Before the War

Britain's efforts to preserve peace while preparing for possible conflict form the subject of this account by R. B. Haldane, a former Secretary of State for War. He explains the government's policy toward Germany from January 1906 to August 1914, treating diplomacy and military readiness as connected responsibilities. His argument considers the danger that defensive preparations could themselves deepen suspicion, alongside the practical limits of expanding the British Army in peacetime.

The discussion moves from broad questions of policy to Haldane's own conversations with the German Chancellor. In an interview in February 1912, he raises the growing distance between Britain and Germany, the effect of German armaments, and the possibility of better relations involving France and Russia. These passages give readers interested in the origins of the First World War a participant's explanation of official decisions, diplomatic misunderstandings, and the balance between reassurance and security.