It thus appears that as late as August 2, 1914, Germany had not given to Belgium any intimation as to its intention, and, what is more important, it had not either on that day or previously made any charge that Belgium had in any way violated its obligations of neutrality, or that France had committed any overt act in violation thereof.
On July 31, 1914, England, not unreasonably apprehensive as to the sincerity of Germany’s oft-repeated protestations of good faith, directed the English Ambassadors at Paris and Berlin to ask the respective governments of those countries “whether each is prepared to respect the neutrality of Belgium, provided it is violated by no other Power.”
This question was communicated by Sir Edward Grey to the Belgian Government, with the addition that he (Sir Edward Grey) asked that “the Belgian Government will maintain to the utmost of her power her neutrality which I desire, and expect other Powers to uphold and observe.”
Pursuant to these instructions, the English Ambassador to Paris, on the night of July 31, 1914, called upon Viviani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and on the same night received a reply which is reported by Sir F. Bertie to Sir Edward Grey, as follows:
French Government is resolved to respect the neutrality of Belgium, and it would be only in the event of some other Power violating that neutrality that France might find herself under the necessity, in order to assure defense of her own security, to act otherwise. This assurance has been given several times. The President of the Republic spoke of it to the King of the Belgians, and the French Minister to Brussels has spontaneously renewed the assurance to the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs to-day.[87]
Confirming this, the French Minister at Brussels, on August 1st, made to the Belgian Foreign Minister the following declaration:
I am authorized to declare that in the event of an international conflict, the government of the Republic will, as it has always declared, respect the neutrality of Belgium. In the event of this neutrality not being respected by another Power, the French Government, in order to insure its own defense, might be led to modify its attitude.[88]
On July 31, 1914, the English Ambassador at Berlin saw the German Secretary of State, and submitted Sir Edward Grey’s pointed interrogation, and the only reply that was given was that “he must consult the Emperor and the Chancellor before he could possibly answer,” and the German Secretary of State very significantly added that for strategic reasons it was “very doubtful whether they would return any answer at all.”
Goschen also submitted the matter to the German Chancellor, who also evaded the question by stating that “Germany would in any case desire to know the reply returned to you [the English Ambassador] by the French Government.”