3 August

Great War events that took place on 3 August.

1914 (Monday)

Events preceding British Declaration of War

Belgian answer to German Note, refusing demands, 7 a.m. King of Belgians appeals to King George for diplomatic intervention to safeguard Belgian integrity.
Lunéville bombed by German airmen.
Skirmish between outposts near Libau.
Grand Duke Nicholas proclaimed Generalissimo of the Russian forces.
German reports - proved untrue - as to French officers in Belgium and French aviators over Karlsruhe, Nürnberg, etc.
Germany declares war on France.
Order for British mobilisation.
Sir Edward Grey speaks in House of Commons.^[a]

1915 (Tuesday)

Western Front	German night attacks in Argonne repulsed.
Eastern Front	Russians retire north of Lomja; Germans cross Narev. Mackensen victorious near Kholm.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres	Turks claim Alashgerd (Armenia) retaken from Russians.
Naval and Overseas Operations	French battleships bombard Sighadjik (Smyrna). Russians sink number small vessels in raid on Anatolian coast.
Political	Reply of Entente Powers to Bulgarian Note of 14 June (text secret). Parliamentary control for French army established.

Notes

↑ Sir Edward Grey announces in Parliament the attitude which the Government had adopted towards the European crisis and the active steps taken. Assurance had been given to France of the protection of our Fleet should the German Fleet attack the French Coast of the French shipping; no engagement had as yet been made to send an expeditionary force out of the country. Germany was prepared if we would pledge ourselves to neutrality to agree that her fleet would not attack the norther coast of France. "This is too narrow an engagement for us; we cannot issue a declaration of unconditional neutrality."

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] Sir Edward Grey announces in Parliament the attitude which the Government had adopted towards the European crisis and the active steps taken. Assurance had been given to France of the protection of our Fleet should the German Fleet attack the French Coast of the French shipping; no engagement had as yet been made to send an expeditionary force out of the country. Germany was prepared if we would pledge ourselves to neutrality to agree that her fleet would not attack the norther coast of France. "This is too narrow an engagement for us; we cannot issue a declaration of unconditional neutrality."

[a]