England's goals in the First World War. Great Britain after the First World War

Britain graduated among 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 treaties with foreign countries. In 1931, the Statute of Westminster “On the Dominions” was adopted. So the dominions received complete freedom in domestic and foreign policy. The Statute of Westminster formed the legal basis of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Afterwards, the people of Ireland formed the Sinn Fein party and continued the fight against 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. England's attempt to subjugate the Irish Republic by force of arms was unsuccessful. By the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed on December 6, 1921, Ireland was declared a British dominion under the name “Independent Irish State.”

After the Lloyd-George coalition government failed in 1922, he resigned. The Conservatives won the November elections. But they also resigned in 1923. Labor won the next election and the first Labor government was formed in 1924, led by Ramsay MacDonald. The Macdonald government began building houses for workers, reducing customs duties, and improving the unemployment insurance system, but many of the election promises were not fulfilled. 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 had broken out in the coal industry by cutting wages and increasing working hours. They threatened dissatisfied workers with a lockout (closure of enterprises and dismissal of workers). In a show of solidarity with the workers, the federation of miners' unions and railway workers opposed the mine owners. The lockout was cancelled. But on May 4, 1926, the General Council of Trade Unions declared a general strike in the country. After the government passed the strike law on May 11, the General Council called on workers to end the strike. But the workers continued their strike and clashes with the police. The highest point of the 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. The unsuccessful foreign and domestic policies of the Conservatives led to Labor's victory in the 1929 elections. Under the leadership of R. Macdonald, the second Labor government was created (1929).

The global economic crisis of 1929-1933 had a particularly hard impact on England in 1932. The second Labor government took measures to combat the crisis from 1929, but was forced to resign in August 1931. R. MacDonald created the National Government from Labour, 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 once again headed by Labor leader R. MacDonald. In its foreign policy, the national government set a course for 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 weaken Anglo-German contradictions by making concessions to Nazi Germany. The two-faced policy of the British government the day before

After the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905, which was also organized by the masters of England and the USA, with the aim of pitting the Russians and Japanese against each other, to knock out Russian Empire from the shores of the Pacific Ocean and force her to concentrate on European affairs (where they were already preparing the Balkan “powder keg” and pitting the Russians against the Germans and Austrians), to conduct a rehearsal for world war and revolution in Russia, the main focus was on pitting the Russians against the Germans and the Austrians. Now the main “ram” aimed at crushing the Russians and the Russian Empire was to be the German Empire in alliance with the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

It is clear that the masters of England and the USA needed to destroy all attempts by St. Petersburg and Berlin to get closer. This problem was successfully solved. All rather timid attempts of Nicholas II to get closer to the German Kaiser were sunk (including the Bjork Treaty of 1905), all friendly signs of attention from Germany in St. Petersburg were ignored. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the agent of Western influence, S. Witte, played a big role in this. The most prominent opponents of the fight against Germany were neutralized. In particular, P. A. Stolypin was killed, and in 1914, when things went to war, assassination attempts were organized on G. Rasputin (he was seriously wounded). In 1916, when Rasputin strongly spoke out in favor of Russia's withdrawal from the war and the conclusion of a separate peace with Germany, which could save the monarchy and the Romanov dynasty, British intelligence, through the hands of the degenerate Russian aristocracy, organized the murder of the elder.

At the same time, in the external arena they were preparing a big war in Europe, the preconditions for a clash between the Russians and the Germans and Austrians. First, in the 1890s, a Russian-French alliance was created, directed against Germany. France was then Germany's main rival in Western Europe. Russia did not have to support the French to the detriment of its national interests. The British then prepared the basis for the Anglo-French alliance. Paris, which also feared the increased power of Germany and longed for revenge for the war of 1870, forgot about colonial disputes and traditional enmity towards England. In 1904, the Anglo-French agreement (French Entente cordiale - literally “cordial agreement”) was signed.

The next stage was the establishment of Russian-British relations, complicated by contradictions in Persia-Iran, in Central Asia and in Far East. The Russian Foreign Ministry, fearing a confrontation with England, gladly fell into this trap. In August 1907, an Anglo-Russian agreement was signed. Russia recognized Britain's protectorate over Afghanistan; both sides recognized China's sovereignty over Tibet and abandoned attempts to establish control over it. Persia was divided into three spheres of influence: Russian in the north, British in the south and neutral in the center of the country. The Entente was fully formed.

