Like a trail of gunpowder lit by the game of alliances, declarations of war followed fast upon each other. Germany declared war on Russia on August 1. Universal mobilization was immediately decreed in France. To eventually attack France, Germany invaded Belgium, demanding that it adopt an attitude of “benevolent neutrality ». But the Belgians resisted. The British, their hackles up, warned Berlin that Great Britain would enter the war if the German troops did not withdraw. France and Germany officially declared war on each other on August 3.
