57 pages • 1 hour read
Barbara W. TuchmanThe Guns of August
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1962A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary: “August 1: Paris and London”
France’s prime objective is to enter the war with England as an ally. To do so, it must not attack Germany unless and until Germany attacks France. However, France also has an agreement with Russia that says France will attack Germany if Germany attacks Russia, so France’s position sits precariously: “Pressed by the Russians to declare themselves, and by Joffre to mobilize, yet held to a standstill by the need to prove to England that France would act only in self-defense, the French government found calm not easy” (88). In the hours leading up to the war, Premier Viviani holds out hope for a peaceful solution, while General Joseph Joffre, commander in chief of the French army, demands mobilization begin. When a French socialist is shot in the street, the Cabinet fears civil strife. In the meantime, Russian and German ambassadors appear again and again, both asking what France’s decision will be.
In London, the British government is in a similar state. There is also fear of civil strife in Ireland. Pro-agreement and pro-peace factions threaten to divide the government, so England, like France, must wait for Germany to invade Belgium. The French ambassador believes England has betrayed France. The governor of the Bank of England says he is “totally opposed to war” for the economic turmoil it may cause (95). British Cabinet member David Lloyd George, tracing his finger across a map where he expects Germany to cross Belgium, says it will be only a “little violation.” Winston Churchill, then serving as first lord of the Admiralty, and Grey, two men who wish to honor the Anglo-French agreement and support France against Germany, fully mobilize the English fleet on the evening Germany crosses into Luxembourg. Their decision is in opposition to majority Cabinet sentiment, but both men believe that by the next morning, Germany will have justified their decision.
Chapter 8 Summary: “Ultimatum in Brussels”
On August 2, the German minister in Brussels delivers a sealed letter to the Belgian government. Like England and France, Belgium hopes the war can still be averted, but once the sealed letter arrives, its hopes falter. The letter states that France is advancing—a lie—and that because of this attack, Germany must enter Belgium to stop it. The letter asks for full Belgian cooperation and that it not see the advance as an invasion. It reasserts Belgium’s neutrality. To the Belgian leaders, however, the note cannot be clearer. They know that Germany, after entering Belgium, will never leave if victorious. Belgium decides its only response is a firm negative—it will not support Germany, nor will it lay down arms while the Germans roll through. Instead, in an answer the Germans do not expect, and one that threatens to throw their carefully conceived timelines off track, Belgium will defend its neutrality at all costs.
Belgium struggles with strategy, however. King Albert will not become commander in chief until war has been declared, so he cannot influence the war staff. The army is in a weakened state precisely because of Belgium’s neutrality. The government does not fully fund it, feeling the money is more useful elsewhere since neutrality has been assured; the troops are not highly trained; and the country has no heavy artillery. The army leaders have also been swept up in the French idea of offensive war, which will not work in a situation where Belgium must defend itself. King Albert also knows, due to a state visit the previous year, of Germany’s hatred of France. Still, he states they will defend themselves. While the Germans argue over declarations of war, Albert receives a telegram from Kaiser Wilhelm, claiming that the German invasion is done only with the friendliest of intentions. Albert, wondering how stupid Wilhelm thinks he is, realizes that Belgian neutrality has ended.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Home Before the Leaves Fall”
In England, Grey asks the British Cabinet authority to send the fleet to defend the French coast, which causes a split in the Cabinet. To most of England, the war is an old fight between Germany and France—which is not a reason for England to join. The only way the war will be supported is if Germany invades Belgium, which is a “child of English policy” (114). Addressing Parliament, Grey calls on English honor and plays on the fear of Germany ruling all of Europe. His speech carries the day, and England soon sends an ultimatum to Germany to stop the invasion of Belgium.
Germany thinks the war will be over “before the leaves have fallen from the trees” (119). Like most Europeans, Germans have bought into Angell’s short-war concept. Only Moltke and Joffre in Germany, and Herbert Kitchener, English secretary of state for war, see the war lasting longer than six months, and only Kitchener makes any plans. Still, Germany declares war on France. That evening, Sir Grey, seeing the lamps being lit along the street, says, “The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them again in our lifetime” (122). He realizes the catastrophic series of events unfolding before him.
At two minutes past eight in the morning, the first German troops enter Belgium. Up until the moment of invasion, many still believe self-interest will change Germany’s mind. France thinks the threat of invasion may have been a feint, and Belgium does not call for help. After the invasion begins, however, King Albert of Belgium asks his government if Belgium is ready to defend its sovereign borders. In Brussels, the people shout in the streets. In Paris, soldiers are also chanting in the streets. The premier, Georges Clemenceau, addressing both Senate and Chamber, calls his country to arms. In Berlin, the kaiser speaks from the throne while cavalry soldiers clop through the streets. From London, England’s answer comes—England must uphold the neutrality of Belgium, although England, still reticent about entering the war, makes no definite plans as to how to defend said neutrality. The next day, with the assault on the Belgian city of Liège, the first battle of the war begins.
Chapters 7-9 Analysis
Tuchman’s depiction of Europe in the days leading up to WWI creates an atmosphere of tension. Both Paris and London are anthills of activity: Ambassadors are calling, telegrams are being fired off, plans are being made and abandoned, and cabinets are arguing endlessly over the decisions. France and England fear both civil strife and making the wrong maneuver, and these anxieties generate suspense. They also showcase the complexities of the political situation: France cannot attack Germany unless Germany attacks it first, and England needs Germany to violate Belgium’s neutrality. In Germany, meanwhile, plans move forward militarily: The troops are in place, the railroads are ready, and the whole military machine is in motion. This depiction of the fraught climate on the eve of war frames the conflict as inevitable while revealing the entrenched fears and hatreds that made it so.
Tuchman focuses particularly on the nationalism, pride, and arrogance that have overtaken France and Germany. Soldiers march in the streets while men give speeches from pulpits or thrones, each proclaiming their might and right. The president of France says France stands before the universe for liberty, justice, and reason. The spirit of élan makes France think it can win the war while being outnumbered. Moreover, the French still remember the War of 1870 and the loss of Alsace-Lorraine. Similarly, when England declares for Belgium, Germany takes it as an affront that justifies all their previous reasons for going to war. They feel encircled and therefore insulted, as they believe they are far superior and destined to rule. In Berlin, the kaiser gives his speech wearing a helmet and carrying a sword, while murals in the Reichstag, Germany’s parliament, show German generals trampling French flags. Such imagery underscores the idea that War Is Caused by Hubris, not Inequities.
These chapters also introduce Belgium as a player in the conflict. Belgium is less powerful than its neighbors, so its position is largely reactive. While England is deciding whether to support France and Germany is deciding whether to fight a war on two fronts, Belgium realizes it cannot remain neutral if Germany invades: German forces will occupy Belgium whether it fights or remains neutral. Belgium fights back against German invasion, and Tuchman highlights the courage of this decision: “‘If we are to be crushed,’ Bassompierre, the Undersecretary of the Belgian Foreign Office, recorded their sentiment, ‘let us be crushed gloriously’” (102). However, the Belgian army is not ready. Because of its past neutrality, Belgium is weak and at the mercy of the key decision-makers in Berlin and Paris. King Albert, the nominal head of the country, cannot even weigh in on war decisions until a war is declared. Thus, all Belgium can do is wait for the first troops to cross its border and choose its actions from there.
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