1 August

Great War events that took place on 1 August.

1914 (Saturday)

Events preceding British Declaration of War

King George wires the Tsar that Germany recommended British proposals to Austria on 30 July, but that Russian mobilisation was reported during Austrian Cabinet meeting.
Russia does not reply to German ultimatum expiring at noon.
French mobilisation ordered 3.40 p.m.
Germany, having ostensibly ordered general mobilisation 5 p.m., declares war on Russia 7.10 p.m.; makes out that Russians had crossed frontier in afternoon and begun war. (Declaration drafted before noon.)
Tsar wires to King George that he had to mobilise on account of Serbia; but that though he had promised Kaiser he would not move troops during negotiations, Germany had suddenly declared war.
Austria at last moment appears accommodating to England.
Italy declines to take part in war, as being an aggressive one.
Sir Edward Grey protests against detention of British ships in Hamburg.
Belgium announces her intention of upholding her neutrality.^[a]

1915 (Sunday)

Western Front	▶ Artillery duels in Artois, valley of the Aisne, north-west of Reims, and in western Argonne; enemy attacks repulsed here.	▶ British retake some trenches at Hooge.
Eastern Front	▶ Mitau (Riga) evacuated, and captured by Germans. Latter held on Blonie line, west of Warsaw; they progress on the Narev.	▶ Austrians capture Novo Alexandria station (Ivangorod).
Southern Front	Enemy counter-attacks on Mr. Medetta (Carn.) and is repulsed.
Naval and Overseas Operations	Galata bridge (Constantinople) blown up by British submarines.
Political	▶ Kaiser and Tsar each issue manifesto on first anniversary of war. Former swears that his conscience is clear.	▶ Great Britain orders motor-boats in USA.

Notes

↑ Note presented to the various European Governments stating that Belgium proposed to carry out strictly her obligations under the Treaty of London, and had mobilised her army to defend her neutrality and her international obligations.

Sources: Various material contemporary with the war have been used to compile The Great War On This Day and its associated Compendium.

On This Day pages are styled as timelines and have been transcribed from two out-of-copyright sources: Chronology of the War (1918-1920), and History of the Great War – Principle Events 1914-1918 (1922). The spelling of place-names is a particularly convoluted subject. Some names were spelt differently depending on source, others have changed over time for various political or geographical reasons. In general, spelling of place names are original to British use at the time of, and shortly after, the war. Some typos have been altered or corrected for consistency. Similar events between these sources have been amalgamated; as a result the date and wording may differ to their original texts.

Compendium entries form the central hub of (a) An index-like collection of places, people, ships, battles, political events, etc., and (b) Words and phrases of the Armed Forces of Great Britain during the Great War. The majority of these have been transcribed from Chronology of the War (1918-1920) and Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases (1925) respectively, the later which is reflected in the language used and some may seem derogatory by today's standards.

Images come from scans or photographs of original sources, Wikimedia Commons, and the Imperial War Museum's online collections under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence. Attribution is given separately to the latter and does not come under the general licence of this site. Please be aware that some images, although very few, may depict distressing scenes.

Advisory note: The information in these sources may not accurately represent updated histories, present-day spellings, or geographical borders. It is also written from a British perspective, and words such as "enemy" are used extensively. For further details and a full list of sources, click here.

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[1] Note presented to the various European Governments stating that Belgium proposed to carry out strictly her obligations under the Treaty of London, and had mobilised her army to defend her neutrality and her international obligations.

[a]