First British war council
- Category:
- Politics
- Date:
- 5 August 1914
- Author:
- Łukasz Skowroń
On 5 August 1914, the day after Britain entered the war, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith called a war council at 10 Downing Street. For the first time the most important ministers and military commanders sat at one table to decide how Britain would wage the war on land.
Who sat at the table
Those taking part included the Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, and Lord Haldane. The military side was represented by Field Marshal Lord Roberts, the commander-in-chief of the Expeditionary Force, Field Marshal Sir John French, General Sir Douglas Haig and other senior officers. Also present was Field Marshal Lord Kitchener, who that same day became Secretary of State for War.
Where to send the army
The key question was where and when to send the British Expeditionary Force. Pre-war arrangements with France provided for the British to concentrate on the left wing of the French army, around Maubeuge near the Belgian border. French, however, considered sending the troops to Antwerp, to operate together with the Belgians on the Germans’ flank. Haig warned against hastily sending the whole of the small professional army and argued for expanding it.
Kitchener proved the most far-sighted. Unlike most of those at the council, he foresaw that the war would last for years and that Britain would need an army of millions. He also feared that a force concentrated at Maubeuge would find itself in the path of the main German thrust.
Decisions
The council ended with a decision to send the Expeditionary Force to France. The next day the government settled that four infantry divisions and a cavalry division would cross to the Continent to begin with, while two divisions would stay at home for fear of a German invasion. In the end, after talks with the French, concentration near Maubeuge was agreed.
From council to War Council
Contemporary chronicles called the meeting of 5 August the first session of the British War Council. The formal War Council, which took over the tasks of the pre-war Committee of Imperial Defence and was given executive powers, was not created until November 1914, as a cabinet committee. It was this body that took the most important strategic decisions in the following months, including the one on the Dardanelles operation. In June 1915 it was replaced by the Dardanelles Committee.
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Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
- 5 August 1914 · Balkan FrontMontenegro declares war on Austria-HungaryOn 5 August 1914 Montenegro declared war on Austria-Hungary, siding with Serbia. Guns on Mount Lovćen threatened the fleet base at Kotor.
- 4 August 1914 · Western FrontGermany declares war on BelgiumOn 4 August 1914 Germany announced to Belgium that it would use force and entered its territory. The chancellor admitted he was breaking international law.
- 6 August 1914 · Balkan FrontSerbia declares war on GermanyOn 6 August 1914 Serbia declared war on Germany, ally of Austria-Hungary. The two states had no common border, but the declaration was a political statement.
- 6 August 1914 · Western FrontBattle of the Frontiers beginsIn early August 1914 the Battle of the Frontiers began, a series of clashes between French and German armies that lasted until the Battle of the Marne.
Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 7 August 1914 · Western FrontFirst units of the British Expeditionary Force in FranceOn 7 August 1914 the first British units landed in France. The main body of the expeditionary force crossed the Channel over the following days.
- 16 August 1914 · Western FrontBritish Expeditionary Force completes its landing in FranceOn 16 August 1914 the landing of the original British Expeditionary Force in France was completed. The crossing was made without loss.
- 23 August 1914 · Western FrontBattle of MonsOn 23 August 1914 the British Expeditionary Force fought its first battle at Mons. It inflicted heavy losses on the Germans but had to begin a retreat.
- 24 August 1914 · Western FrontThe British retreat from MonsOn 24 August 1914 the British Expeditionary Force began its retreat from Mons. Rearguards fought heavy actions at Elouges and Audregnies.