Video Creator’s Channel The Great War

When Germany Violated Belgian Neutrality In August 1914 Britain

went to war over it, for neutrality must be guaranteed, right Well, that seems a bit hypocritical for Britain at this point, because as far as violating neutrality goes, we can really see that the Allied position now is two can play that game . I m Indy Neidell; welcome to the Great War.

Last Week.

A British relief expedition on the Tigris River failed to reach the army under siege at Kut. The Russians began an offensive against the Turks and ended one against the Austrians and Germans,. While in the Balkans. The Austrian invasion of Montenegro continued.

Here

s what followed. Well, the rest of the invasion of Montenegro followed. On. The 25th, Montenegro accepted Austrian terms.

Two Days Earlier, Montenegrin.

King Nicholas had appeared in Rome and met his son-in-law, Victor Emmanuel UK. The King of Italy. Nicholas then went on. France.

• invasion montenegro continued followed
• invasion montenegro followed 25th montenegro
• 1914 britain went war neutrality
• violated belgian neutrality august 1914
• montenegro austrian forces occupied scutari

Back In Montenegro, Austrian Forces Occupied

Scutari the 23rd and reached San. Giovanni Di Medua, a seaport in northern Albania,. The 26th, and Montenegro was finally overrun,, but it was the poorest country in Europe. , and the Austrians didn t really get much of a reward, other than to some positive headlines, which I guess they needed most of the time.

They Now Began Their Advance Into

Albania.. Meanwhile, the allies were trying to get the remnants of the Serbian Army out of Albania to regroup on the island of Corfu as quickly as possible. . British engineers put bridges across rivers, provision depots were established along roads for the soldiers and refugees heading for the coast, and by the end of the month, around 8,000 Serbian soldiers a day were leaving Albania.

Another Number That I

ll throw at youNK] in November and December when the Serbian army and civilian refugees were fleeing Serbia through Albania, an estimated 200,000 out of 700,000 perished. The. French and British forces that had come up through Greece to try to help the Serbs were at this point cooling their heels in Salonika, and I d like to look there for a minute, just in general.

They Had Sent Those Troops There, To Greece

s second city, but the British government didn t think the Salonika force served any useful purpose and tried to get the French to agree to withdraw all allied troops there, but France was in the grip of a little domestic political crisis. . Aristide Briand had replaced René Viviani as prime minister a few months back and he was very UK and he even made support of the Salonika project a test of loyalty to.

To Himself And His Government.

Also, a lot of his support came from the Radical Socialists, and their favorite, General Maurice Sarrail. , was in command of the Salonika army. Withdrawal from Salonika would leave Sarrail without a command and unlikely to get a new one, since General Joseph Joffre, in charge of the armies in France, couldn t stand him and felt threatened by him as a rival.

.

So Briand came out with the somewhat stale arguments that the Salonika force kept Romania and Greece neutral and was some sort of a threat to the Austrian rear forces in the Balkans, and once the Serbian army was reformed, it would also be used in the Balkans. . So Briand raised Joffre to command of all the French forces everywhere, not just in France,, which meant that his rival Sarrail was now his subordinate and Joffre had to support him. SO back in December the British, against their better judgment.

, Were Talked Into Keeping Men At

Salonika, partly by fear of provoking a collapse of the Briand government, and partly by Russian pleas that they maintain a force somewhere in the eastern theater of war to hopefully relieve some pressure at some point. Thing is, it was primarily the British and French who had helped Greece get its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832, and since then they had constantly supported that independence, but now they really acted like Greek Independence was a secondary issue to their own convenience. , and Greece was not happy. . Lemnos, the largest island in the Northern Aegean.

, Had Been Requisitioned For The Dardanelles Campaign, And

they had landed tens of thousands of troops at Salonika without even really asking permission. Over. This winter, they transformed Salonika into an allied military settlement. In an area. of 200 square miles, they camped a total of 8 divisions and tons of war material and supplies,, but what was it all for They Weren

• montenegrin
• albania
• 1914
• montenegro
• balkans

T Putting Any Pressure On Either The Bulgarians

or the Austrians, they were no threat to the Turks, they werent really helping the Russians, and they certainly weren t pulling any Germans away from the Western Front. What were they doing Well, they were suffering. Malaria is endemic in northern Greece, and just something to keep in your head in future-malaria caused ten casualties for every one taken in battle for the Salonika divisions.

.

