August 4, 1914

One hundred years ago today Great Britain declared war on Germany. Great Britain immediately used its powerful navy (the largest in the world at this time) to blockade Germany, forbidding all ocean trade with the rest of the world that would assist Germany in waging war. Among the trade goods forbidden in the blockade was food. Germany was a self-sufficient food producer in 1914. But as the war would drag on and more and more farmers would become soldiers, food would begin to become scares. By the time the blockade was lifted, after the war was over, approximately 424,000 people in the German Empire would die of starvation and malnutrition.    

Also on this day Germany invaded Belgium expecting little resistance but was surprised by determined defense of the Belgium army and the garrisons of the fortresses of Liege (a city in Belgium near the German border). The German army would be forced to stop its advance toward France and capture these fortresses before it could move on.   

In the western hemisphere the United States of America declared itself neutral as hostilities begin in Europe.