World War One officially started on 28 July 1914 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
There are currently 25 newspapers from 28 July 1914 available to view online at The British Newspaper Archive. You’ll find clippings from some of these newspapers below, showing how the start of the war was reported.
Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war starts WW1
The Serbian Prime Minister received a telegram at 12.30pm on 28 July 1914. It stated that ‘Austria-Hungary… considers herself henceforward in state of war with Serbia’.
While many British newspapers were printed early in the morning and did not include news of the declaration of war, it was featured in some of the later editions. These included the Manchester Evening News, Evening Telegraph and Yorkshire Evening Post.
Manchester Evening News – Tuesday 28 July 1914
Image © Trinity Mirror. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
Evening Telegraph – Tuesday 28 July 1914
Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
Yorkshire Evening Post – Tuesday 28 July 1914
Image © Johnston Press plc. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
Peace or war? Before the news reached Britain
It’s fascinating to read the newspapers that were printed earlier on 28 July 1914, before news of Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war had reached Britain.
Some newspapers took the line that war had already begun, even though it had not been officially declared. This approach was taken by the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette.
Exeter and Plymouth Gazette – Tuesday 28 July 1914
Image © Local World Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
The Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser took a different view. The newspaper reported that the situation was ‘in the balance’ and that a peaceful solution was still possible.
Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser – Tuesday 28 July 1914
Image © Local World Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
News filtered through: WW1 has started
You’ll find full reports about the start of World War One in the newspapers published on 29 July 1914, the day after Austria-Hungary declared war.
Some even included images, such as these examples from the Daily Record.
Daily Record – Wednesday 29 July 1914
Image © Trinity Mirror. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
1 comments On The start of WW1: Austria-Hungary declares war
can you give me the sited information like the author the published date the publisher the author of the source the title of the article etc please
I need it before Monday March 6th, 2017