Thus, Britain created an anti-German alliance in Europe and received “cannon fodder” - the Russians and the French. At the same time, London managed to mislead Berlin, where until the very beginning of the World War they believed that England would remain neutral. If Germany had known that England would definitely side with France, there might not have been a war at all. Thus, the masters of Britain carried out a brilliant operation that created profitable scenarios for decades to come, aimed at pitting the main competitors of the Anglo-Saxons – the Russians and Germans – against each other. Russia and Germany were skillfully deceived and doomed to destruction. Russia and Germany destroyed each other, and London and Washington received all the benefits. Also, the war was organized on the territory of the Old World, that is, continental Europe became a battlefield, and after the war it needed material, financial and economic assistance from England and the United States.

At the same time, they actively pitted Russians and Austrians against each other. For this they used the Balkan problem. The new Balkan states were permeated with a Masonic network; the Freemasons, hiding behind nationalist slogans, actively pushed the Balkans to big war. The great powers were drawn into the war - Turkey, Austria-Hungary (with Germany behind it) and Russia. The Freemasons, with the help of Slavic nationalists, organized the assassination of the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand. The Austrian Archduke was opposed to the war in the Balkans, which led to an inevitable clash with Russia, and wanted to reform the Habsburg Empire - both the Habsburgs themselves and the Slavic peoples benefited from the transformation of the dualistic empire into a “trialistic” one. As a result, the Balkan “powder keg” exploded and provoked a pan-European fight.

Destroy, dismember and crush the Russian Empire - the Russian civilization, which was the only one on the planet that retained independence from the West, an autocratic form of government and had the potential to create an alternative, fair world order and society. Seize Russia's richest resources necessary to consolidate the “new world order” - a slave-owning, infernal civilization;

Destroy the possible union of Germany and Russia, Germans and Russians - the great Aryan (Indo-European) peoples who have a great culture and preserve the ideals of chivalry. An alliance between Germany and Russia (with the involvement of Japan in the East, and, in the future, China and India) could create an alternative world order that would preserve peace and prosperity in Eurasia;

They pitted Germany against France, all the main fighting were to be fought on the continent. Which, as a result of the war, led to serious destruction of farms and infrastructure in France, Germany, parts of Italy, Austria-Hungary and the Balkans. England and the USA basically fought in Europe with the wrong hands, and as a result of the war they bent the Old World to themselves. The Anglo-Saxon Protestant and Jewish elites sought complete dominance over the old Romano-Germanic elite. This was a hidden confrontation within the Western project itself. World War bled Germany, Austria-Hungary and France dry. The masters of England and the USA completely subjugated the European “houses”.

Thus, the First World War became a war of the West against Russia and a war of England and the United States against Old Europe and Russia for absolute power on the planet.

At the same time, a cunning combination was played out in which Russia allegedly became an “ally and partner” of England and France (then the USA). Although The main task of the Entente was to destroy the gullible Russian “ally”. England and France during the campaigns of 1914-1916. “they fought until the last Russian soldier,” exhausting the strength of their trusting “ally.” The British and French themselves waged a positional war, and the Russians demanded decisive action and large-scale offensive operations. Russia was losing gold, giving it to the “allies” for the supply of military materials and ammunition. The trusting tsarist government even sent an expeditionary force to France to support the “allies.” The country's economy was upset, the people, bloodless and destitute during the war, were imbued with rebellious sentiments. The Entente “allies” were preparing the ground for a revolutionary explosion within the Russian Empire. They prepared detachments of professional revolutionaries from various socialists, nationalists and separatists, many of whom lived abroad and were supported from various funds and banks.

It is worth noting that at the beginning of the war, the masters of the West relied on the military defeat of Russia. The Russian Empire was about to fall from the burden of war. Or weaken so much that at the end of the war it will not be allowed to share the spoils and begin open war and the occupation of Russia. It is clear that France and England did not intend to give Constantinople-Constantinople, the straits and Galicia to St. Petersburg. After the division of the “skin” of the German bear, the division of a weakened and bloodless Russia should have followed. However, even with such “allies”, the mediocrity of the Russian high command and the collapse of the rear, Russia remained a powerful power. Since 1916, the military industry began to grow, and the Russian army showed high combat capability during the Brusilov breakthrough. And the armies of France and England were also exhausted by the war. The new large American army was unexploited and had low combat effectiveness. England and the USA, as island powers, were not capable of waging direct, traditional land wars. They knew how to pirate well at sea, crush weak peoples and tribes, and organize punitive operations. England, the USA and France were not ready to fight even with the weakened Russian Empire.