German journalists even described Salonika as the greatest internment camp in the world , and it was even worse than that, it truly became a giant military hospital, thanks to malaria, with some units entirely falling victim to the mosquito. Of Of course, disease and suffering weren

T Confined Just To Salonika; They Were

everywhere, including the western front.. The Western front had been pretty quiet all month, but this winter saw a terrible outbreak of trench foot. See, men standing in freezing mud for days on end in field boots or puttees would first lose all feeling in their toes. .

Then The Feet Would Begin To Swell, Then

go totally dead, and then burn like they were on fire. Often, When relief units would come to the front-line trenches, many of the men being relieved could not even walk away from the trenches. . They d either have to crawl or ride on someone

S Back.

This is thousands of men. We re talking about. Now, a lot of generals and higher-ups thought that this was because of carelessness or even deliberate malingering.

There Were, To Be Fair, A Lot Of

cases of people wounding. to get out of the trenches, shooting off fingers or toes,, but this was the real thing, and the pain was excruciating. One British battalion, the 49th, had over 400 cases. This winter, far more than casualties from the actual war. A cure was eventually found, though, and it turned out to be rubbing the feet with oil a few times a day.

Next Door In Germany, This Week Saw The

Kaisers birthday on the 27th. It also saw an escalation of an UK campaign. That day. The statue of Frederick the Great in Berlin was covered with an American flag draped in black with these words in gold letters on a silk banner attached to it, UK and his press are not America.

Photos of this were sent all over Germany and one paper wroteNK]NK]. The Great was the first to recognize the independence of the young. The young Republic after it had won its freedom from the Yoke of England, at the price of its very heart s blood through years of struggle.

.

His successor, WilhelmNK] receives the gratitude of America in the form of hypocritical phrases and war supplies to his mortal enemy. Those sentiments were actually mirrored elsewhere, in Greece. Greek King Constantine made public statements in the American press that got worldwide attention after the French occupied Fort Kara Burun near Salonika This week.

.

He said, UK is the merest cant for Great Britain and France to talk about the violation of the neutrality of Belgium after what they themselves have done and are doing. . . Just look at the Greek territories already occupied by the Allied troops.

.

. in proportion to all Greece. It is as if that part of the United States, which was won from Mexico after the Mexican war was occupied. occupied by foreign troops, and not so much as by your leave.

.

. Where is the necessity for the occupation of Corfu . . .

The Transportation Of The Serbs To Italy

would be simpler than to Corfu.. Is it because the Italians are refusing to accept the Serbs, fearing the spread of cholera, and the Allies are thinking the Greeks want to be endangered by cholera any more than the Italians It s not surprising.

This Now Made Headlines, Since What The Allies

were doing does Reek of hypocrisy. And every time they occupied a new part of Greece, Lemnos, Imbros, Kara Burun. This week, the Greeks would protest, and nobody took any notice. And on that note we come to the end of another week. Montenegro fallen, Albania being overrun, the Italian, Western, and Eastern fronts quiet, but disease stalking the troops pretty much everywhere.

It

s true, though, Britain guaranteed Belgian neutrality. Ostensibly went to war in the first place when Germany violated it. And look where we are now, 18 months later, Britain and France blatantly violating another nation s neutrality.

To Be Fair, The British Don

t actually want to be in Salonika, but not because of anything to do with Greek protests. But it s easy to describe-the Germans thought invading Belgium was necessary, the allies think Salonika is necessary, and in modern war, necessity always trumps morals.

If Youd Like To See How

the German invasion of Belgium actually took place, you can click right here. Our. Patreon supporter of the week is Grant Gammon. Now, if you would, one day hopefully, see us filming on location, please consider supporting us on Patreon so we can reach our goals.

Like Us On Facebook And Follow Us On

Twitter. See you next time. .

Summary

Austrian invasion of Montenegro continued, but the Austrians didn’t really get much of a reward, other than to some positive headlines, which I guess they needed most of the time . Meanwhile, the allies were trying to get the remnants of the Serbian Army out of Albania to regroup on the island of Corfu as quickly as possible . In November and December when the Serbian army and civilian refugees were fleeing Serbia through Albania, an estimated 200,000 out of 700,000 perished. Around 8,000 Serbian soldiers a day were leaving Albania, and by the end of the month, around 8,00 Serbian soldiers per day were fleeing the country . The. British engineers put bridges across rivers, provision depots were established along roads for the soldiers and refugees heading for the . coast, and the . Serbian soldiers and . refugees were . leaving Albania by the . end of December, an estimate of about 200,0000 perished. In November, the . estimated that in November and . December ….. Click here to read more and watch the full video