File No. 763.72/460
The French Chargé d’Affaires (Clausse) to the Secretary of State
Manchester, Massachusetts, August 13, 1914.
[Received August 17.]
[Translation]
Mr. Secretary of State: The French Government on yesterday made to the Austro-Hungarian Government the following declaration:
[Page 65]After declaring war on Servia and thereby first initiating hostilities in Europe, the Austro-Hungarian Government, without any provocation from the Government of the French Republic has put itself in a state of war with France. (1) After Germany had successively declared war on Russia and France, Austria-Hungary intervened in the conflict by declaring war on Russia which was already fighting on France’s side. (2) According to many trustworthy reports, Austria-Hungary has sent troops to the German frontier under conditions which constitute a direct menace to France.
In the presence of those facts taken together the French Government finds itself constrained to declare to the Austro-Hungarian Government that it is about to take every measure that will enable it to meet those acts and menaces.
As the French Ambassador was no longer at Vienna and the Ambassador of Austria-Hungary had departed from Paris, the above-quoted declaration was handed yesterday, August 12, by Sir Edward Grey to the Ambassador of Austria-Hungary at London. On delivering it, Sir Edward Grey told him that Great Britain joined therein and that a state of war between England and Austria-Hungary consequently existed beginning at midnight. All the foregoing measures were taken in the most perfect accord between France and England.
I have [etc.]