fighting on Ukrainian lands during the First World War Ukrainian lands became one of the main theaters of warfare between Austria-Hungary and Russian Empire. It was here that the South-Western Front, more than 400 km long, passed, the field administration

At the beginning of XX century, the British Empire occupied a leading position in the world economy and politics, was the largest colonial empire. World War I radically changed the European alignment.

As a result of the war, four empires collapsed. The role of the United States in world politics and economics has increased.

What changes have taken place in greatest empire peace?

UK in 20- years XX century

According to the results 1 World War II Britain was in the camp of the victorious countries.

It seemed that she had solved all the goals set before the war: the main rival in the European and world arena, Germany, was defeated, autocracy was overthrown in Russia (another rival), and the country plunged into the whirlpool of revolutions and civil war.

But the war was not in vain for Britain either. Large loss of life (ca. 760 thousand), the economy also suffered significant damage (at the level 1913 United Kingdom came out only to 1929 G.). The public debt of Britain has grown (the main borrower has become the financial circles of the United States).

Due to the need to increase the output of military products, a number of industries were opened in the colonies and dominions, which led to the growth of their economic independence from the mother country.

During the war, an association of British industrial and financial circles was formed - the Federation of British Industry, which became the largest monopoly and sought complete control over the government.

Attempts to shift the difficulties of economic recovery onto the shoulders of workers led to mass protests and strikes. The importance and number of trade unions has grown.

On the wave of protest actions, the political weight of the Labor Party increased.

Changes in the British political system

During this period, the authority of the liberal party (which was in power practically 100 years), its place in the two-party system of the main parties was taken by the Laborites, thus, the main parties leading the struggle became: Conservative and Labor.

The Conservative Party expresses the interests, first of all, of big capital and landowners.

The Labor Party is a party of a social democratic direction, relies on trade unions (trade unions), expresses the interests of workers without change political system countries.

AT 30 years, the role of the head of government (prime minister) increases and the powers of the monarch are increasingly reduced to representative functions.

The right of the monarch to appoint the chairman of the government was limited by the fact that now he could appoint him from the ranks of the party that won the elections to the lower house of parliament - the House of Commons. The right of the monarch to dissolve Parliament is leveled by the fact that he does not have the opportunity to dissolve the government.

AT 1918 d. the entire male population older than 21 years and female older 30 years.

AT 1929 d. during the period of the Labor Party in power, women were equal in rights with men.

Domestic and foreign policy in the interwar period

In the period between the world wars, the contradictions between the dominions (in fact, independent states within the British Empire) and the central government intensified. The economy of the dominions, which had grown during the war, allowed them to demand greater independence.

Taking advantage of Britain's weakening 1919 in Ireland, a war of independence broke out, ending in 1921 g. the creation of an Irish free state, which received the rights of a dominion, and Ulster (or Northern Ireland), which remained part of the British state.

AT 1926 the dominions (Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa) by an act of the government received independence in the conduct of domestic and foreign policy, while maintaining recognition of the power of the British crown.

AT 1931 d. the actual independence of the dominions was enshrined in the Statute of Westminster, which recognized their right to sovereignty, but also fixed their obligation to protect the mother country.

The first to renounce dominion status in 1939 Ireland became the country, adopting a constitution that established a presidential republic.

IN 20 -30 years, the independence movement in India was born.

And although maintaining influence in the main territories under their control was the main task of governments, the UK continued to play a major role in the European and Asian theaters.

Since 1917 on 1941 One of the leading directions of British policy was to counteract the spread of socialism and the influence of the USSR in Europe and Asia.

Great Britain and its dominions sent their military forces to the Russian north, the Baltic, Transcaucasia. Direct military confrontation continued until July 1920 The second direction of intervention in the affairs of Russia was the direction of military assistance to the White Guard forces, the Basmachi detachments in Central Asia.

The failure in the military confrontation, as well as an attempt to return the Russian market, led to the conclusion of 1921 d. trade agreement.