Having abandoned the illusion of Russia's military defeat and its collapse, the masters of the West realized that Russia can only be taken from within. Therefore, the main efforts were aimed at forming a “fifth column”. The main role was played by the February Westernizers - the bourgeois-pro-Western part of the social elite of Russia, the degenerate aristocracy, part of the generals, political and social forces that opposed the autocracy. Masonic structures acted as an organizational and connecting force. In the press, mainly controlled by Masonic, liberal-bourgeois circles, hysterical, slanderous propaganda began against the imperial family, Rasputin, against all those statesmen, which still restrained the processes of decay.

The tsarist power in these conditions turned out to be weak. She was unable to identify the goals of the “fifth column”, its connections in the West and destroy the subversive, revolutionary forces. At the same time, it is worth remembering that everything should not be blamed on the Bolsheviks. They were then an extremely small, marginal party; they were practically on the sidelines of the political life of the Russian Empire, since they took a defeatist position at the beginning of the war. The Russian Empire, autocracy and the Romanov dynasty were overthrown by the February Westerners- members of the ruling dynasty, representatives of the degenerate aristocracy, high officials, generals, liberal-bourgeois circles, bankers and industrialists. The organizing force was the Masonic lodges, which were controlled by the masters of the West. Diplomats and intelligence services of the “allied” Western powers also took an active part.

The main goals of England in the First World War become clear even with brief overview the economic and political situation of this country at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries.

The strongest among the strong or a little history

In the mid-19th century, Great Britain was the strongest and most developed of all powers. However, she went to this for many years. And not only by developing its industry, economy and politics, but by waging an uncompromising struggle with everyone who tried to challenge its right to the title of the best.
Its first competitor was Holland, a rich colonial country. British ships captured the Dutch fleet, which was returning from the coast of India with a variety of goods. This triggered the Anglo-Dutch War. The first was followed by conflicts 2 and 3, as a result of which Holland lost its power, and Great Britain took its place.
After Holland, the English government turned its gaze towards Spain, which at that time was the European leader. And again the victory went to the British.
The next “victim” was France. In short, it took the British Empire more than two centuries to achieve its position not only in Europe, but also in the world.

New enemy

By the 19th century, England considered Russia its main competitor. However, almost overnight, a new state arose on the European stage - the German Empire. In a short time, the country, assembled from scattered specific lands, managed to achieve enormous success in the development of industry, the production of various goods and the increase in combat capabilities, including the naval forces.
Every year, Germany was increasingly “treading on the heels” of Great Britain. German goods not only saturated European markets, but also penetrated domestic English.
Intensified and colonial policy German government. The interests of the two countries increasingly began to collide in Africa, Pacific Ocean and in the Middle East.
The railway project that the German government planned to build from Berlin to Baghdad was also negatively perceived by British politicians.
As a result, a situation arose where “there had to be only one left.”

Destroying a competitor is a priority

From all that has been said, it follows that Britain's main goal in the First World War, in short, was to eliminate Germany from its path.
More specific goals can be considered the desire to capture the German colonies, participate in the division of the Ottoman Empire and become the owner of rich oil fields in Asia.
In particular, the interests of the British imperialists extended to the African colonial territories of Germany, as well as Mesopotamia and Egypt. In addition, British politicians believed that a European war would weaken the continent's largest powers (including its Entente allies France and the Russian Empire) and allow Great Britain to calmly rest on its laurels, retaining the title of the strongest state.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that although the British Empire more or less achieved its territorial goals following the war, it still failed to maintain supremacy in Europe and the world.

The attack of the bourgeoisie on the working class

From the spring of 1919 to the summer of 1920, the English economy experienced a commercial and industrial boom. It was caused by increased demand for consumer goods, the production of which was sharply reduced during the war years. However, the purchasing power of workers was limited. The standard of living of the masses was undermined by inflation. Prices for basic necessities rose rapidly. The capacity of foreign markets was also small. In mid-1920, England entered a period of economic crisis.

Coal mining, iron and steel smelting, shipbuilding, and textile production decreased. Significantly reduced volume foreign trade. The number of bankruptcies has increased. In the summer of 1921, a fifth of trade union members were unemployed. Lloyd George's government cut social spending and raised taxes. In October 1920, parliament passed a reactionary emergency powers law, which gave the government broad powers to crack down on the labor movement.

