence Binyon and Wilfred Owen criticising the stupidity of war. People were hopeful for a better future.