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CHAPTER V

COMING OF THE BRITISH

We now come to the arrival of the British on the Continent. In
using the term British, it, is expressly intended to comprise the
united forces of the British Isles.

On August 3, 1914, the British Government practically gave up hope
that war with Germany could be avoided, though it would appear to
have lingered until the ultimatum to Germany to vacate Belgian
soil remained unanswered. On that day the army was mobilized at
Aldershot.

On August 5, 1914, Lord Kitchener was recalled at the outset from
a journey to Egypt, and appointed Minister of War. No more fortunate
selection than this could have been made. Above all else, Lord
Kitchener's reputation had been won as an able transport officer.
In the emergency, as Minister of War, the responsibility for the
transport of a British army oversea rested in his hands. On August
5, 1914, the House of Commons voted a credit of $100,000,000, and
an increase of 500,000 men to the regular forces. Upon the same
day preparations went forward for the dispatch of an expeditionary
army to France.

The decision to send the army to France, instead of direct to a
landing in Belgium, would seem to have been in response to an urgent