After this, the bourgeoisie launched a broad offensive against the working class. In 1921, entrepreneurs reduced the wages of 6 million workers. But the workers continued to resist. Communists took an active part in leading this movement. They called on the workers to stop the advance of the bourgeoisie, overcome the isolation of the trade unions and create a single leadership center. In 1921, the General Council of the Trade Union Congress was formed. The leadership of this body ended up in the hands of right-wing trade union leaders. The leadership of the Labor Party and the trade unions, with their conciliatory policies, disarmed and divided the working class. The organization of the labor movement weakened. The ranks of trade unions decreased in 1921-1923. by 3 million people.

The struggle of British imperialism against the national liberation movement

In an effort to weaken the national liberation movement in the colonies and strengthen their national liberation positions there, the British ruling circles undertook a number of political maneuvers. To prevent the growth of the revolutionary struggle in India, the British government developed in 1919 a project for reforming the administration of this colony. The anti-imperialist struggle in India reached its highest level in 1921. Led by popular movement became the Indian National Congress - a party of patriotic national bourgeoisie, led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. In the midst of the struggle, the Congress, fearing that the masses would escape its control, called on the people to stop the campaign of civil disobedience against the British administration. The anti-imperialist movement in India began to wane.

IN post-war years The struggle of the Egyptian people also unfolded, who spoke out for complete liberation from the rule of the British, who had imposed a protectorate regime on the country. England's rejection of Egypt's legitimate demands sparked an armed uprising there in the spring of 1919. Fearing the victory of the people, the national bourgeoisie entered into an agreement with the British authorities. The uprising of the masses was suppressed, but the struggle continued. In December 1921, Egypt was again in uprising. The British government had to make a partial concession. It formally declared Egypt an independent kingdom, but retained its troops on its territory and exercised economic and political control over the country.

The Irish people strived for freedom and independence with particular tenacity. The national liberation war of the Irish people against British imperialism lasted from 1919 to 1921. However, the Irish proletariat was not yet strong enough. But the Sinn Fein party was active. In January 1919, after winning the elections to the British Parliament, the Sinfeiners convened in Dublin the first Irish parliament, which proclaimed the independence of Ireland. I. De Valera became president. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched active military operations against British troops and police. Against the backdrop of other events, England found itself in unpleasant circumstances. So in December 1921 a peace treaty was signed between Great Britain and Ireland. Ireland (with the exception of the six most industrially developed counties of the North-East, which remained part of the United Kingdom) received dominion status (the so-called Irish Free State). However, Great Britain maintained military bases in Ireland. However, the majority did not like such a soft agreement towards the British and a split occurred in the Shinfeiner party. As a result, Ireland itself began Civil War(192223). With the help of partial concessions, the British imperialists managed to split the ranks of the national liberation movement in the colonies and dependent countries. Thus, the crisis of the British Empire was mitigated.

Conservatives in power

Lloyd George's government faced serious difficulties both domestically and internationally. Lloyd George's government, taking into account the mood in business circles, was forced to enter into negotiations with the Soviet government, which ended with the signing of the Anglo-Soviet trade agreement on March 16, 1921. England recognized the de facto Soviet government. After this, the contradictions in the British leadership on the issue of relations with Soviet Russia became even more aggravated. War Secretary Churchill, Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon and others demanded a continuation of the interventionist policy. Lloyd George, on the contrary, believed that the restoration of capitalism in Russia could be achieved through financial pressure, trade and the penetration of foreign capital into the Russian economy.

In the current situation, the continued existence of the coalition of liberals and conservatives was under threat. Some leaders of the Conservative Party (Austin Chamberlain, Balfour) spoke out in favor of maintaining the coalition. Another part of the conservatives (Baldwin, Bonar Law) believed that the liberals had fulfilled their mission and, in the conditions of the decline of the revolutionary movement, England could have a one-party government. Influential bourgeois circles expressed dissatisfaction with Lloyd George's concessions on internal and colonial issues, considering them excessive. On the eve of the 1922 elections, the Conservatives withdrew their support for the coalition. On October 19, 1922, Lloyd George's government resigned.

The new cabinet, consisting entirely of conservatives, was headed by Andrew Bonar Law. The government dissolved parliament and called elections, in which the conservatives won. Labor achieved great success, taking the party's place in parliament. The Liberal Party has lost its former role.

Conservatives tried to once again resort to interventionist policies towards the Soviet state. On May 8, 1923, Lord Curzon sent a note to the Soviet government containing a number of false accusations and ultimatum demands. There was a threat of rupture of the trade agreement. The Soviet government rejected Curzon's ultimatum, but made some private concessions for the sake of peaceful resolution of the conflict. The attacks on the USSR caused outrage among British workers, who demanded recognition of the Soviet Union.