AT 1923 there was a clash of interests between Great Britain and Soviet Union in Central Asia, which led to the sending of a note of the British government to the USSR, known as the “Curzon note”. The Soviet government made a number of concessions, and although this did not suit the UK, the British government did not aggravate relations. AT 1924 diplomatic relations were established between the USSR and Great Britain.

Subsequently, Anglo-Soviet relations went through several crises:

AT 1927 d. - severance of diplomatic relations (restored in 1929 G.);

in 1939 - England supported Finland in the Soviet-Finnish military conflict.

World economic crisis began 30- 1990s, the gradual weakening of the position of the mother country in the colonial empire did not allow an active policy to counteract the strengthening of Nazi Germany.

Since 1933 on 1939 y.y. the British government did not oppose the change in the status of the Rhine demilitarized zone, the German armament program.

As a result, when Nazi Germany annexed Austria, the British ruling circles began to pursue a policy of concessions to the Nazis. This was facilitated by the support of Germany by a number of representatives of the British political elites.

The pinnacle of concessions was the recognition of the annexation of a number of Czechoslovak lands to Germany, and then the complete dismemberment of Czechoslovakia into 1938 G.

3 September 1939 after the German attack on Poland, Great Britain declared war on Germany. Since that moment, the military conflict between the two countries has grown into a global one.

AT 1940 The post of Prime Minister of Great Britain was taken by W. Churchill, who became a symbol of the struggle of the British people against the aggressor.

Thus, in the period after 1 World War there was a weakening of the role of Great Britain in world politics and economics. In fact, these years have become the years of Britain's transformation from a superpower into an ordinary country, pursuing its policy in line with the policy of the new superpower - the United States.

Britain ended up in the ranks of the victorious countries, but turned out to be a debtor country. The only benefit for Britain was the acquisition of new colonies.

At the next election in 1918, the liberals, who ruled England for about 100 years, were divided into two camps. Some of them joined the Labor Party, and the Labor Party became the leading party. The other part formed a coalition with the conservatives and achieved victory. David Lloyd George took over as prime minister.

In the summer of 1917, England granted the three dominions - Canada, Australia and the Union of South Africa the status of autonomous states within the British Empire. In 1923, they received the right to conclude agreements with foreign countries. In 1931, the Statute of Westminster "On Dominions" was adopted. So the dominions received complete freedom in domestic and foreign policy. The Statute of Westminster formed the legal foundations of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

After the people of Ireland formed the party "Sinn Fein" and continued to fight with England. The Irish deputies who won the 1918 elections created an independent parliament in Dublin, and the leader of the Sinn Fein party, De Velern, was elected president. An attempt by England to subjugate the Republic of Ireland by force of arms proved unsuccessful. Under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed on December 6, 1921, Ireland was declared a British dominion under the name "Independent Irish State".

After in 1922, the policy of the coalition government of Lloyd George failed, and he resigned. The Conservatives won the November elections. But they also resigned in 1923. Labor won the next election, and in 1924 the first Labor government was formed, led by Ramsay MacDonald. The Macdonald government set about building houses for workers, reducing customs duties, improving the unemployment insurance system, but many of the campaign promises were not delivered. Therefore, the workers were dissatisfied, and in October 1924, the conservative government of S. Baldwin was formed.

The mine owners decided to overcome the crisis that broke out in the coal industry by reducing wages and increasing the working day. They threatened disgruntled workers with a lockout (closing factories and laying off workers). As a sign of solidarity with the workers, the federation of miners' trade unions and the railway workers opposed the mine owners. The lockout has been cancelled. But on May 4, 1926, the General Council of Trade Unions declared a general strike in the country. After the government passed the law on strikes on May 11, the General Council called on the workers to end the strike. But the workers continued to strike and clash with the police. The highest point of confrontation was the adoption in 1927 of the law on conflicts in industry and on trade unions. This law prohibited general strikes that could influence the government. Unsuccessful external and domestic politics the Conservatives determined Labor's victory in the 1929 elections. Under the leadership of R. MacDonald, the second Labor government was created (1929).

