Primary Documents - 1914
This page of the Primary
Documents section of the website collects together archive source documents
originating in 1914, the year the First World War began.
Included among the 1914 documents are the various declarations of war, as well as Count Franz von Harrach's memoir of the events surrounding the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. America's 1914 policy of neutrality is also well documented.
The list presented below - with each entry accompanied by a brief summary of its significance - is sorted by date, with earlier documents listed first.
Document | Description |
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April - U.S. action against Mexico |
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June - Memoir of Archduke's assassination |
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July - Official council minutes urging war against Serbia |
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July - Report highlighting Serbian role in assassination |
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July - Germany's tacit encouragement of Austrian action |
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July - German Kaiser's impatience for action against Serbia |
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July - Austrian precursor to declaration of war |
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July - Letter sent to powers explaining Austria's approach |
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July - Serbian King's plea for Russia's help against Austria |
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July - Belgian Ambassador to Berlin's dismay |
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July - Sir Edward Grey's disappointment |
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July - British Ambassador to Austria's view of events |
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July - Ambassador to Berlin's moves to secure peace |
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July - Ambassador to Turkey's belief in German culpability |
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July - Formal Austro-Hungarian declaration of war |
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July - German Kaiser's account of events in July 1914 |
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July/August - Diplomatic notes between Kaiser and Tsar |
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August - Note to Russia declaring war |
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August - Statement attributing blame for war on Russia |
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August - Rebuttal of Germany's account of start of war |
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August - Appeal by Germany to garner U.S. sympathy |
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August - Military alliance preceding entry into war |
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August - Germany's request - and Belgium's refusal |
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August - Note to France declaring war |
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August - British Ambassador to Berlin's account |
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August - German Chancellor's use of the term |
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August - French President's address to Parliament |
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August - Account of countdown to war |
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August - King Albert I's call to arms |
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August - British tabloid newspaper's reaction |
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August - Herbert Asquith's account of run-up to war |
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August - Joseph Joffre's premature declaration of victory |
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August - British Monarch's encouragement |
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August - British government's request for measures |
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August - Japanese demand for control of Tsingtao |
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August - Japanese explanation of war with Germany |
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August - War minister's urge for restraint in France |
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August - War minister's statement |
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August - Leman's letter to King Albert I |
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August - Leman's prison diary entries regarding fall of Liege |
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August - First-hand account of the fall of Liege |
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August - Chancellor's request for an accommodation |
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August - U.S. Ambassador to Turkey's first-hand account |
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August - Letter in which Kaiser dismissed the British Army |
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August - President Wilson's address to Congress |
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August - Text of two proclamations |
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August - Account of the German victory |
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August - Account of the Russian failure |
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August - Text of the proclamation |
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August - Gottlieb von Jagow's justification re: Louvain |
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August - Belgian report into sack of Louvain |
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August - Bethmann-Hollweg on countdown to war |
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August - Text of the second proclamation |
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August - Alleged letter in which Kaiser supported terror |
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September - Britain, France and Russia agree to act |
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September - British Commander-in-Chief's report |
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September - German Kaiser's complaint against Belgium |
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September - Ambassador's report home |
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September - Joseph Joffre's Congratulations |
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September - General Clergerie's Memoir |
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September - Helmuth von Moltke's Announcement |
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September - Joseph Joffre's Order of the Day |
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September - Sir John French's Order of the Day |
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September - President Poincare's Letter to War Minister |
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September - Sir John French's Disputed Report |
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September - Joseph Joffre's Report |
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September - German First Army commander's account |
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September - Ernest Swinton's 'Eye Witness' Reports |
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September - Otto Weddigen's U-boat Memoir |
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September - Official British Report |
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October - Arthur Conan Doyle's Summary |
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October - Winston Churchill's Account |
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October - Belgian Commandant's Account |
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October - Erich von Falkenhayn's Account |
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October - Belgian Minister of Justice's Summary |
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October - Erich von Falkenhayn's Account |
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October - Background to Turkey's entry into the war |
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October - French Commander-in-Chief's account |
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November - German Field Marshal's summary |
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November - Written by British observer with Russian Army |
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November - Religious commandment to Muslims worldwide |
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November - Ottoman call to arms |
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November - Convicted German spy's final letters |
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November - Newspaper article lamenting German defeat |
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November - Ernest Swinton's 'Eye Witness' Report |
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November - Hindenburg's triumphal communiqué |
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December - Joseph Joffre's review of campaign in August |
A "dope can" was a metal syringe containing petrol for priming an aircraft engine.
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