Primary
Documents - 1914
Updated - Saturday, 29 May, 2004
This page of the Primary Documents section of the website collects together archive source documents originating in 1914, the year the First World War began.
Included among the 1914 documents are the various declarations of war, as well as Count Franz von Harrach's memoir of the events surrounding the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. America's 1914 policy of neutrality is also well documented.
The list presented below - with each entry accompanied by a brief summary of its significance - is sorted by date, with earlier documents listed first.
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Tampico Incident (click
here) April - U.S. action against Mexico |
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Archduke Franz
Ferdinand's Assassination (click
here) June - Memoir of Archduke's assassination |
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Austrian Ministerial
Council Meeting (click
here) July - Official council minutes urging war against Serbia |
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Austrian Report into
Assassination (click
here) July - Report highlighting Serbian role in assassination |
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Germany's Offer of a
'Blank Cheque' (click
here) July - Germany's tacit encouragement of Austrian action |
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Kaiser Wilhelm II on
Austrian Ultimatum (click
here) July - German Kaiser's impatience for action against Serbia |
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Austrian Ultimatum to
Serbia and Reply (click
here) July - Austrian precursor to declaration of war |
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Austrian Explanation
for Ultimatum (click
here) July - Letter sent to powers explaining Austria's approach |
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Serbia's Appeal for
Russian Assistance (click
here) July - Serbian King's plea for Russia's help against Austria |
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Belgian Reaction to
Austrian Ultimatum (click
here) July - Belgian Ambassador to Berlin's dismay |
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British Reaction to
Austrian Ultimatum (1) (click
here) July - Sir Edward Grey's disappointment |
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British Reaction to
Austrian Ultimatum (2) (click
here) July - British Ambassador to Austria's view of events |
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French Reaction to
Austrian Ultimatum (click
here) July - Ambassador to Berlin's moves to secure peace |
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U.S. Reaction to
Austrian Ultimatum (click
here) July - Ambassador to Turkey's belief in German culpability |
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Austria's Declaration
of War with Serbia (click
here) July - Formal Austro-Hungarian declaration of war |
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Wilhelm II's Account
of July Crisis (click
here) July - German Kaiser's account of events in July 1914 |
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Willy-Nicky Telegrams (click
here) July/August - Diplomatic notes between Kaiser and Tsar |
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Germany's Declaration
of War with Russia (click
here) August - Note to Russia declaring war |
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German Statement on
Outbreak of War (click
here) August - Statement attributing blame for war on Russia |
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British Reaction to
German Statement (click
here) August - Rebuttal of Germany's account of start of war |
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Germany's Appeal to
U.S. (click
here) August - Appeal by Germany to garner U.S. sympathy |
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Turco-German Alliance (click
here) August - Military alliance preceding entry into war |
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German Request for
Passage via Belgium (click
here) August - Germany's request - and Belgium's refusal |
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Germany's Declaration
of War with France (click
here) August - Note to France declaring war |
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Britain's End of
Relations with Germany (click
here) August - British Ambassador to Berlin's account |
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The Scrap of Paper (click
here) August - German Chancellor's use of the term |
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President Poincare's
War Address (click
here) August - French President's address to Parliament |
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French Prime
Minister's Statement on War (click
here) August - Account of countdown to war |
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Belgian King's Address
to Parliament (click
here) August - King Albert I's call to arms |
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U.K. Daily Mirror
Report on News of War (click
here) August - British tabloid newspaper's reaction |
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British Prime
Minister's Address (click
here) August - Herbert Asquith's account of run-up to war |
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French Proclamation on
Invasion of Alsace (click
here) August - Joseph Joffre's premature declaration of victory |
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King George V's
Message to British Troops (click
here) August - British Monarch's encouragement |
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U.K. Defence of the
Realm Act (click
here) August - British government's request for measures |
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Japanese Ultimatum to
Germany (1) (click
here) August - Japanese demand for control of Tsingtao |
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Japanese Ultimatum to
Germany (2) (click
here) August - Japanese explanation of war with Germany |
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Kitchener's Guidance
to British Troops (click
here) August - War minister's urge for restraint in France |
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Austrian Statement on
War Against Serbia (click
here) August - War minister's statement |
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Fall of Liege: General
Leman's Letter (click
here) August - Leman's letter to King Albert I |
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Fall of Liege: General
Leman's Diary (click
here) August - Leman's prison diary entries regarding fall of Liege |
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Fall of Liege: German
Officer's Account (click
here) August - First-hand account of the fall of Liege |
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Germany's Second
Request for Passage (click