In order to ensure the recovery of the English economy, which was experiencing stagnation, the Conservatives intended to raise duties on imported goods and, through protectionism, improve the economic situation of the country. Stanley Baldwin, the prime minister, hoped that new elections under the slogan of introducing protective tariffs would unite the party and eliminate the differences at its top that arose when discussing the issue of a coalition with the liberals. Indeed, differences in the party leadership were weakened, but in the elections of December 6, 1923, the Conservatives were defeated.

General strike

General strike in Great Britain (May 1926), the largest social conflict in the history of England in the 20th century. After the Baldwin government set a high exchange rate for the pound sterling and returned to the gold standard, English coal became more expensive on the world market and its exports began to fall. The coal industry has entered a period of crisis. Mine owners said that exit would result in a simultaneous reduction in production and wages. The miners called on the General Council of British Trade Unions to support them and began to prepare for a strike. Baldwin, in an attempt to prevent conflict, provided subsidies to the coal industry. At the same time, a Royal Commission was formed to study the true state of affairs in the industry. She recommended rationalizing the industry, closing unprofitable mines, and agreed that some wage cuts were necessary. The miners' union rejected these proposals. Then the government stopped paying subsidies to the industry, and the mine owners announced a mass layoff of miners and a lockout. The General Council of Trade Unions called for a general strike. It began on May 4, 1926. More than 2.5 million people took part in the strike, including a million fired miners, but it never became truly universal. The most active participants in the strike were workers in the transport, printing and steel industries. B.C. Labor leader MacDonald and many industry union leaders did not openly support it. Under these conditions, the General Council hastened to agree to minor amendments to the commission's report. When the miners' union rejected this concession, the General Council unexpectedly announced an end to the general strike on May 12. It was real surrender. The miners held out until November, but were forced to retreat. Taking advantage of the defeat of the trade unions, parliament passed laws prohibiting solidarity strikes; civil servants were prohibited from joining trade unions affiliated with the British Trade Union Congress.

Defeat of the Conservatives

During 1924-1929. The conservative government of S. Baldwin was unable to bring the British economy out of the crisis and solve the problem of unemployment; society needed changes. In 1928, electoral reform was carried out, equalizing the rights of men and women, which increased the number of voters from 21.75 to 28.85 million (British, 1994, P. 240). Gradually, confidence in Labor was renewed, which was reflected in the results of the parliamentary elections of 1929. Labor won 288 seats, while the Conservatives received 260 seats (Cook, 2001, P. 98). However, having regained power, Labor was faced with a growing global economic crisis, the problem of unemployment, and was even forced to curtail social programs, which extremely outraged the workers and ordinary party members. Evidence of the deep crisis of the Labor Party was the exclusion of James Ramsay MacDonald and his supporters from its ranks. The exiles formed the National Labor party, which in 1931 entered into a coalition with the Conservatives and Liberals to form the National Government. In the parliamentary elections of 1931, Labor's total losses amounted to more than 200 seats.

The results of the First World War for England

The First World War and the victory of the revolution had a great influence on the further development of England and the entire British Empire. England was one of the victorious powers, but its financial and economic positions were seriously weakened as a result of the war. There was an acute shortage of raw materials and wear and tear on outdated equipment.

During the war years, agricultural production increased. 3.75 million acres of pasture land were plowed and planted with grain crops. However, there was not enough food. England remained dependent on food imports.

Exports of British goods during the war almost halved. At the same time, imports almost doubled, requiring loans from abroad to pay for them. Britain's national debt grew more than 12-fold during the war. Foreign investment decreased by 25%.

England's military losses amounted to 743 thousand killed and 1693 thousand wounded. The burden of war fell heavily on the shoulders of the people. The situation of the working class has worsened. Work in military factories required a lot of effort, but the wages were low. Rising prices and poor living conditions further aggravated material difficulties. The aggravation of class contradictions led to the rise of the labor movement.

After the USA and Japan, England received the greatest benefits from the war. Its main rival, Germany, was temporarily incapacitated. The British colonial empire expanded due to German possessions in Africa and territories taken from Turkey. The total size of territorial increments amounted to 2.6 million square meters. km, and the population of the new colonies is over 9 million people. England accounted for a significant portion of the reparations that Germany agreed to pay under the Treaty of Versailles.

The English bourgeoisie greeted the birth of the Land of Soviets with undisguised hatred. England was one of the main organizers and participants in the military intervention in Soviet Russia.

