Catastrophe 1914
A historical account of the events and decisions that led to the outbreak of World War I in 1914.
Don't call a doctor: I have a pint of champagne. James Edmonds wrote sardonically: 'And that they poured into Murray about 5 a.m.!
God continued to be passionately invoked in both causes. The Archbishop of York declared fervently in October: 'every man who respects his conscience must stand to his place until the war is ended. There can be no peace until this German spirit of militarism is crushed.' In the same spirit, though for the opposing cause, Germany's churches were packed for every service. The pastor of Bremen's Unser Lieben Frauen church addressed the men of the city's reserve battalion in a farewell sermon before their entrainment for the front: 'It is a hard task that you are called upon to undertake, but one that is essential to your people's salvation. Even amid death and destruction you can become wonderful evangelists for idealism if you keep your consciences clear, even in the face of the enemy. The path you must take is so dark that none of you can be assured of returning home.' On that point at least, the pastor displayed prescience.