France, Saturday, 1st August

8.00 A.M. Joffre sees Messimy and claims that Germany will be entirely mobilised by 4 August "even without the order for mobilisation having been issued". (This is nonsense.) He again threatens to resign if mobilisation is not ordered by 4.00 P.M.

Morning The cabinet meet with Joffre present. He repeats his argument that the Germans are well advanced secretly mobilising.

Morning Viviani is called out of a cabinet meeting to see Schoen who has called at the Quai d'Orsay to get the answer to the German question asked the day before whether France will remain neutral. Schoen repeats the question several times and Viviani finally answers that France will look after its own interests.

Morning The cabinet decides to issue the mobilisation order.

4.00 P.M. Telegrams announcing general mobilisation are dispatched across France and MOBILISATION GENERALE notices posted up outside main Paris post offices. France mobilises one hour before Germany.

11.00 P.M. Izvolsky receives news from St Petersburg of the German declaration of war on Russia and immediately goes to Poincaré to ask how France will respond. Poincaré does not want to declare war on Germany. He prefers Germany to declare war on France so as to appear as peaceful as possible to the French public and Britain, but he assures Izvolsky there is no question of France not fulfilling its alliance obligations.