Chapter 20 A Destiny Journey to Paris

Why did Britain risk a world war in 1914 to prevent the development of the German industrial economy?According to the German banker Karl Helfrich, Britain's greatest justification for declaring war on Germany in August 1914 was based on "a long-standing tradition of British policy through which Britain established itself as a great power and sought to maintain it" This position of power".He also stressed that "British policy has always been oriented against the strongest political and economic power on the continent." Since Germany became the most powerful political and economic power on the European continent, Britain's global economic status and maritime superiority have felt threatened by Germany.Since then, the differences between Britain and Germany cannot be bridged, and it is difficult for them to reach an agreement on any issue.

In 1897, Helfrich melancholy recorded the essence of the Bismarck Manifesto: "There is only one condition that can promote the improvement of relations between Britain and Germany, and that is to rein in the reins of our economic development. However, this is impossible." In April 1914, King George VII and Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Gray paid a special visit to French President Poincaré in Paris.It was also one of the few trips Sir Edward Gray made outside the UK.Isvolsky, the Russian ambassador to France, joined them, and the three countries formed a secret military alliance against Germany and Austria-Hungary.Out of caution, Gray refrained from warning the Germans of this secret alliance—that if Britain went to war, all members of the alliance carefully built against Germany would join the war.

Before 1914, many in the British authorities believed that war was the only way to control the situation in Europe.According to the logic of the balance of power, British interest groups transformed Britain from the traditional alliance strategy of "pro-Austria (Osman) and anti-Russia" in the 19th century to "pro-Russia and anti-Germany".As early as the late 1880s, this shift was already evident.The alliance formed between Gabriel Arnault in France and Sazi Witte in Russia, together with a newly industrialized Germany, was already beginning to take shape.