The Guns of August

As France and Germany prepare for war, so does England. Because of Edward’s overtures to the French before his death, England and France are now allies, though they have different ideas on how the coming war should be conducted. These plans first began in 1905, after the Russian defeat at Mukden by the Japanese showed the world how weak Russia—France’s strongest ally—was. When Kaiser Wilhelm appears in Tangiers, a city in Morocco, Britain makes plans for independent action in Belgium when the war begins, and “[n]erves on all sides [are] stretched tight in the expectation that Germany might take advantage of Russia’s catastrophe to precipitate war in the coming summer” (45).

In the wake of this, France attempts to form an unofficial alliance with England, but the “Escher triumvirate,” as the prevailing rulers of England are called, balks at England being an adjunct attached to French command. The agreement then stalls for several years until the British director of military operations, Brigadier General Henry Wilson, engages with the idea. He meets with French General Ferdinand Foch, and the two begin talks, forming a friendship and strengthening the bond between the two countries. The joint planning moves forward again. Wilson visits the French border where he is sure Germany will attack and instills in his staff the necessity of preparing for war, finally signing the Dubail-Wilson agreement that attaches the British army to the French.