Note 499 — BOOK VIII THE AGE OF THE GREAT POWERS (continued 7)

I think his policy was quite clear. He said to Germany, “If you bring on war, you must expect England to support France and Russia.” To France and Russia he said: “If you are unreasonable, do not expect England to support you.” He thus brought pressure to bear on both sides.—G. M.

An illuminating book on the causes of the war is Lord Loreburn’s How the War Came.—H. H. J.