![]() A lifelong flip-flopper, he crossed the floor to join Labour in 1906 to serve in the cabinet as undersecretary at the Colonial Office, subsequently becoming president of the Board of Trade in 1908, home secretary in 1910, and first lord of the Admiralty by September 1911. As an officer and war correspondent he took part in combat in the Sudan, India, and South Africa, benefiting from a natural bellicosity that lasted his whole life.Īfter his adventures abroad, Churchill entered politics in England, first as a Conservative in 1900. Born at Blenheim Palace to an English father and an American mother, Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill had done his studies at Sandhurst, the British military academy. Though only a sprightly (for a politician) 41 years old, Churchill’s record already stretched back. From the get-go this ambitious and energetic politician inserted himself into the center of affairs as much as possible. ![]() Sir Winston Churchill held the position of First Lord of the Admiralty at the outbreak of the First World War. “"At the beginning of this war megalomania was the only form of sanity.” ![]() Ww1 ww1 history ww1 centenary 1915 history world war one first world war great war The Central Powers had gained a new partner, while the first Allied nation to fight was crushed. It also cut off the Serbian retreat, forcing the Serbs to go through Albania rather than joining their allies in Greek Macedonia. This ensured that no relief force could arrive from Salonika, which had been the Anglo-French plan. The Serbian Army, attacked from three sides, folded and began a long retreat south, while the Bulgarians advanced to Kumanovo, the vital north-south railroad head, which they captured on the 22nd. Two Bulgarian armies invaded Serbia from the east, entering into Kosovo and Serbian Macedonia. Here Bulgarian infantry can be seen advancing towards Serbian lines on the opposite hillside.īulgaria joined the First World War on the side of the Central Powers on October 11. Pictured - Two Bulgarian armies crossed Serbia’s eastern frontier on October 11. OctoBulgaria Enters the Great War, Invades Serbia Image Sources: World War I: Encyclopedia Roberts & Tucker ww1 ww1 centenary ww1 history 1914 history world war one first world war great war britain diplomacy grey edward grey diplomatic history personalities diplomat He remained politically active but spent most of his retirement with his two real passions, fishing and birds. He was the longest continuously serving British Foreign Secretary. Grey resigned his post with the fall of Prime Minister Asquith’s government in December 1916. His negotiations abetted the Italian entry into the war on the Allied side in 1915. After the war began, he attempted to limit its scope, and then to find more allies for the Entente. The historian James Joll suggests that Grey’s schoolboy honour might have been what persuaded him to involve Britain in the conflict.ĭuring the crisis in July 1914, after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Grey tried to mediate between Austria and Serbia and their allies. However, Britain’s position remained relatively unclear in 1914 - it wasn’t solidly bound to help France in case of war. ![]() His greatest flaw may have been overestimating France’s power while believing at the same time that Germany’s was deteriorating, an idea that led him to tie Britain closer to France and into a possible war. He helped guide the nation through the Moroccan Crisis, two Balkan Wars and the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary. His greatest passion was fishing, it seemed he regarded diplomacy more as a burden he had to dutifully bear.ĭespite a lack of enthusiasm, Grey maneuvered Britain’s foreign policy skillfully in the antebellum period. Aloof and cold except to his closest friends, Grey was a Wykehamist who maintained a slightly priggish sense of schoolboy ethics and fair play his whole life. Sir Edward Grey was Britain’s Foreign Secretary in 1914. The diplomatic issues of the Great War and the pre-war world are equally fascinating and worthy of study. Indeed, the origins of the First World War are still a matter of contention a century later. The First World War is more than military history. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.” “The lamps are going out all over Europe. ![]()
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