This turn of Russia, its peculiar “return to Europe,” unexpectedly for many, received approval in London. Yes, since 1714 Britain was ruled by the German (Hanoverian) dynasty, but German was never spoken at the court of St. James. But as soon as the Germans adopted a program for building an ocean-going fleet, London began to think about the rationality of its “brilliant isolation” in a world where Teutonic self-assertion began to threaten to push Britain out of its global position. The century-old Russian-British rivalry is beginning to lose its meaning. The British no longer believe that the Russian Cossacks will take away from them the “jewel of the British crown” - India. (The Japanese pointed out the limit to the expansion of Russian influence in Asia). At the same time, Germany self-confidently and arrogantly begins to implement a naval construction program capable of ending the period of British naval dominance in the oceans. German industry is forcing Britain to end the free trade system and start new stage, characterized by targeted state protection of its national industry.

Almost a century-long period of fear and antipathy in London towards Russia is ending. An unprecedented galaxy of supporters of rapprochement with Russia is coming to the government - in particular, to the Foreign Office, confident in the possibility of European progress for 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 nations. “The main obstacle to the establishment of self-government in Russia,” writes Toynbee, “is the brevity of its history. Secondly, an hardly less important obstacle is the limitlessness of its territorial expanses. Before the creation of modern communications, energetic absolutism seemed the only force capable of holding together such a widely spread human mass. Nowadays the telegraph and railways will take the place of a “strong government” and individuals will have the opportunity for their self-realization.”

Having reached the peak of power, owning a quarter of the earth's land, Britain had turned into a guardian of the world status quo by the beginning of the 20th century. The global task of imperial London was to prevent sudden changes, and if they were inevitable, to give them an orderly character. This almost automatically pitted England against the main power encroaching on the existing balance of power in the world - Germany. The spirit that possessed Germany can best be expressed by Admiral Tirpitz, whose excellent memoirs give a picture of the gradual division of Europe. Power, according to Tirpitz, always precedes Right. Great nations are created only by the desire to rule. At the beginning of the century, Germany rushed along this path. More clearly than in his memoirs, Tirpitz sets out these ideas in the “Political Documents” he published (especially in the first volume, “The Creation of German World Power”).

In 1898, the leadership of the Hamburg-American Company (HAPAG) brought to the attention of Emperor Wilhelm II that “strengthening 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 brutal struggle of nations for light and air, only power matters... Germany has incomparable ground forces army, but overseas only warships can force it to be treated with respect. Without the help of a powerful fleet, whose basis should consist of battleships, Germany is deprived of real strength even against the smallest and most exotic countries."

In London they began to openly fear Teutonic omnipotence. Churchill, who visited Germany, 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 types technology." The pressure of German power became especially noticeable in the light of the expansion of the German fleet construction program. This made the British feel something that had not been felt in England for about 100 years - the emergence of a threat to national security, the national interests of the country. The main result of Germany's creation of a super-powerful fleet was the rapprochement 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 Gray, a widower who had recently buried his wife, a fifty-year-old lonely man. No one knew about his personal suffering - he was slowly losing his sight (in the fall 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 with ambassadors. Three addresses had absolute priority over others: Buchanan in St. Petersburg, Goshen in Berlin, Bertie in Paris. Haldane did everything he could to help his comrade: a servant sat at the door of his bedroom with instructions to put the letters in a special box for sorting. In the morning, Gray received only emergency correspondence. His policy can be characterized by his following phrase: “Standing aside means agreeing to the dominance of Germany, the subordination of France and Russia, the isolation of Great Britain. Ultimately, Germany will take possession of the entire continent. How will it use this circumstance in relation to England?”

At British shipyards they are laying down battleships of unprecedented power - dreadnoughts. But Berlin responds by adopting a colossal naval program, which, in the face of a dramatic update in technology (which has created a “blank slate” situation in naval construction), threatens to overthrow 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 aimed at rapprochement with Russia. A few days later, in his first speech as Prime Minister, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannsman told an audience at the Royal Albert Hall that his government had "exceptionally warm feelings towards Russia."

Just a few years ago such a union would have been unthinkable. In private, Queen Victoria described the Tsar Alexandra III as “a barbarian, an Asiatic and a tyrant,” and British military power confronted Russia along the entire world perimeter. Let us repeat: it was Germany’s naval program, which for the first time in a hundred years challenged British naval dominance in the world, that created the objective preconditions for Russia’s rapprochement with Britain.

