Germany breaks off diplomatic relations with Japan
On 23 August 1914 Germany broke off diplomatic relations with Japan. At noon that day the ultimatum expired in which Tokyo had demanded the withdrawal of German warships from Far Eastern waters and the handing over to Japan of the leased territory of Kiautschou with the port of Tsingtao.
An ultimatum without a reply
The government in Berlin had no intention of meeting the Japanese demands and did not reply to the ultimatum at all. The German ambassador in Tokyo, Count Arthur von Rex, conveyed through the American embassy that Germany could not accept Japan’s terms and that he and his staff would leave the country by the first available ship. Thus ended his mission in Japan, which had lasted since 1911. The protection of German interests in Japan was taken over by the neutral United States.
What followed
The breaking off of relations meant war. That same day Japan declared war on Germany, and a few weeks later its troops began the siege of Tsingtao, today’s Qingdao. We write more about Japan’s demands in the article Japan issues an ultimatum to Germany.
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Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
- 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.
- 23 August 1914 · Eastern FrontBattle of Tannenberg beginsOn 23 August 1914 Samsonov's Russian Second Army clashed with the Germans in southern East Prussia. Fighting began that would end in its encirclement.
- 23 August 1914 · Western FrontZeppelin Z VIII shot down in the VosgesOn 23 August 1914 the German army airship Z VIII, hit by ground fire while flying over French troops, came down in a forest near Badonviller.
- 23 August 1914 · AfricaGeneral Dobell to command the Kamerun expeditionOn 23 August 1914 General Charles Dobell was appointed commander of the Allied land forces against German Kamerun.
Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 15 August 1914 · Asia and the PacificJapan issues an ultimatum to GermanyOn 15 August 1914 Japan demanded that Germany withdraw its warships from Far Eastern waters and hand over the Kiautschou lease with the port of Tsingtao.
- 2 September 1914 · Asia and the PacificJapanese land in ShantungOn 2 September 1914 Japanese troops landed at Longkou on neutral Chinese territory in order to attack the German fortress of Tsingtao from the landward side.
- 23 September 1914 · Asia and the PacificBritish join the siege of TsingtaoOn 22–23 September 1914 General Barnardiston's British force landed in Laoshan Bay to support the Japanese in the siege of Tsingtao.
- 24 August 1914 · Asia and the PacificAustria-Hungary breaks off diplomatic relations with JapanOn 24 August 1914 Austria-Hungary broke off relations with Japan. The Emperor ordered the cruiser Kaiserin Elisabeth to defend Tsingtao alongside the Germans.