The world economic crisis of 1929-1933 had a particularly hard effect on England in 1932. The second Labor government from 1929 took measures to combat the crisis, but in August 1931 it was forced to resign. R. MacDonald created the National Government of Labor, Conservatives and Liberals.

When the National Government began to implement the recommendations of the May Commission, discontent arose, and in the autumn of 1931 the National Government held snap elections. And this time the coalition of conservatives and liberals won, and the government was again headed by the Laborist R. MacDonald. The national government in foreign policy took a course towards rapprochement with fascist Germany and militaristic Japan. In 1935, the national government resigned. The Conservatives created a new government headed by S. Baldwin. In 1937, the government of S. Baldwin was replaced by the government of N. Chamberlain. Chamberlain tried to ease the Anglo-German contradictions by making concessions to Nazi Germany. The two-faced policy of the British government on the eve

This turn of Russia, its peculiar "return to Europe" unexpectedly for many - was approved in London. Yes, since 1714 a Germanic (Hanoverian) dynasty ruled Britain, but German was never spoken at the court of St. James. But as soon as the Germans accepted the program of building an ocean-going fleet, London began to think about the rationality of its "brilliant isolation" in a world where Teutonic self-affirmation began to threaten to oust Britain from world positions. The centenary Russo-British rivalry is beginning to lose its meaning. The British no longer believe that the Russian Cossacks will take away from them the "pearl of the British crown" - India. (The Japanese pointed to the limit of the expansion of Russian influence in Asia). At the same time, Germany is confidently and arrogantly embarking on a program of building a navy capable of ending the period of British naval dominance in the oceans. German industry is forcing Britain to end the "free-trade" system and begin a new stage, characterized by targeted state protection of its national industry.

Nearly a century of London's fear and antipathy towards Russia is coming to an end. In the government - in particular, in the Foreign Office - comes an unprecedented galaxy of supporters of rapprochement with Russia, confident in the possibility of European progress of the largest continental country. The English historian A. Toynbee reflected the new confidence of the ruling circles of his country that the future of Russia is connected with the liberalization of its political system and subsequent entry into the family of European peoples. “The main obstacle to the establishment of self-government in Russia,” writes Toynbee, “is the brevity of its history. modern communications energetic absolutism seemed to be the only force capable of holding together such a widely spread human mass. Now the telegraph railways will take the place of a "strong government" and individual individuals will have the opportunity of their self-realization.

Having reached the peak of power, owning a quarter of the earth's land, Britain turned into the guardian of the world status quo by the beginning of the 20th century. The global task of imperial London was to prevent drastic changes, and in case of their inevitability - to give them an orderly character. This almost automatically set England in opposition to Germany, the main power encroaching on the existing balance of power in the world. The spirit that dominated Germany can be best expressed by Admiral Tirpitz, whose excellent memoirs give a picture of the gradual division of Europe. Power, according to Tirpitz, always precedes Law. Great peoples are created only by the desire for dominance. At the beginning of the century, Germany rushed along this path. More clearly than in his memoirs, Tirpitz sets forth these ideas in his published "Political Documents" (especially in the first volume - "The Creation of German World Power").

In 1898, the leadership of the "Hamburg-American Company" (GAPAG) informed Emperor Wilhelm II that "the strengthening of the navy is necessary for the well-being of Germany." Two years later, the president of the largest German shipping company GAPAG, A. Dallin, begins to defend the idea that “the fleet is the embodiment of the national goal of“ great Germany ”and its imperial power ... In the fierce struggle of nations for light and air, only power matters ... Germany has an incomparable land army, but across the seas only warships can force it to be respected. Without the help of a powerful navy, whose backbone should consist of ships of the line, Germany is deprived of real strength even against the smallest and most exotic countries. "

In London, they began to openly fear the Teutonic omnipotence. Visiting Germany, Churchill warned against underestimating German military power. He described it as "a terrible machine, marching 35 miles a day. These soldiers are equipped with the most modern views technology. "The pressure of the German force became especially tangible in the light of the expansion of the German fleet construction program. This made the British feel something that they had not felt in England for about 100 years - the emergence of a threat national security the national interests of the country. The main result of the creation of a super-powerful fleet by Germany was the rapprochement of Britain with France and Russia. Secret naval negotiations began between the French and British admiralties.

