Question

Look at the newspaper excerpt given below and answer the questions that follow:

1. Who summarily rejected British ultimatum? Why?
2. Why did Great Britain declare war on Germany?
3. What was the final outcome of the war that began after Great Britain declared war on Germany? How did it affect both the countries?

Answer 1

1. The German government summarily rejected the British ultimatum. The ultimatum demanded that Germany withdraw its forces from Belgium and cease hostilities; Germany refused because its army had already invaded Belgium as part of its military plan (to reach France) and it was not prepared to abandon those operations.
2. Great Britain declared war on Germany because Germany’s invasion of neutral Belgium violated Belgian neutrality (which Britain had guaranteed) and was seen as a direct threat to European order and British security, so Britain acted to defend Belgium and uphold the treaty.
3. The war that followed (World War I) ended with the defeat of Germany and the Central Powers and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles (1919). The treaty imposed heavy penalties on Germany (territorial losses, military restrictions and large reparations), producing economic hardship and political instability that helped fuel extremist movements later. Britain, though on the winning side, suffered heavy casualties, severe economic cost and a weakened global position, the conflict hastened the decline of its pre‑war dominance.