214   THE NEUTRALITY OF BELGIUM

APPENDIX C

TREATY
BETWEEN HER MAJESTY
AND THE EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH
RELATIVE TO
THE INDEPENDENCE AND NEUTRALITY
OF BELGIUM

Signed at London, August 11, 1870

PRESENTED TO BOTH HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT BY
COMMAND OF HER MAJESTY, 1871

(Ratifications exchanged at London, August 26, 1870)

Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Majesty the Emperor of the French, being desirous at the present time of recording in a solemn Act their fixed determination to maintain the independence and neutrality of Belgium, as provided by Article VII of the Treaty signed at London on the 19th of April, 1839, between Belgium and the Netherlands, which Article was declared by the Quintuple Treaty of 1839 to be considered as having the same force and value as if textually in the said Quintuple Treaty,

APPENDIX   215

their said Majesties have determined to conclude between themselves a separate Treaty, which, without impairing or invalidating the conditions of the said Quintuple Treaty, shall be subsidiary and accessory to it; and they have accordingly named as their Plenipotentiaries for the purpose, that is to say: * * *

Who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon and concluded the following Articles:

ARTICLE I

His Majesty the Emperor of the French having declared that, notwithstanding the hostilities in which France is now engaged with the North German Confederation and its Allies, it is his fixed determination to respect the neutrality of Belgium, so long as the same shall be respected by the North German Confederation and its Allies, Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on her part declares that, if during the said hostilities the armies of the North German Confederation and its Allies should violate that neutrality, she will be prepared to co-operate with His Imperial Majesty for the defense of the same in such manner as may be mutually agreed upon, employing for that purpose her naval and military forces to insure its observance, and to maintain, in conjunction with His

216   THE NEUTRALITY OF BELGIUM

Imperial Majesty, then and thereafter, the independence and neutrality of Belgium.

It is clearly understood that Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland does not engage herself by this Treaty to take part in any of the general operations of the war now carried on between France and the North German Confederation and its Allies, beyond the limits of Belgium, as defined in the Treaty between Belgium and the Netherlands of April 19, 1839.

ARTICLE II

His Majesty the Emperor of the French agrees on his part, in the event provided for in the foregoing Article, to co-operate with Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, employing his naval and military forces for the purpose aforesaid; and, the case arising, to concert with Her Majesty the measures which shall be taken, separately or in common, to secure the neutrality and independence of Belgium.

ARTICLE III

This Treaty shall be binding on the High Contracting Parties during the continuance of the present war between France and the North German Confederation and its Allies, and for twelve months after the ratification of any Treaty of Peace concluded between those

APPENDIX   217

Parties; and on the expiration of that time the independence and neutrality of Belgium will, so far as the High Contracting Parties are respectively concerned, continue to rest, as heretofore, on Article I of the Quintuple Treaty of the 19th of April, 1839.

ARTICLE IV

The present Treaty shall be ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at London as soon as possible.

In witness whereof the respect[ive] Plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have affixed thereto the seal of their arms.

Done at London, the 11th day of August, in the year of our Lord, 1870.

(L. S.) GRANVILLE,
(L. S.) LA VALETTE.

APPENDIX D

THE FRENCH PLAN OF CAMPAIGN

(From the North German Gazette of September 30, 1914)

The plans for the general French advance against the German forces were found among the papers of a French officer, captured near Verdun.

They are as follows:

First Army, consisting of the I, II, III and X army-corps, concentrates at Maubeuge;

218   THE NEUTRALITY OF BELGIUM

Second Army, consisting of the IX, XI, IV and VI army-corps, concentrates at Verdun;

Third Army, consisting of the XX, V and VIII army-corps, concentrates at Toul;

Fourth Army, consisting of the XIII, XII, XVII and XVIII army-corps, concentrates at Epinal;

Fifth Army, consisting of the VII, XIV, XV and XVI army-corps, concentrates at Belfort.

The First Army unites with the English and Belgian forces, and, after marching through Belgium, occupies Cologne and Coblenz, and opposes the German forces advancing from Northern Germany.

The Second Army has to occupy Metz, and, after having accomplished this, turns towards Saarlouis and Coblenz, where it will join with the First Army.

The Third Army penetrates Lorraine, occupies the northern part of the Vosges, and will then take up a position before Strassburg.

The Fourth Army occupies the remainder of the Vosges and afterwards follows the advance of the other Armies as reserve reinforcement.

The Fifth Army will storm Altkirch and Muehlhausen, and then remove towards Strassburg, which is to be taken, after which it joins the Third Army.

After which there will remain only three armies, that is to say:

Army A in Coblenz,

Army C in Strassburg,

Army D in reserve.

APPENDIX   219

APPENDIX E

EXTRACT FROM THE SPEECH OF THE
IMPERIAL CHANCELLOR,

DR. VON BETHMANN HOLLWEG

GIVEN IN THE REICHSTAG, ON AUGUST 4, 1914

(Translated from the Supplement to the North German
Gazette of August 9, 1914)

"Gentlemen: We are, at present, in a state of legitimate defense and necessity knows no law!¹ Our troops have occupied Luxembourg; perhaps they have entered already Belgian territory. Gentlemen, this is contrary to the rules of international law. It is true that the French Government has declared at Brussels that it would respect Belgium's neutrality as long as the adversary would respect it. However, we knew that France was ready for an invasion. France could afford to wait, but we could not! A French invasion at our flank, at the Lower Rhine, could have become fatal to us. Thus, we were forced to disregard the justified protests of the Governments of Luxembourg and Belgium. The wrong—I speak openly—the wrong which thereby we commit, we shall try to make good as soon as our military aim is attained. Whoever is threatened as we are, is not allowed to have any other consideration beyond that how he will hack his way through!"

¹ This translation does not render exactly the German original "Wir sind jetzt in Notwehr; und Not kennt kein Gebot!" but the English language hardly suggests any other rendering.

220   THE NEUTRALITY OF BELGIUM

APPENDIX F

FAC-SIMILE REPRODUCTIONS OF THE
"BRUSSELS DOCUMENTS"

a. The original cover, in which the report of General Ducarne was found. [ IMAGE ] (125k)

b. The report of General Ducarne to the Belgian Minister of War, concerning his military conversations with the British Lieutenant-Colonel Barnardiston.

[ IMAGE1 ] (246k) [ IMAGE2 ] (383k) [ IMAGE3 ] (224k)

c. The Minutes of the military conversations between General Jungbluth and the British Lieutenant-Colonel Bridges. [ IMAGE ] (240k)

[NOTE especially for dialup users:  The image sizes have been left large for clarity, so time must be allowed for download. All images are JPGs –JR, ed.]