Let us not forget that England depended to a huge extent on the supply of goods from overseas (say, two-thirds of food was imported). English merchant ships made up half of the world's merchant fleet. It is clear that Navy Great Britain, the largest in the world, was the main instrument of its world diplomacy. Only the navy could protect the British Isles from invasion, only the navy could move armed forces to the continent. As Churchill wrote at the time, “British warships carry the might, majesty and strength of the British Empire. Throughout our history, the sustenance and safety of our loyal, industrious and active population has depended on the navy. Imagine Britain's warships 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; powerful provinces of the empire - real empires in themselves - will inevitably go on their own path historical development, and control over us will inevitably weaken, pretty soon they will turn into prey for 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 actions of the widest range in the North Sea and the North Atlantic... The features of the construction of German battleships clearly indicate that they are intended "for offensive action against enemy fleets. They do not have the characteristics of a cruising fleet that could protect their trade throughout 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 that his goal was to achieve a 2:3 ratio of the German fleet to the British fleet. “Whether they accept this ratio or not is unimportant,” wrote Wilhelm II. There was still hope in British society 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 War Minister Haldane, the only British minister who spoke German and completed a university course in Göttingen. He seemed the most suitable figure for seeking a compromise - his passion for German philosophy was well known. At the War Office, Haldane was spoken of as "the Schopenhauer of generals." In addition, he was an outstanding minister: if he fails to come to an agreement with the Germans, then this task is beyond the capabilities of anyone. He brought with him a note from the British cabinet: "The new German naval program will immediately cause an increase in British naval expenditure... This will make negotiations difficult, if not impossible." Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg asked Haldane the main question: “Will England be neutral in the event of a war on the continent?” Haldane emphasized that London could not allow a second collapse of France, any more than Germany could allow England to seize Denmark or Austria. If Germany creates a third squadron, England will counter them with five or six squadrons. “For every new German keel laid, we will respond 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 sat on Haldane's left, and Kaiser Wilhelm on his 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 fleets below was "difficult for Germany to accept." Haldane politely but firmly reminded that England was an island power. After a three-hour discussion, the parties made some concessions.

The French ambassador Jules Cambon was most worried in Berlin: the biggest Germanophile of the British cabinet was conducting critically important negotiations. Does he believe in "entente" or is he starting to "détente"? Haldane tried to reassure him: Britain would 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 newspaper at the station. One phrase from the Kaiser stood out clearly: “My constant concern is to maintain and strengthen on land and sea our power for the defense of the German people, who always have enough young men to take up arms.”

Two days later, Churchill spoke in Glasgow: “The British Navy is an absolute necessity for us, while 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 any doubt: “This island has never experienced and will never experience the need for experienced, seasoned sailors who grew up at sea from childhood... We will look to the future the same way we look at it our ancestors looked: calmly, without arrogance, but with firm, unbending determination."

The Kaiser immediately received the text of Churchill's speech. There was a barely noticeable inaccuracy 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”. As Churchill was informed, 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 felt betrayed. But what was 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 the speech of the First Lord of the Admiralty may not be entirely successful, he made “a frank statement of the obvious truth.” The cabinet sentiment in favor of Churchill was further strengthened by Lord Haldane's return from Berlin, who confirmed that "the speech in Glasgow did not weaken us. On the contrary, it benefited us." Lord Haldane informed a narrow circle of British ruling figures that Emperor Wilhelm, Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg and the creator 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 war between Germany and France . The British emissary concluded that “if the warrior party 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 as sensitive on the issue of naval armaments as France is on the issue of the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine lost in 1871. In addition, the Reich is flooded with chauvinistic literature. Posters hang on the walls of houses: “England is the enemy”, “Treacherous Albion”, “British danger”, “England intended to attack us in 1911”. Lord had to remember 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 book The Influence of Sea Power on History, which led him to the conclusion that his empire would not be truly great until it achieved dominance on the seas. William II, in fact, did not hide his plans: “We will bring England to its senses only by creating a giant fleet. When England comes to terms with the inevitable, we will become the best friends in the world.”

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

Churchill listened to Haldane's report with a straight face and gloomily noted 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 the following: “It is probably almost impossible for Germany, with its superior armies and warlike population, capable of defending its land from any aliens, located inside a continental mass with roads and communications in all directions, to understand the feelings with which in an island nation like Britain, the constant and indomitable build-up of competing naval power is regarded as being of the highest quality. amazing work", aimed at the rapid creation of German military power, the stronger, deeper and more alert these feelings become."