At the head of the British Foreign Office was a gloomy liberal expert in foreign policy, Edward Grey, a widower who had recently buried his wife, a fifty-year-old single man. No one knew about his personal torment - he was slowly losing his sight (in the autumn of 1913 he stopped playing tennis, because he could no longer see the ball). Tension in foreign policy grew literally every day, and Gray mobilized all his courage by reading telegrams and talking to ambassadors. Three addresses had absolute priority over the others: Buchanan in St. Petersburg, Goshen in Berlin, Bertie in Paris. Haldane did everything he could to help his comrade: a servant was sitting at the door of his bedroom with instructions to put letters for sorting in a special box. In the morning, Gray received only emergency mail. His policy can be summed up in his phrase: "Standing aside means agreeing to Germany's dominance, France and Russia's subjugation to it, Britain's isolation. Ultimately, Germany will take over the entire continent. How does she use this circumstance in relation to England?"

British shipyards are laying battleships hitherto unseen power - dreadnoughts. But Berlin is responding with a colossal naval program that, in the face of a dramatic upgrade in technology (which has created a "blank slate" situation in naval construction), threatens to dethrone the mistress of the seas from her throne.

Just two days after the Liberal government came to power in 1902, the new British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Gray, received the Russian ambassador Benckendorff and indicated that his government's policy would be towards rapprochement with Russia. A few days later, in his first speech as prime minister, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannsrman told an audience at the Albert Hall that his government "feels exceptionally warm towards Russia."

Just a few years ago, such an alliance would have been unthinkable. In private, Queen Victoria characterized the Tsar Alexander III as "a barbarian, an Asian and a tyrant", and British military power opposed Russia along the entire world perimeter. Let us repeat: it was the naval program of Germany, which for the first time in a hundred years challenged British naval predominance in the world, created the objective prerequisites for Russia's rapprochement with Britain.

Let us not forget that England was to a great extent dependent on the importation of goods from across the seas (say, two-thirds of the food was imported). English merchant ships made up half of the world's merchant fleet. It is clear that the British Navy, the largest in the world, was the main tool of its world diplomacy. Only the navy could protect the British Isles from invasion, only the navy could move military forces to the Continent. As Churchill wrote at that time, “the might, majesty and strength of the British Empire float on British warships. Throughout our history, the sustenance and security of our faithful, industrious and active population depended on the navy. Imagine that the warships of Britain disappeared under the surface of the sea - and in a few minutes, half an hour at most, the whole state of affairs on the world stage will change. The British Empire will be dispelled like a dream, like a dream; every isolated English possession on earth will be undermined; the powerful provinces of the empire - real empires in themselves - will become inevitably go on your own way historical development, and the control over us will inevitably weaken, pretty soon they will turn into the prey of others; Europe will immediately fall into the iron embrace of the Teutons.

Regarding the latter, Churchill's special memorandum to the Imperial Defense Committee said: "The general nature of the creation of the German fleet shows that it is intended for aggressive offensive operations of the widest range in the North Sea and the North Atlantic ... The construction features of German battleships clearly indicate that they are intended for offensive operations against the enemy fleet. They do not have the characteristics of a cruising fleet that could protect their trade around the world. The Germans have been preparing for many years and continue to prepare for a gigantic test of power."