here) August - Chancellor's request for an accommodation |
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Flight of the Goeben
and Breslau (click
here) August - U.S. Ambassador to Turkey's first-hand account |
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Wilhelm II and the
British Army (click
here) August - Letter in which Kaiser dismissed the British Army |
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U.S. Policy of
Neutrality (click
here) August - President Wilson's address to Congress |
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Proclamations of
German Military Governor (click
here) August - Text of two proclamations |
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Battle of Tannenberg:
Paul von Hindenburg (click
here) August - Account of the German victory |
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Battle of Tannenberg:
Vasily Gurko (click
here) August - Account of the Russian failure |
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Abandonment of Paris
by French Govt. (1) (click
here) August - Text of the proclamation |
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Sack of Louvain:
German Statement (click
here) August - Gottlieb von Jagow's justification re: Louvain |
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Sack of Louvain:
Judicial Report (click
here) August - Belgian report into sack of Louvain |
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German Chancellor's
Speech to Reichstag (click
here) August - Bethmann-Hollweg on countdown to war |
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Abandonment of Paris
by French Govt. (2) (click
here) August - Text of the second proclamation |
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Wilhelm II on German
Rule in France (click
here) August - Alleged letter in which Kaiser supported terror |
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Triple Entente: No
Separate Peace (click
here) September - Britain, France and Russia agree to act |
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Sir John French's
First Despatch (click
here) September - British Commander-in-Chief's report |
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Wilhelm II's Letter to
U.S. Re: Belgium (click
here) September - German Kaiser's complaint against Belgium |
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Belgian Ambassador on
War in Turkey (click
here) September - Ambassador's report home |
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Battle
of Ourcq River: French Proclamation (click
here) September - Joseph Joffre's Congratulations |
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Battle
of Ourcq River: French Memoir (click
here) September - General Clergerie's Memoir |
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Battle
of Ourcq River: German Reaction (click
here) September - Helmuth von Moltke's Announcement |
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First Battle
of the Marne: French Reaction (click
here) September - Joseph Joffre's Order of the Day |
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First Battle
of the Aisne: British Reaction (click
here) September - Sir John French's Order of the Day |
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First Battle
of the Marne: Poincare Reacts (click
here) September - President Poincare's Letter to War Minister |
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First Battle
of the Marne: British Report (click
here) September - Sir John French's Disputed Report |
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First Battle
of the Marne: French Report (click
here) September - Joseph Joffre's Report |
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First Battle
of the Marne: German Account (click
here) September - German First Army commander's account |
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British Journalism at
the Aisne (click
here) September - Ernest Swinton's 'Eye Witness' Reports |
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Sinking of
Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue
(1) (click
here) September - Otto Weddigen's U-boat Memoir |
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Sinking of
Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue
(2) (click
here) September - Official British Report |
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Siege of Antwerp (1) (click
here) October - Arthur Conan Doyle's Summary |
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Siege of Antwerp (2) (click
here) October - Winston Churchill's Account |
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Siege of Antwerp (3) (click
here) October - Belgian Commandant's Account |
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Siege of Antwerp (4) (click
here) October - Erich von Falkenhayn's Account |
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Battle of the Yser
(1) (click
here) October - Belgian Minister of Justice's Summary |
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Battle of the Yser
(2) (click
here) October - Erich von Falkenhayn's Account |
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Talaat Pasha on
Turkey's Decision for War (click
here) October - Background to Turkey's entry into the war |
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Joseph Joffre's Report
on 1st Ypres (click
here) October - French Commander-in-Chief's account |
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Hindenburg on German
Attack on Warsaw (click
here) November - German Field Marshal's summary |
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British Account of
Battles of Warsaw (click
here) November - Written by British observer with Russian Army |
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Issuance of Ottoman
Fetva (click
here) November - Religious commandment to Muslims worldwide |
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Proclamation of Sultan
Mehmed V (click
here) November - Ottoman call to arms |
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Carl Lody's Final
Letters (click
here) November - Convicted German spy's final letters |
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German Reaction to
Fall of Tsingtao (click
here) November - Newspaper article lamenting German defeat |
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British Journalism at
1st Ypres (click
here) November - Ernest Swinton's 'Eye Witness' Report |
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German Army Order
Regarding Warsaw (click
here) November - Hindenburg's triumphal communiqué |
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French Army Review of
the War (click
here) December - Joseph Joffre's review of campaign in August |
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A "curio" was the name given to souvenirs collected from the battlefield, often from the bodies of dead soldiers. |
Original Material © Michael Duffy 2000-09, SafeSurf Rated
