To the left, caricatures of a fallen King Albert of Belgium, Tsar Nicholas of Russia, President Poincare of France, generic (?) caricatures of an English man and a Japanese soldier, Kings Peter of Serbia, and Nikola of Montenegro engaging in a tug of war, the rope being held on the right by a German (in gray) and an Austro-Hungarian soldier. Between the teams and behind the rope stands the diminutive caped figure of King Victor Emmanuel of Italy, all hat, mustache, and chin.

Das Europaische Gleichgewicht 1914



The European Equilibrium, 1914

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Monday, August 3, 1914

"At 7 P.M. last night Germany presented a note proposing friendly neutrality. This entailed free passage through Belgian territory, while guaranteeing the maintenance of the independence of Belgium and of her possessions on the conclusion of peace, and threatened, in the event of refusal, to treat Belgium as an enemy. A time limit of twelve hours was allowed within which to reply.

Our answer has been that this infringement of our neutrality would be a flagrant violation of international law. To accept the German proposal would be to sacrifice the honour of the nation. Conscious of her duty, Belgium is firmly resolved to repel any attack by all the means in her power."

Quotation Context

Telegram sent August 3, 1914 from the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Belgian Ministers at St. Petersburg, London, Berlin, Paris, Vienna, and The Hague.

Source

Collected Diplomatic Documents Relating to the Outbreak of the European War, page 312, publisher: His Majesty's Stationery Office by Harrison and Sons, publication date: 1915

Tags

Belgium, ultimatum, August, 1914, 1914-08-03