In 1911, the Kaiser and Admiral Tirpitz convinced Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg to proclaim his goal to achieve a ratio of the German fleet to the British 2:3. "Whether they accept this ratio or not is unimportant," wrote Wilhelm II. In British society, there was still a glimmer of hope that an agreement could be reached with the Germans. The presence of this hope is evidenced by the sending to the German capital at the beginning of 1912 of Minister of War Haldane, the only British minister who spoke German and completed a university course in Göttingen. He seemed to be the most suitable figure for the search for a compromise - his fascination with German philosophy was famous. Haldane was referred to in the War Office as "the Schopenhauer among the generals." In addition, he was an outstanding minister: if he fails to negotiate with the Germans, then this task is not up to anyone. He brought with him a note from the British Cabinet: "The new German naval program will immediately cause an increase in British naval spending ... This will make negotiations difficult, if not impossible." Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg asked Haldane the key question: "Will England be neutral in case of war on the Continent?" Haldane emphasized that London could not allow a second collapse of France, just as Germany could not allow England to capture Denmark or Austria. If Germany creates a third squadron, England will oppose them with five or six squadrons. "For every new German keel laid down, we will answer with two of our own." The next day, Admiral Tirpitz spoke for the first time - and the only time in his life - with a British minister. He was sitting on left hand from Haldane, and Kaiser Wilhelm on the right. Wilhelm lit a cigar for the British minister. Tirpitz proposed a ratio of 3:2 - three British battleships against two German ones, adding that the British principle of equality of the two following fleets "is hardly accepted by Germany." Haldane politely but firmly pointed out that England was an island power. After a three-hour discussion, the parties made some concessions.

French Ambassador Jules Cambon was the most worried in Berlin: the biggest Germanophile in the British cabinet was conducting critical negotiations. Does he believe in "entente" or is he starting "detente"? Haldane tried to reassure him: Britain will not show disloyalty towards France and Russia.

On February 7, 1912, while Haldane was still negotiating at the German Foreign Office on Wilhelmstrasse, Churchill read the Kaiser's speech at the opening session of the Reichstag. He was going to Glasgow and bought an evening paper at the station. One phrase of the Kaiser flashed brightly: "It is my constant concern to maintain and strengthen our power on land and sea for the defense of the German people, who always have enough young people to take up arms."

Two days later, Churchill spoke in Glasgow: "The British navy is an absolute necessity for us, at the same time, from a certain point of view, the German navy is more a matter of luxury."

This time, Churchill sought to leave no one in the slightest doubt: “This island has never experienced and will never experience a need for experienced, seasoned sailors who grew up at sea from childhood ... We will look to the future in the same way as we look at it our ancestors watched: calmly, without arrogance, but with firm unbending determination.

The Kaiser immediately received the text of Churchill's speech. A slight inaccuracy was made in the translation: the word "luxury" was translated in German as "luxus", which had a slightly different connotation and meant approximately what in English language equivalent to the concepts of "extravagance" and "self-confidence". Churchill was informed that throughout Germany the word "luxus" was passed from mouth to mouth.

The Kaiser, who had invited Churchill as his guest of honor to the maneuvers and to his table, was furious this time - he had the feeling that he had been betrayed. But more important to Churchill was the reaction of Prime Minister Asquith and those who determined British policy - and they approved the speech in Glasgow. Premier Asquith said that although the choice of words, the very language of speech of the First Lord of the Admiralty may not be entirely successful, he made "a frank statement about the obvious truth." The Cabinet's pro-Churchill mood was further strengthened by the return of Lord Haldane from Berlin, who confirmed that "the Glasgow speech did not weaken us. On the contrary, it did us good." Lord Haldane told a narrow circle of British ruling figures that Emperor Wilhelm, Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg and the founder of the German fleet, Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz were ready to suspend the naval race only on one condition: if England swears to remain neutral in the event of a war between Germany and France . The British emissary concluded that "if the party of the warrior finally prevails in Berlin, Germany will strive not only to crush France or Russia, but to dominate the whole world." There is no understanding in Germany of the fact that England is just as sensitive on the question of naval armaments as France is on the question of the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine in 1871. In addition, the Reich is flooded with chauvinistic literature. Posters hang on the walls of the houses: "England is the enemy", "Treacherous Albion", "British danger", "England intended to attack us in 1911". Lord had to recall the words of Bernard Shaw about the Germans: "These people have only contempt for common sense." Haldane believed that the Kaiser was influenced by the American naval theorist Alfred Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power on History, which led him to conclude that his empire would not be truly great until it achieved sea dominance. William II, in fact, did not hide his intentions: "We will bring England to her senses only by creating a gigantic fleet. When England comes to terms with the inevitable, we will become the best friends in the world."

