Why did Great Britain enter the Napoleonic wars?

Answer 1

Germany invaded Belgium in order to march into France.

Triple EntenteBecause Russia, Britain and France had an alliance called the Triple Entente. When Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia following the assassination of the heir-apparent to the throne of Austria-Hungary (Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria) Russia joined in to help Serbia per a separate agreement. Germany, an ally of Austria-Hungary, then declared war on Russia and France and began to move troops through the neutral sovereign state of Belgium to attack France. The British were not obliged to help the French in the event of war and did declare war when German forces invaded Belgium on August 4 1914. Britain ordered Germany to withdraw immediatly from Belgium, Germany refused and The United Kingdom declared war on Germany on the afternnoon of August 4, 1914. The Treaty of London in 1937 meant that the sovereignty of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg was guaranteed. In the event of a major European Power invading it, Britain was obliged to help defend the small nations and on August 4, when Germany executed the Schlieffen plan via Belgium and Luxembourg Britain honoured the Treaty and declared war on Germany.

Answer 2

Great Britain and Prussia were among four powers who signed a Treaty in 1837 guaranteeing the perpetual neutrality and independence of Belgium. Prussia later became part of Germany, when Germany united into a nation.

After the French lost the Franco-Prussian War, they sought an alliance with Russia. This made the Germans nervous, because they had now to plan for a two-front war. If they went to war with France, they would also have to fight the Russians, and vice versa. Russia was huge but it would take time for them to fully mobilize, which involved calling up all the men in the reserves and getting them on trains to where they needed to be. Therefor the Germans planned to defeat France quickly in the event that war came with either. Then the Germans could turn their attention to Russia, which would just be getting fully mobilized. For a generation before WWI German Army officers had worked on plans for the quick defeat of France. What they arrived at was a plan to invade France by going through Belgium. This would allow them to outflank - to go around - the French defenses at their border with Germany.

So in 1914 this was what the Germans did. The British immediately protested, and pointed out that Germany as well as Great Britain had obligations to Belgium under the 1837 Treaty. The German foreign minister, cynically and scornfully, called the Treaty a "scrap of paper". The British honored their obligation to Belgium and entered the war against Germany.

Answer 3

Because since Medieval Times Great Britain always considered vital for its strategical interests the region of Scheldt Estuary and the Flanders. Every time France attempted to invade it, for example during the Louis XIV's Wars, Great Britain intervened.

So, when the Revolutionary French Armies, fighting against the First Coalition, invaded it, Great Britain joined the other Allied Nation (Austria, Prussia etc.) to prevent its permanent seizing. Indeed that happened some time before Napoleon's ascent.

Answer 4

Great Britain had a treaty with Belgium that promised to defend Belgian neutrality. The German invasion of the Low Countries met the conditions of the treaty and Britian offered Germany a day to withdraw from Belgium. Germany did not and Britain declared war.