The program, adopted in May of that year by the Reichstag, envisaged the formation of five combat squadrons by 1920, including three squadrons of dreadnoughts (twenty-four ships) and eleven heavy cruisers with a total sailor personnel of 101 thousand people. Churchill saw it as his life's 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 basis of the fleet's power was the five Queen Elizabeth-class battleships, armed with fifteen-inch guns. A question of radical importance arose: solid or liquid fuel? Everything spoke in favor of oil, but there was one “but”: England had a lot of coal, but no oil, the transition to liquid fuel meant even greater dependence on overseas supplies. One of the decisive circumstances was that the US Navy was already switching to liquid fuel. 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 withdrew battleships from the Chinese seas and North American waters. Now it was necessary to pull up 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 ultimately to the weakening of British positions in India, China, and all of Southeast Asia. Having met resistance, Churchill laid bare his strategic credo: “We cannot hold the Mediterranean and guarantee our interests here until we secure a solution 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 everything lost. If we fail here, there will be no "later" for us. The Mediterranean is not the "life artery of the empire". If necessary, supplies can be delivered around the Cape of Good Hope. Focus of the intersection of world powers Northern sea. Once the large fleet building program is completed, it will be possible to send eight dreadnoughts to the Mediterranean. In July 1913, Churchill promised the House of 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 reliably known that the main military talent of France, Marshal Joffre, categorically refused to use the telephone. The most remarkable English general of the first stage of the World War, Field Marshal Haig, 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 is that the best mortar of the British was twice rejected by the War Department and later adopted by the British army only on the personal order of D. Lloyd George (who obtained money for its production from the Indian Maharaja). General Kitchener - national hero England - considered the tank a “toy”. The rising star of the British fleet, Admiral Jellicoe, failed to predict the importance of submarines and did not create reliable defenses against them in the British fleet's parking lots. What about submarines? Future military geniuses did not see any point in aviation. In 1910, General Ferdinand Foch (later Generalissimo) told French officers that nothing was 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 thousand pounds to two aviators who took off in Newfoundland and landed in Ireland. Churchill patronized officers who came up with "crazy" ideas, and especially those who turned out to be pioneers of naval aviation. He founded a naval service, tasked with “air defense of naval harbors, oil storage facilities and other vulnerable facilities.” Churchill's persistence made England the first country to arm an aircraft with a machine gun and 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 reconnaissance aircraft, but also as bomb-droppers. In 1913, Britain created the world's first aircraft carrier, the Hermes. By the beginning of the war, the Royal Navy had almost a hundred aircraft, surpassing other countries and other branches of service.

Yet Churchill had serious concerns about the outcome of the naval race with Germany. In April 1912, he proposed a “naval holiday” to the Germans - a period of abstinence from laying down new ships. The Germans rejected this idea. “Such an agreement,” said Wilhelm II, “would be natural only between allies.” Churchill tried a roundabout way to reach an agreement with the German admirals through the mediation of Balin, director of the German-American steamship line. Balin advised Churchill to visit Berlin and directly exchange views with Admiral Tirpitz. Churchill refused, knowing Tirpitz's unconditional commitment to the idea of ​​German naval growth. Churchill's final attempt to avert the impending conflict with Germany came on 24 October 1913, when he again proposed a suspension of the naval arms race. The failure of this attempt led to the fact that Britain's drift towards the Entente became irreversible.

The Germans underestimated the determination of the British, the unity of the British elite in the fatal issues of the brewing political storm. They did not recognize her determination and mistook British politeness for weakness. The German Ambassador Lichnowsky presented Prime Minister Asquith as “a bon vivant, not indifferent to women, especially young and beautiful... loving cheerful company and good cuisine... advocating mutual understanding with Germany, treating all issues with cheerful calm.” Likhnovsky considered the king “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 earn 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 quickly losing his sight. Doctors were afraid to say that he would soon not be able to read - this meant killing him, and recommended a six-month rest). About Churchill, Lichnovsky 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 government’s foreign policy.” Sir Edward Gray and Asquith consider him too impulsive and changeable."

In general, the British are losing their fighting qualities. The average Englishman "either is a member of a club, or wishes to be one... British gentlemen of both parties have the same education, go to the same colleges and universities, have the same hobbies - golf, cricket, tennis or polo - and spend weekends in the countryside ... The British do not like boring people, abstract schemes and self-righteous pedants; they like friendly partners." An image was created of a race at breaking point, unable to exchange its peace for conscious sacrifices. 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 the following way: “The causes 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 degree. On the contrary, we are "We have witnessed how this year the continental powers have increased their expenditures on armaments, exceeding all previous figures. The world is arming itself as never before. All proposals for introducing restrictions have so far been ineffective."

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