This logic may have convinced Wilhelm and his entourage, but it infuriated the British ruling class.

Churchill listened to Haldane's report with a stony face and noted grimly that the Minister of War had only confirmed his worst fears. He reminded the cabinet that the implementation of the new German naval program would give Admiral Tirpitz a new squadron. In April 1912, Churchill thought of the following: “It is probably almost impossible for Germany, with her excellent armies and warlike population, capable of defending her land from any aliens, located inside the continental mass with roads and communications in all directions, to understand the feelings with which in an island nation like Britain, a constant and indomitable build-up of super-competitive naval power is regarded.The more we admire the amazing work aimed at the rapid creation of German military power, the stronger, deeper and more wary these feelings become.

The program, adopted in May of that year by the Reichstag, assumed the formation of five combat squadrons by 1920, including three squadrons of dreadnoughts (twenty-four ships) and eleven heavy cruisers with general staff seafarers in 101 thousand people. Churchill considered it his vital task to "respond to this challenge." To Fischer, he wrote: "Nothing will cool Germany more than convincing evidence that, as a result of her present and future efforts, she will still be hopelessly behind us in 1920."

The strength of the fleet was based on five Queen Elizabeth-class battleships armed with fifteen-inch guns. A radical question arose: solid or liquid fuel? Everything spoke in favor of oil, but there was one "but": in England there was a lot of coal, but there was no oil, the transition to liquid fuel meant even greater dependence on overseas supplies. One of the decisive factors was that the US Navy was already switching to liquid fuel. In order to have the necessary guarantees, the British government in 1914 bought a controlling stake in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.

The First Lord of the Admiralty wanted to concentrate all his main ships off the coast of Germany. In fact, Fisher had already begun this process when, in 1904, he took battleships out of the Chinese seas and North American waters. Now it was necessary to pull the dreadnoughts from the Mediterranean Sea to the harbors of England. Kitchener, who ruled Egypt, persistently warned that the departure of the British fleet would lead to the loss of Egypt, Cyprus and Malta, and in the end - to the weakening of British positions in India, China, and all of Southeast Asia. Encountered with resistance, Churchill laid bare his strategic creed: “We will not be able to hold the Mediterranean and guarantee our interests here until we secure solutions in the North Sea… It would be foolish to lose England in order to save Egypt. If we win the big battle at the decisive theater, we can then make up for all lost time. If we fail here, there will be no “later” for us. The Mediterranean is not the “lifeblood of the empire.” If necessary, supplies can be brought around the Cape of Good Hope. At the end of the big fleet building program, eight dreadnoughts could be sent to the Mediterranean Sea In July 1913, Churchill promised the Commons that the coming months would see the largest construction in the history of the British Navy: "One torpedo boat a week ... One light cruiser every thirty days ... one superdreadnought every forty-five days."

But even the best minds could not imagine the nature of the coming conflict. It is authentically known that the main military talent of France, Marshal Joffre, categorically refused to use the telephone. Field Marshal Haig, the most remarkable English general of the first stage of the World War, considered the machine gun "a weapon that undeservedly enjoys high prestige." The time will come - and both of them will bitterly regret their judgments. One of the paradoxes of that time - the best British mortar was twice rejected by the War Department and later adopted by the British army only on the personal orders of D. Lloyd George (who got the money for its production from the Indian Maharaja). General Kitchener - the national hero of England - considered the tank a "toy". The rising star of the British Navy, Admiral Jelico, failed to anticipate the significance of submarines and did not create a reliable defense against them in the parking lots of the British fleet. Yes, there are submarines! Future military geniuses saw no point in aviation. In 1910, General Ferdinand Foch (later Generalissimo) told French officers that there was nothing more ridiculous than the idea of ​​using airplanes in wartime: aviation in war was "nothing more than a sport."

