Vintage Video - Cheering Crowds at Buckingham Palace, 1914
With Germany's demand to neutral Belgium to allow passage through her territory for German troops en route to France, Britain's uncertainty regarding its own role - France had urgently pressed Britain to come to her aid, while Britain wavered - ended.
The British government declared that Belgium's neutrality was protected by treaty, to which Britain was a signatory. Any military violation of Belgian territory was, therefore, a matter for war. Consequently when Belgium formally rejected Germany's demands, and German troops invaded Belgium, Britain declared herself at war with Germany - a highly popular stance with the British public.
"Plugstreet" was British slang to describe the Belgian village of Ploegsteert.
- Did you know?