In 1910, Churchill presented a check for £10,000 to two aviators who took off from Newfoundland and landed in Ireland. Churchill favored officers who came up with "crazy" ideas, and especially those who turned out to be pioneers in naval aviation. He founded the naval service, before which he set the task of "air protection of naval harbors, oil storage facilities and other vulnerable objects." Churchill's persistence made England the first country to arm an aircraft with a machine gun and a torpedo. Considering it his duty to try out new weapons, Churchill first took to the air in 1912, and after that aviation flights became an integral part of his life. He made sure that naval aircraft could serve not only as scouts, but also to drop bombs. In 1913 Britain built the world's first aircraft carrier, the Hermes. By the beginning of the war, the royal navy had almost a hundred aircraft, bypassing other countries and other types of troops.

Yet Churchill had serious misgivings about the outcome of the naval race with Germany. In April 1912, he offered the Germans "naval holidays" - a period of refraining from laying new ships. The Germans rejected this idea. "Such an agreement," said Wilhelm II, "would be natural only between allies." Churchill tried a workaround to reach an agreement with the German admirals through Balin, director of the German-American shipping line. Balin advised Churchill to visit Berlin and exchange views directly with Admiral Tirpitz. Churchill refused, knowing Tirpitz's unconditional commitment to Germany's naval growth. Churchill's last attempt to avert an impending conflict with Germany followed on October 24, 1913, when he again proposed a suspension of the naval arms race. The failure of this attempt made Britain's drift towards the Entente irreversible.

The Germans underestimated the determination of the British, the unity of the British elite in the fatal questions of the brewing political storm. They mistook her resolve, mistook British politeness for weakness. The German Ambassador Likhnovsky described Prime Minister Asquith as "a bon vivant, not indifferent to women, especially young and beautiful ... loving a cheerful society and good cuisine ... advocating mutual understanding with Germany, relating to all issues with cheerful calmness." King Likhnovsky considered "not a genius, but a simple and benevolent person with great common sense." Likhnovsky was admired by Sir Edward Gray: "The simplicity and honesty of his manners ensure him the respect of even his opponents ... His authority is undeniable." (All this only says that the Germans did not know Gray, who played a critical role. The fifty-two-year-old childless widower was rapidly losing his sight. The doctors were afraid to say that he would soon be unable to read - this meant killing him, and recommended a six-month rest). About Churchill, Lichnowsky wrote to Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg: “He is pleasant and simply brilliant, but very vain, he wants to play a brilliant role ... everything that would hurt his pride must be avoided. I am not inclined to exaggerate his influence on the formation of the foreign policy of the government. Sir Edward Gray and Asquith find him too impulsive and changeable."

In general, the British are losing fighting qualities. The average Englishman "either is a member of a club or wants to be one... British gentlemen of both parties have the same education, graduate from the same colleges and universities, have the same hobbies - golf, cricket, tennis or polo - and spend weekends in nature … The English don't like boring people, abstract schemes and self-righteous pedants; they like friendly partners." An image was created of a race at a break, unable to exchange its peace for conscious sacrifice. The Germans ignored the sober analysis of the British and their determination. Churchill outlined his vision of the situation in Europe to the House of Commons in this way: “The reasons that could lead to a general war have not changed and often remind us of their presence. The pace of naval and military preparations has not been weakened in the slightest. On the contrary, we are witnessing how this year the continental powers have increased spending on armaments, surpassing all previous figures. The world is arming like never before. All proposals for imposing restrictions have so far been ineffective. "